In July, we took what is seeming like our annual trip to visit family in Missouri and Alabama. This was the first time we had really traveled with the two kids beyond a quick trip to the Dallas-Ft Worth area. Let me just say, finagling luggage, two small kids, and two car seats is a feat in and of itself. Getting all of us through security was particularly interesting. I hear about single parents traveling like that, and I honestly have no idea how they manage.

Everything was okay in the airport. Maya generally climbed around on the seats or busied herself with the iPad. Ian watched people. Things didn’t get rough till we were on the airplane.

Maya got lots of grins as she walked through the airplane toward our seats, clutching Oddipuddy in one hand and her duck pillow in the other. She and Sean were sitting next to each other in one row, and Ian and I were sitting next to each other directly behind them. Maya was strapped in with a CARES system for the first time, which I think she liked because she felt like a big kid, and Ian was in his car seat.

It wasn’t long before Ian was yelling. As Sean says, Ian doesn’t suffer boredom well. We had just walked down a nice aisle full of people he could grin at, and then I stuffed him into his car seat, where he could barely even see out the window. Also, a reminder: that boy is loud.

My only hope was that takeoff would help soothe him to sleep. Sure enough, he fell asleep, but it didn’t last, and when he woke up, he was really unimpressed. I had packed along a nice bottle of milk for Ian so that he’d have something to help his ears on takeoff and landing. He should have been hungry, so I offered it to him. Nope. And bless his stubborn little heart, he never would take that bottle. He slept a tiny bit later in the flight, but generally, he was just angry and vocal.

Luckily for him, as soon as we landed, we had to get our luggage, take a shuttle to the rental car place, install two car seats into the rental car, and then drive a couple hours to my parents’ house. Poor guy.

Maya, once we were actually at Grammy and Grandpa’s house, quickly found the toys and could stretch her legs and unwind a little bit. Ian just had a really rough, rough bedtime.

Grandpa and Maya feeding fish

I was impressed with how quickly Maya warmed up. The very next day, she was already willing to play with Grandpa and walk to the pond with Grammy. She really loved going to that pond. There were sticks and rocks to mess with, a couple of piers to walk out on, and fish to feed.

Grammy and Ian

Ian, not surprisingly, loved all the undivided attention he received from his grandparents. He was mostly along for the ride when it came to activities, but he got lots of interaction with people, and that makes him a happy guy.

Sparkler!

We dickered around about showing Maya some fireworks last year. She’s particular about loud noises, and we didn’t want it to be one big unpleasant experience for her. This year, we were fortunate to have the ideal set-up. We all hung out on Grammy and Grandpa’s porch and watched as fireworks were launched from the yard below. If we needed to, escape would be as simple as heading inside and being distracted by toys. That wasn’t necessary though. Maya sat on my lap and let me hold my hands over her ears while she watched her first fireworks. She even got to throw some little poppers and hold a sparkler. Ian, of course, slept through the festivities.

Goat!

We also went to Lazy L Safari Park. It’s sort of a little mini-zoo that lets you pet and even feed many of the animals. One of Maya’s favorite activities was feeding the little parakeets from a popsicle stick coated with seeds. We walked into a cage full of birds with our seed-laden sticks and they’d flock to our arms to get to the seeds. She was on the fence about whether she really wanted the birds on her, but she very much enjoyed them being near her.

Our trip to Alabama was mostly uneventful. Ian again was screamy on the airplane and refused the bottle. I had room enough this time to breast feed him partway through the trip, though it really didn’t help much. Maya wound up falling down and busting open her lip on our way through the Birmingham airport. Again, by the time we got to Lolli and Pop’s house, Maya needed some time to unwind and play, and Ian really desperately needed to sleep.

One of the great things about Lolli and Pop’s house is that there are kitties. They have six cats living at their house, and Maya can now name all of them and tell you which ones might bite and which are safe to pet. Even months later, she still runs down the list from time to time. Ian also is a big, big fan of kitty cats. We spend no small amount of energy keeping him from unintentionally damaging them.

Maya the firefighter

One of the highlights of our trip was the McWane Science Center. Ian mostly hung out in the stroller and watched little kids running around, so he was pretty happy. Maya was in heaven. She dressed as a firefighter, played in a kitchen, messed with bubbles, pet a shark and a stingray, and dozens of other things I can’t clearly remember. She was very well occupied and did not want to leave when it was time to go.

Ian’s not too sure about the pool

We also got to visit the Homewood Pool. It’s like no other swimming pool that I’ve ever been to. There’s a shallow area with lots of splash-pad-esque sprinklers and showers and things. And there’s a giant whirlpool type thing that gently urges you along as you drift lazily around and around. Maya was in heaven. This was officially Ian’s first visit to the pool, and he was not immediately a fan. After three quarters of our pool visit was over, he finally relaxed a little. Until then though, it seemed like yet another torment he’d have to endure more so than actual fun.

Maya is SURE she likes the pool

To save a fair amount of cash, we drove the couple hours to Atlanta to catch a flight there back to Austin. Everything was going well enough, except that our flight wound up being several hours delayed. I was really impressed with the fact that Ian basically took his nap while hanging out at the airport instead of in the plane where I had hoped he’d sleep. But sure enough, after another long, loud flight, we finally made it home. Even with the travel drama, we had a great trip. Maya still talks about her visit with both sets of grandparents and the things she did while she was there.