Our Big Summer Trip!

The week before Labor Day, we all headed to the East Coast. First, we drove to Houston to drop Bailey off with my parents. She loves staying at Mimi and Grampy's house! We were there for a few days before we left for Baltimore.

Our flight from Houston to Baltimore was the morning of Tuesday, August 26th. We like flying into Baltimore for three reasons 1)the flight is non-stop (a must with Abbie) 2)the flights are always cheaper and 3)it is very close to Steve's parents' house. Even though we weren't staying in Maryland this time, we decided to fly into Baltimore and then rent a car to drive to New Jersey. Our flight was very easy! There was an empty seat next to us which was wonderful. We were able to buckle Abbie's carseat into the empty seat. She stayed in her seat the ENTIRE 3 hour flight! I was amazed. She played for a little while, then ate her lunch, and then fell asleep for most of the rest of the flight. She literally fell asleep while eating a piece of cheese! She must have been exhausted from all of the excitement. Steve and I were both very happy the flight was so easy. Steve's parents and niece, Rachel, were there to meet us at the airport and help us with all of our bags, strollers, carseat, etc. Then we rented a car and headed straight for Spring Lake, New Jersey. I knew Abbie would not be happy to be back in her seat for the 3 and a half hour drive to NJ. Thankfully, Rachel rode with us and entertained her a while in the backseat before they both fell asleep. Needless to say we were all exhausted by the time we reached the beach house in NJ that night!
Here are some pictures of Abbie at the Houston airport. She loves watching all of the planes and gas trucks on the runway. She also loves watching all of the other people waiting for planes.

Nana and Pop rented a wonderful house for all of us to stay in. It had plenty of room for Nana and Pop, the three of us, Rachel, and Steve's brother and sister, Ted and Ellen. I know Abbie loved having all of her family around! It was right across the street from a small lake and park. Abbie stood at the large picture window in the front and the screen door for hours watching dogs and bicycle riders go by! It is where she first started saying her word for dog, which is foof-foof(woof-woof)!

We had a lazy morning on Wednesday, our first morning in the house. Around lunch time, GG Nana (Steve's grandmother) came over and we all headed to the boardwalk!

I had never been to a real beach boardwalk with rides and games before! It was a lot of fun! We walked around and ate our lunch at a little restaurant right on the beach. We headed home so Abbie could take a quick nap and then went back in the afternoon. Abbie was very adventurous on the boardwalk! First we rode the Flying Dumbo ride. I thought she might be a little nervous as it did go fairly high in the air. She just watched everyone and looked around the whole ride! She loved it! Next, Steve, Abbie and Rachel rode the train that went around all the rides. Abbie loves trains.
Then, Abbie, Nana and I rode the carousel, which is still not a favorite of Abbie's. We will not be doing that again anytime soon! Finally, it was on to better things...ski ball! We all know how much Abbie loves this game! She quickly recovered from the horrible carousel ride and loved playing ski ball with Daddy and Rachel.
By this time it was time to head home for dinner and bed. What a fun day at the boardwalk! We can't wait to do it again!
On Thursday morning, Nana, Abbie, Rachel and I headed to a nearby playground. There we met Steve's aunt, Mary, and her daughter-in-law, Eileen, with her son, Noah, to play. Abbie had a great time playing in the cool weather (the highs were in the 70s most of the week!) and seeing baby Noah.Thursday afternoon we took Abbie to the beach for the very first time! Getting her ready to go outside is never easy. She HATES having sunscreen put on her. However, once we got to the beach she was very happy. She loved going in the waves with Daddy. They went in fairly far so the waves were high. She just had the best time! She was not as fond of the sand. As I thought might be the case, she hated the feeling of sand on her. She hates to be dirty! She was trying her hardest to walk in the sand without falling. It was a pretty funny! When she finally did fall and get sand on her hands, she held them up to me and gave me this face like "Get this stuff off me!" Hopefully she will grow out of this phase and enjoy playing in the sand the next time she is at the beach!

There is the face I love!

We had a relaxing Friday and Saturday. Steve spent most of both days performing groomsman duties for his good friend (and Abbie's godfather) Anthony. I went to the reception in Pennsylvania Saturday night. It was a wonderful wedding!

Sunday we went to a big family reunion at GG Nana's house! Abbie had a great time playing with all the other great-grandchildren. Many of them are right around her age. They played with sidewalk chalk and hula hoops. Abbie's was a mess after the chalk! Her entire bottom was pink from sitting in chalk! We all had a great time though!

On Monday, Steve took Abbie swimming in his Great Aunt Margaret's pool. Abbie had the best time swimming, even if the water was a bit cold!The rest of Monday we spent packing to get ready to leave. We drove back to Maryland late Monday night. Abbie slept most of the way. We stayed at Nana and Pop's house that night. All we had to do Tuesday was wake up and head out for our big trip home! Nana helped us at the airport and came to say goodbye!Our flight to Houston left around noon. This flight went fairly well. She played again and ate her lunch. Then she wanted out of her seat for a while. Finally, she went back in her seat and took a nap. She woke up shortly before we landed. Grampy and Bailey were there to pick us up at the airport! We headed back to their house so Abbie could take another nap and we could eat dinner. After dinner, we headed back up to Dallas. We arrived around midnight that night! Wow, what a fun and exciting trip! We all had a great time visiting Steve's family! We were all worn out when we got home. We can't wait to go back again!