If you have ever contemplated taking a Vacation with your 5 year old and your 21 month old, while being 31 weeks pregnant across the Pacific ocean, into 3 states and 5 cities.... DON'T DO IT, I repeat, think about your sanity and wait, or just don't jump houses every 4 days... it's rough... I mean sleepless, tireless, mental exhaustion..
But, if you are feeling a little daring and crazy and don't mind constant temper-tantrums and battling jet-lag while dragging kids to baseball games and families homes, by all means more power to you!
So, since we border on the lines of mentally insane we did it, and survived. We had to however in the middle of the trip say goodbye to our best friends on the island! These amazing people Annie and Victor have showed us how important and amazing it is to travel, even when it doesn't seem worth it. Without their friendship I'm not sure I would have been so happy over the last year and a half so it was terribly bittersweet riding our flight from Oki to Tokyo together…. They went off to go to Utah and we went on to LAX.
After the plane ride from hell, ( We were put in a row that was not immediately following another row, therefore the footspace was a little better, but you cannot lay a child across you because your tray/monitor are in the arm rests, bad news). Ian slept a good 3 hours (maybe) on the floor while the flight attendants told us it wasn't safe and we can't do that, we just covered him with a blanket. Stella couldn't get comfy, and Alvie and I didn't sleep at all. So when we landed in LA the jet-lag set in HARD.
We ventured to Ian's very first BASEBALL game, and Stella's first time at Dodger Stadium. It was a BLAST, and soo nice to have us all together with our family cheering for our favorite sport. Ian was hilarious cheering and Stella got put on the JumboTron screen with her awesome Dodger support! It was perfect. Just what we needed to battle the exhaustion.
Flashback almost exactly 2 years ago to the day! ( Ian in my belly, now #3!)
Next up was Las Vegas. It was nice to see family, especially my mom. She really misses the kids and Stella talks about Grammie all the time so just playing in the backyard with bubbles, water balloons and running through sprinklers was all they needed. It's amazing what simple things keep kids happy, makes me really wish we had a yard because they were SOOO happy just running around together playing.
Of coarse, with the luck I have no trip can be un-eventful!!! SO, Poor Stella tripped walking up my mom's stairs (tile stairs) and smacked her face on the top step. After one look I knew we needed stitches, which is surprising because usually I just tell her to suck it up and she'll be fine. Oh, AND Ian got bit by a dog, in his face.
Stella was SO brave! She did amazing and the nurse/NP were so impressed with how calm and collected she was. She couldn't wait to tell the nurse that I have had stitches and forced me to show them all my scars. Then after the stitches were put in she was so proud that, " I didn't even get strapped down like my mom did with her stitches, I just laid there and kept my eyes closed." ( Always has to show me up :) )
Seeing my friends is always on my list of things to do when I visit, however this trip was such a time crunch in each city that it made it really hard. I was sad when I didn't get to see some other good friends but at least we got to see Tracy! Her kids and my kids are all the same age ( each 3 months apart) and now we are both expecting #3, and still keeping our normal schedules haha. We went to the Orchards and picked some fresh apricots! The kids loved playing and it was nice to be out in the fresh air. Next we went to the Children's museum which was awesome!
With that Alvie and I got our FIRST AND ONLY date night of the entire trip, we went to Lola's which is my Dad's FAVORITE restaurant ( and mine too) it's SOO delicious and I am never left unsatisfied with the amazing Louisiana style ettouffe, blackened catfish, gumbo and jambalaya we get there... Pregnancy craving check!
Next up would be TEXAS!
