Weekend Away

      So, yes, it is Thursday already, but somehow it is the first time (and motivation) I've had to sit down and document our past weekend:
    Our good friends got married last weekend, in a town about 9 hours from our house (which would probably only take about 7 hours for other people, but we are just that slow, and still, 7 hours is pretty far). So, needless to say, it was a Big Deal to get there and back with a one-year-old. Josh had been madly working overtime over the past few weeks to be able to bank some extra hours in order for us to take off at lunch time on Friday, so to begin with we were all worn a little thin. When Josh came home from work on Friday, it was a mad dash to pack up the car and grab something to eat all as quickly as possible. Since Laura's things account for a large percentage of the stuff we usually bring on trips, I left her bags of clothing and cloth diapers up in her room, assuming Josh would notice they hadn't been brought down to the pile of things to be packed in the car. He didn't. When we were about 40 minutes away from home, I asked him, "You brought the bags of clothes and stuff from Laura's room, right?"
     "What? No... I only packed the stuff that was in the pile."
     "OMG. Please be kidding. You're kidding, right?"
     "Ummm, no."
     Grrrreat.
     We theoretically could have gone back for them, but we were supposed to be meeting someone in the next town and we were already a few minutes behind, not to mention that it would have easily added 1.5 hours to our already 7-hour drive. Not happening. So, we called Josh's parents (who we were going to be staying with, and would be looking after Laura) if they happened to have any extra 18-month sized clothes lying around. Josh's mom was going to check and call us back.  So, we stopped in the next town and picked up a few outfits and jammies for Laura. Josh's parents were going to pick up a package of disposable diapers. Forty-five minutes and $60 later, Laura had a new weekend wardrobe, although Josh informed me after that, while I was in the store, his mom called back and actually had a number of things that would work. Ok, whatever. If they have clothes to fit her, we will just return the things we bought.
     So, we carried on, and at 8PM we finally arrived at the in-laws'. All considered, Laura did really well, and one of the pluses of being trapped in the car that long together, is that it gives us the chance to talk about things we might not normally get around to talking about.
     Once we had arrived and unpacked, much to Laura's delight, she discovered her grandparents' most recent aquisition - a new kitten - and proceeded to spend the remainder of the evening chasing him down. He was very good with her, and all of the combined shenanigans were très adorable. After a bite to eat and a nice chat, we headed off to bed.
     The next morning we gathered up our things for the wedding and left our little monkey with her Grandma and Grandpa. She was watching Mickey Mouse when we left, and barely looked up to hug and kiss us goodbye. I think she was pretty happy with them. We drove the rest of the 2 hours to our destination, and had time for a nice lunch with one of my old friends we hadn't seen in ages. Then, we checked into the hotel, got dressed and whisked ourselves off to the site of the wedding ceremony. It was chilly, and the wedding was outdoors, but as a nice touch the bride and groom had arranged for coffee and tea to be available to the guests while we were waiting for the ceremony to start. 
     The highlight of the wedding was how absolutely stunning the bride looked. That, and during the maid of honour's speech, she paused as she was having an emotional moment, and Josh, evidentally not paying attention, says loudly, "Hey, Dave, do you want this weird stuff on my plate?" The weird 'stuff' he was referring to was carrots and squash (Dave is a vegetarian). Our whole table nearly died trying to stifle our laughter. Oh, Josh. <3
     The wedding was great, and I'm happy that our friends are all starting to get married now. (This particular couple had been dating for two months longer than Josh and I, but Josh and I have been married for 4 years already.) ;)

     We headed back to the hotel around 1AM and were up and away by 8:15 the next morning.  It was the longest we had left Laura (a full 24 hours), and she was going to need to nurse!

Laura, sporting her Daddy hand-me-downs, with her Grandma and Great-Grandma

We arrived back at Josh's parents' house and Laura barely appeared to have missed us. I like that.  Josh and I grabbed a nap after we had settled back in, and spent some family time together. I was so grateful that Josh had worked enough overtime to take Monday off, as well. Trying to drive another seven hours home from his parents after already driving two would have been too much. We had a nice family dinner with his brother Sunday evening, and continued to be entertained by the antics of Laura and the kitten. Laura is at such an unbearably cute age right now, I can hardly stand it. <3
Monday morning we had a nice visit with a friend of the family and her two sons, and then hit the road after lunch. We were able to make it home in six hours this time, which seems a commendable feat for us. When we got home, all of Laura's clothes and diapers were nicely packed and sitting waiting for us up in her room. :)