Remember that month... the one that ended about 9 or 10 weeks ago, typically comes between April and June? I barely remember it, too, to be honest. Not only was it so long ago but it was all jam-packed with the end of school, preschool graduation, baseball practice and ballgames. Oh, and that little trip we took to New England.
A few people weren't so shy in telling me that I had lost my mind. I planned this trip somewhat on the fly and there was no way that we could have changed Chip's schedule around so that he could go. So I made plans to fly from Chattanooga (way cheaper, just so you know) into Providence with just the kids and myself. Let me summarize this trip for you.
We left Monday morning after packing up our suitcases once Chip had left for work. We leave at a decent time and zip down the interestate. Get half way to Chattanooga and realize I don't have my wallet. True story. Skip ahead-- we have an odd number of travellers. When we've flown before, it's been easy to split up parent-child. This time, not so much. I was appalled by the lack of southern hospitality in Chattanooga and in Charlotte. No one was moving. At one point, after holding the plane FOR US, we realize all three of us are split up in three different rows. It took the flight attendant's intervention and my crocodile tears before someone moved so at least my kids were able to sit next to each other.
We arrive in Providence after quite possibly my longest day ever, get our rental car and head on our way to our hotel at precisely 5:00PM. And it's raining. We check in, finally, and head next door to a TGI Friday's for a much-needed hot meal (and caffeine). We are seated and then wait. And continue to wait. I swear, all I wanted was a tea and absolutely ANYTHING for the kids. Long story very short, our meal was free. And I don't ask for free meals. Ever.
We go back to the hotel, swim in the indoor pool (which is basically what the kids think is going to be the highlight of our trip at this point) and head straight to bed. I'm awakened by Kendall coughing profusely. All night. When she finally settles down, Cooper is whining and complaining of stomach pains. Skip ahead past a wonderful but rainy day with family (more below) and the next night Cooper is awakened again after only an hour of sleep. Skip ahead to 3 AM and after phone calls to Daddy and our peds office, our pediatrician's oncall nurse is adament that he may have appendicitis and we are on our way to Hasbro Children's Hospital in downtown Providence. Again, at about 4AM.
In case you're worried, he didn't need surgery, we think it was a virus but man were we tired! Cooper thought it was WAY cool that he got to stay up all night (me, not so much). We eventually found a remedy for Kendall's airplane cough (I'm assuming) and the sun finally decided to shine the whole rest of our time there (well, mostly). It was a rocky start... scratch that, a rocky first half but it got way better. Flying by myself or navigating airports and rush hour traffic in a strange city was nothing compared to dealing with illnesses and ER visits in the middle of the night by myself.
We visited a working farm with Jay and Jeff near my grandparents' house in Bristol.
The kids love the New England beaches. Shells and rocks are a rare commodity in the south... not so much up north!
A picture at the water across from my grandparents' house. I hope we continue to get these pictures for years to come! The kids love it and it means the world to me that it is so fun for my kids.
Goodbye Photo.
Oh, THE stairs. So, so many pictures here over the past many, many decades!
My sweet grandmother doesn't get up off the couch, or even bed, very much. But by-golly she sure loved sitting on her screened porch watching my kids play with sticks and try to climb trees. Makes a heart happy.
Cousins in Newport (my favorite place on the planet, if anyone is keeping tabs)
Oh dear. Cousin Katy is sometimes not to be trusted, so I was a little scared.
It really was a very... interesting trip. This blog probably could have been 4-part with everything that happened while we were there (some may remember the naked 5 year old in the hotel pool) but luckily I waited several months to rehash it all.
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