Tampa Trip

Warning: long post, but you will be rewarded with Audrey pics!

What a week it's been!

Last Friday we embarked on a very big journey...Audrey's first plane ride! We flew to Tampa for the weekend to visit the Simmons family, who moved there in December. I don't think Abby has updated her blog in a while, so sorry if that's brand new information to any one!

Our flight was at 7:30, aka bedtime. I was a little nervous about Audrey getting a case of the fussies on the plane, especially since our flight got delayed by about an hour. We also spent last week fighting a double ear infection and I had major concerns about her ears. Just before we boarded I went to the bathroom to fill up a bottle of formula for Aud (recommended for babies during takeoff to help with sensitive ears). Fail. NO HOT WATER! I was prepared for this, so when we got on the plane I asked the flight attendant for very hot water. We got boiling. Double fail. We found our seats, which happened to be next to Mr. Speaks No English and across the aisle from an intoxicated Mr. Complainy Complainerson. This trip was really not starting off well. Since the water was too hot, I gave Audrey her paci to help her through takeoff. She almost immediately dropped it in the floor. There was no way I was putting that thing back in, especially after Mr. Speaka No English put his hands all over it when he picked it up for us. I was really starting to panic and think I might have to strip down and breastfeed her on the plane if her ears got bad.

Would you believe the plane took off and she didn't make a peep? She didn't even seem to notice we'd left the ground. She laughed and played the entire flight. When we landed, Mr. Complainerson told us she was the best baby he'd ever seen and several others told us how great she was.

Abby and Jason have a great house in a really nice area of Tampa. Audrey had so much fun with her cousins. Hannah was so excited to have a girl to play with, and Audrey gets so excited to see her. Audrey is also very intrigued by Tucker who is around 5 months younger than her. They seemed like brother and sister to me. She'd take his toy and he'd take her bottle. They were constantly reaching for what the other one had. William is the one we had to worry about...he was introducing Audrey to all of the toys and the playroom. Particularly the teeny toy parts!

On Saturday we went to the Tampa zoo. It was a really great zoo and not crowded at all! It had a great children's area and lots of things to do. Unfortunately I could not get Audrey to look at a single animal. She was too busy playing with her stroller, her bottle, or Tucker to be bothered by the giraffes, elephants, or monkeys. I guess that means we'll have to take her back one day!

The highlight of the trip was bathtime. We put all 4 kids in one big tub with bubbles. They were so silly and you could tell how much fun all of the kids were having. Audrey really looks up to Hannah and William and watches them for cues on what to do.

Adult time was fun too. We made margaritas, ate fabulous seafood, and watched a movie.

On Sunday morning, the 8 of us headed to Orlando (about an hour's drive) to drop Audrey, Graham, and me off for my company's national sales meeting. The plan was for Graham and Audrey to spend the evening for me and fly back Monday morning. Their flight got cancelled an we decided to send them back to Tampa so they could spend the night at Abby's and wait out the weather. Little did we know, there was a blizzard coming to Atlanta and it would be days before they could leave. They finally got out of there on Wednesday. We were so lucky to have the Simmons to give Graham and Audrey a place to stay and watch the National Championship game, a friend willing to be snowed in with our dogs in Atlanta, and a coworker who was able to drive Audrey and Graham home on Wednesday.

My meeting went well and I got home safely Friday night. It was a long week, but it's always a lot of fun (and work). Merial had Samual Avalos speak to us in the general session. He was one among the 33 miners trapped for 69 days in Chile last year. It was so inspiring to hear his story and the role he played in helping to communicate with those on the surface.