Trip to Rexburg

*Pictures posted below*

I went on my first road trip over Memorial day weekend. I went with Mommy, Grandma and Grandpa to visit Uncle Sam at BYU-Idaho in Rexburg. It was originally mommy's idea to go, she thought it would be fun to see Uncle Sam, especially since we haven't seen him since Christmas, but the closer we got to leaving, the more she thought that the idea to drive 12 hours there and back with a 9-month old was crazy! Overall the trip was great and it was definitely worth seeing Sam, but it didn't exactly turn out as planned, especially the weather. I had lots of fun seeing Sam and I was a very good boy, except that I refused to take my bottle the entire since we first left Bellevue. I never really loved my bottle but I got in a good routine of taking a bottle whenever I went to sleep, but not anymore! I just cried and fought my bottle, mommy even tried regular milk, chocolate milk, water and juice. Nothing. This made it a little tricky to keep me full and hydrated, and it's a good thing I'm such a cute boy and that grandma and grandpa love me so much because they would give me liquids by using a straw like a medicine dropper. I usually ate pretty good but sometimes I was difficult to feed and grandma and mommy would have to trick me into eating. Since I wasn't taking my bottle, I had to eat food more often, so that was probably why I wasn't in the mood to eat every time. But they were very patient. I guess it's a good thing I'm such a good boy in most every other way, and cute, too. Or else I don't know what they'd do! But I really was good in the car and slept good and napped on the go and was so good whenever we went anywhere or ate out, which was a lot. People in Idaho and Montana sure think I'm cute! Whenever we stopped somewhere, someone was always saying how cute I am and everyone loves my hair!

Thursday:

We decided to do the drive in two days so we left our house at 2pm, after grandma and grandpa came home from work. We ran into traffic just after Snoqualmie Pass and we were probably stuck in traffic for almost 2 hours. It was not a good start to our trip and that was probably why I had a hard time in the car for the first day. We finally made it through traffic and stopped at a rest-stop to stretch and eat. Grandma was so wonderful and rode in the back with me the whole time! She helped me fall asleep, played with me, entertained me, fed me. She was so great! I only had one tough time in the car on Thursday's drive but that was it. After our first rest-stop, we made our way to Coeur D'Alene. We wanted to get further but because of the traffic we were all tired and ready to stop for the night. We found a Super 8 that looked good for the night and unpacked the car. After driving for so long, we decided to walk around to find dinner. This was my first night in a hotel and I slept so good!

Friday:

We got up and left pretty early Friday morning. We stopped at a Mcdonald's for breakfast about 40 minutes into our drive and got right back on the road. The drive from Coeur D'Alene into Montana was very pretty and was an easy drive. We stopped at a rest-stop after driving for about 2 hours and it was mommy's turn to drive (grandpa drove most all the way). We drove about 45 minutes, and a little after getting onto the I-15, we started up some mountains and it was a snow storm! It wasn't sticking too much to the road but we couldn't see very much and couldn't believe we were driving through snow during Memorial day weekend! We made it through and stopped in Dillon and we got Starbucks and chocolate milk for me. Mom hoped I'd take my bottle with chocolate milk but no such luck. We got back on the road and we were in Rexburg 2 hours later! Of course, it was raining, but we weren't going to let that ruin our fun! We got to our Hotel, a Super 8 again, and got situated and then went to pick up Sam. We were so excited to see Uncle Sam! I was a little hesitant of him at first but it didn't take long for me to warm up to him. I love my uncle Sammy! We got to see where he lives and he drove us to eat at a little mexican restaurant, then he took us to a fun frozen yogurt place called Kiwi Loco and it was so yummy, I love frozen yogurt! After that we went to the hotel and we all went to the hot tub. I love the hot tub! I love the hot water and I love to splash! We then went back to the room and got ready for bed. After I fell asleep, grandpa drove Sam back to his apartment for the night.

Saturday:

We woke up and when mommy and grandma were getting ready, I took a little morning nap and Grandpa went to pick up Sam. We went to a little breakfast place and then we went to spend the afternoon on campus. We had a great time walking around BYU-I and seeing all of Sam's classrooms. The weather was silly and it would rain and then be warm, then rain again. But we were inside most the time anyways. They have a beautiful student center and cafeteria. Unfortunately, since it was a holiday weekend, the new conference center and the bookstore were closed. It would have been fun to see the conference center and buy a sweatshirt, but oh well, we still had a good time. After a few hours on campus, mommy and I went to our hotel for an afternoon nap and everyone else went to Sam's apartment to hang out. At about 5 we drove down to Idaho Falls for dinner with two of Sam's roommates. We went to Famous Dave's BBQ and I even got to chew on a rib bone, yum! After that we went back to Kiwi Loco for dessert. Then it was getting late so we went back to the hotel and went to sleep while watching Princess and the Frog on TV.

Sunday:

We woke up Sunday morning and it was pouring! It rained all day but we made the most of it. Originally, we planned a day trip to Yellowstone but with the rain and cool weather in Rexburg, we checked the weather in Yellowstone and it was snowing. It was supposed to snow a few inches from Saturday to Sunday so we cancelled our trip. Instead we had Sam show us all around Rexburg and he took us to all the fun places he hangs out. Our first stop after breakfast were the Sand Dunes, they were so neat! Unfortunately, we didn't take a picture showing how big and cool the sand dunes were. There were lots of people there for the holiday weekend riding their four-wheelers. When I'm older, maybe uncle Sam will take me back to go riding one day. After the Dunes, Sam drove us to where he goes swimming in the river. There is a beautiful little waterfall. If it was warm and sunny, it would have been a fun place to play and have a picnic! Just around the corner is the bridge that they all jump off into the water. After that, we went to the store to buy flowers so we could visit Great Grandpa Curtis' parents' grave. That's my Great Great Grandparents. His Grandparents are also buried there, so that's my Great Great Great Grandparents, the Burkes. It was very special to be able to visit them, it was also the only time that the sun came out that day! After the cemetery, we went to the hotel for a nap and when I woke up, we drove back to Idaho Falls to have dinner at Texas Roadhouse. Everyone got steaks and they had the yummiest rolls with cinnamon butter. After dinner we went back to the hotel to go in the hot tub again, did I mention how much I love the hot tub? Mommy and grandma didn't let me stay in very long since I haven't been drinking very much at all. We went back to our room and got ready for bed and just watched TV together until I went to sleep, then grandpa drove Sam back to his apartment.

Monday:

We woke up, got ready and checked out of our hotel and then went to pick up Sam. It was a beautiful morning, too bad the weather got nice the day we were leaving! We went to breakfast at JB's for the second morning a row and spent our last meal with Sam. We then took Sammy grocery shopping so he'd be all set for the week. Mommy bought a nice Thermos before our trip to keep hot water in for my formula, but since I'm not taking my bottle Grandma bought a Jamba Juice for me and put it in the thermos for our ride home. We drove Sam back to his apartment and said all said goodbye. It was so good to spend time with him and we were really sad to leave, but we had to get on the road and Sam had to get some homework done. We left Rexburg just before noon. As soon as we left, I fell asleep for about 2 hours. Our drive was timed so good with naps and stops, and I did so good in the car, thanks to grandma. We made it all the way to Spokane, we even stopped early enough to walk to get dinner and then Starbucks. I even got some vanilla bean frappacino since it's mostly milk and water. They were trying anything to get me more fluids! I only had a little but it was yummy. We then just went back to our hotel, another Super 8 (we discovered that we liked Super 8, they are affordable but clean, quiet, usually have a pool. It's a good deal for a short stay on a road trip). We just relaxed and went to bed. (P.S. I turned 9 months old today!)

Tuesday:

I woke up pretty early so we all got up and ready and after breakfast we got on the road earlier than we planned. After a few days of being on the road and out and about, we figured out all the tricks for a smooth day on the road. From Spokane to Bellevue was about 4 and a half hours with traffic at the pass, and we only stopped once. And after a total of 1783 miles, we made it home at 1:30pm. Even though the weather wasn't great and we had to change some plans, we had a very good trip and it was worth all the driving to visit Sam! We loved spending time with him and we sure miss him now that we are home! Even though we're home, I'm still not drinking my bottle, but I'm still working on it. I'm also going to really start practicing my sippy cups and using straws the real way so no one has to feed me liquids by using a straw as a eye-dropper. I'm eating a little better now that I have my highchair. Hopefully we'll just have a goodnight's sleep and we'll be back to our regular routine tomorrow!