East Coast Tour 2011

Well hello there everyone!

We are back from our family vacation to the Outer Banks North Carolina! I have decided to name our family vacation to the "East Coast Tour of 2011". Overall it was a great trip, perfect weather and we had lots of fun, there was the good, the bad and the ugly as all road trips usually come with. Here is a quick run down:

1. Eli threw up in the car and we were not even out of CT yet. He tried to tell us his stomach hurt but I thought he meant the belt was too tight in his car seat so I adjusted it. We felt so terrible for him.
2. We arrived to our hotel at our 1/2 point for our trip in Annapolis, MD. We planned a stop there to visit with Adam's friend Jeff and his wife Sherri who live close by. Eli spiked a fever shortly after arriving at our hotel but thankfully he responded very well to Motrin and we still were able to go out for dinner.

3. We arrived pretty late to our house in OBX (Outer Banks) on Saturday since Friday was so shaken up by Eli getting sick in the car and when we arrived to the hotel. We made the decision to sleep in and leave as rested as possible for Eli's sake. We also decided to take in the city for a bit before getting on the road to OBX and it was great. Annapolis is just beautiful! I am so happy we took in the city I would go back in a heartbeat.




4. Sunday we enjoyed OBX!! It was PERFECT weather, the beach was gorgeous and having coffee in the morning on the deck watching the sun come up over the ocean was just what we needed. We also saw dolphins jumping! This happened lots of mornings, it was so cool to see. By Sunday evening we decided Eli's fever we were managing with Motrin was really starting to worry us so we called the Pediatrician back at home and they recommended we take him in to get looked at. We had to visit the OBX hospital because it was Sunday evening and the walk in clinics were closed. Luckily we were in & out, the hospital was great and they put Eli on a different antibiotic for his ear infection and pink eye he got prior to leaving CT. He started to respond much better to this antibiotic and in another day his fever left him and we were vacationing with a peace of mind.
You can tell below Eli's eyes look like he is sick but he was a trooper and trucked along and still had fun until his new antibiotic kicked in.




Here is Eli with his cousin Cole on the boat, these two crack me up!




5. Some other quick highlights to the week while in OBX - we took Eli & Bo to the Aquarium, Eli really liked the animals and the exhibits! He is really into fish and sharks so the large tanks where just perfect for him. Adam took Eli crabbing with his family, I watched and took pictures but it was fun! Eli had his first official ice cream cone which fell on the ground and caused a crying festival...don't they all? LOL....We went on a Pontoon boat for a few hours it was fun to be out on the water on a boat. We left Bo back at the house with family and I am glad we did that, Eli needed a little hand holding while on the boat but he really liked it! We got out for a few drinks with his cousin Matt & his wife Val which was nice. And pretty much everything else we did was beach, pool and be entertained by all the cousins playing together. I have to admit going on vacation with small kids is allot of work but it was worth it in every way, I could watch all the cousins playing together all day long. They were just too cute together!

Aunt Eva & Cousin Abbey showing Eli how to kick in the pool, Aunt Eva was so good with Eli in the pool, he was so relaxed around her!

6. Baby Bo is just a dream baby to travel with and he was just cool as a cucumber! He would nap where ever you put him and played on his gym mat. Other than being fed & changed you would never know he was there sometimes. Everyone commented how lucky we were to have such an easy baby, we are very thankful for that! Love you Bo!
Here's the little cutie on the beach-



7. We left the house on Sat. the 27th by 10am and made our way to Chesapeake, VA for just before 12 noon to visit Adam's Uncle Bill. Chesapeake is just outside Virgina Beach, it was so nice to see his Uncle and his wife Janet and visit their new home they moved into last Fall. While visiting them for the day Adam took a nap to gear up for the ride back home, and I went to "Homearama" in Virginia Beach. Homearama is an event where beautiful new homes are on display and you walk through them, they are just so perfectly appointed and grand, boy it is fun to dream! It is also a contest to vote on best features such as design, landscaping and things of that nature. After going to "Homearama" we got back on the road by 7:30pm.

8. We stopped around 1 am and slept in a hotel off exit 1 on the NJ turnpike. It was nice & clean. In the morning we only had a 3 1/2 hour drive left. On our way through NYC crossing over the GW Bridge I mentioned how I would love to see my Grandparents with the kids since we were right near their home. Adam offered to stop over their house for a quick visit and I was thrilled :). I don't get to see my grandparents that often and they hadn't even met Bo yet! I called them up and of course they were home, we were at their house within 20 minutes after we got over the GW Bridge, there was no traffic which was perfect! They were so happy to see us all it was worth the slight detour for sure!



9. We got home by 6pm on Sunday evening and we are back to normal life. Our house looked so clean walking into it but within minutes of unpacking the minivan it was trashed!

We are still unpacking, I truly hate unpacking. It takes me forever. Not to mention the laundry that comes along with it! UGH.

Memorial Day was quite on our end, we were unwinding from vacation and we had to get groceries to fill up our fridge. No picnics or parades this year for us but that's ok we had a full week of family fun :)