travel day

brad dropped mason and i off at the airport saturday morning, which kicked off our big adventure! in a stroke of luck, as we were unloading the car in passenger drop-off lane, my parents and special k hopped off the parking spot bus at the same time! thank goodness! with a stroller, two suitcases, a diaper bag, and a huge carryon, i had no idea how i’d manage to get all our stuff inside by myself!

we checked our bags at the curbside check-in and headed toward security. while i am thankful that tsa now allows formula, baby food, and other liquid items, i was slightly disappointed that i had to completely unload the diaper bag that took me no less than 20 minutes to pack the night before – just to make sure all the stuff would fit and the bag would still close! i was moving frantically to get everything in order – diaper bag unpacked? check. laptop separated? check. boarding pass in hand? check. shoes off? check. baby with me? oops! in my haste, i walked through the metal detector, leaving my mom with mason and the stroller. nice. i rescued mason, folded up the stroller, and walked through again hoping that we’d be able to reassemble everything without holding up the line too much. success!

now we just had to kill an hour before our flight. mason laughed, played, and tried to befriend every other traveler waiting at the gate – and for the most part, was pretty successful! something about that big grin wins over even the crustiest of people!

we finally boarded and were lucky enough to have an extra seat to give mason a little more room to wiggle. he sucked down the 10:30 bottle with such vigor that i was afraid he’d polish it off before we needed it to help pop his ears from takeoff! apparently all the excitement of the morning worked up an appetite in our little guy. the rest of the flight was a combination of wiggles, giggles, and eventually a nap in pappy’s arms.

after a quick stop in chicago, we were on our way to virginia. as the other passengers were boarding, i fed mason lunch. about halfway through his mixed vegetables, mason got a nose tickle. without warning, he sneezed, sending the fresh bite flying all over mommy. why is it that i ALWAYS pack mason an extra outfit, but i never include one for myself?! three wipes later, we finished the meal.

did i mention that this flight was FULL? with every seat taken, we were smushed into one row, with grammy taking the seat behind us. sleep was not on the agenda for this one, but the tantalizing toys carried us through.

we finally arrived, picked up the rental car (aka the bus), and headed to the resort where we met up with aunt kant and uncle g. whew, we made it!