Road trip with Riley

Last week, Riley and I took our first girls only road trip to the Tri-Cities to visit family for a few days. Rick needed to be home to answer questions about the backyard (plants, the deck, etc.), so he kept Tyson at home for some boy bonding! Crazy enough, it was the first time ever the kids had been apart from each other for longer than a few hours or sleep time. I was curious as to how Riley would handle not having Tyson around because she is always so concerned with what he is doing and making sure he's involved, but she did pretty well.

Here is a little rundown of our quick trip:

• Riley throwing up 15 minutes before we were suppose to leave Sunday night- too much birthday cupcake frosting we think!
• Having Riley say, less than one hour into the 3 hour drive, "we need to go back, we need to go back and see Daddy and Tyson". Could be a long 3 days!
  
• 5:50am wake-up call from Riley, "I need to go potty"- every morning we were there!
• 6am walk with my sister Robyn and niece Cassidy- my favorite way to start the day!
• Riley asking for milk for Tyson too, when getting her milk with breakfast... always thinking of him!
  
• Riley getting SOOO excited to see and say "good morning" and hello to Cassidy, Robyn, Grandma, and Pompa- which is what she calls both Grandpas, mixing Grandpa and Papa into one word!
  
• Getting to eat a sandwich from one of my favorite places, which we no longer have anywhere in the Portland area, Bruchi's! I love, love, love their chicken cheese steak and get one every time I'm in town! I'm totally obsessed, but Rick insists there's nothing special about them- oh well!
• Hearing Riley say "I wuv you" and "miss you" to Daddy on speaker phone several times while we were gone! We missed them so much!
  
• Doing arts and crafts at the library by Grandma's house- Riley made a bracelet and a mask, and I made a shaker!
• Making a candy necklace with Aunt Robyn and Cassidy- and then getting to eat some of the candies!
• Swimming at Papa and Grandma's house
• The girls playing with the water table at Papa and Grandma's for nearly 2 hours while we adults played a bean bag yard game. I can't wait to get a similar water table for our new backyard- the kids LOVE it!
  
• Driving to Walla Walla for lunch with Great-Grandma Clarette- who she calls Grandma Carrot, not being able to say the "L" in Clarette!
• Riley LOVES to play the pine-o (piano) at Grandma Carrot's and doesn't stop talking about it for days!
  
• Eating lunch at Clarette's Restaurant in Walla Walla, which is named after my grandma from when they owned it many years ago. It's right by Whitworth College campus if you're ever there!
• Riley playing with Cassidy in the backyard at Grandma's house, pushing the babies in strollers around the pool over and over again!
• Riley getting stuck in the middle of the sprinklers when they went off and Robyn, Cassidy, and I getting stuck at the bottom of the hill with the sprinklers to run through in order to get to the house. The look on Riley's face when she was stuck was priceless, I couldn't stop laughing!
  
• My mom making my favorite meal for dinner on Tuesday night, a chicken chalupa casserole! And the girls helping Grandma cook.
  
• Riley having one of the BIGGEST and I mean BIGGEST meltdowns ever the second night we were there. She screamed, cried, hit, and spit for quite a while and it took a half an hour of our hour long walk for her to calm down and fall asleep. One of my crowning moments as a mother, I must say! And extra embarrassing to have it happen in front of my own mom, sister, and stepdad. I'd like to blame it on only 6 1/2 hours of sleep the night before and two quick half hour naps too and from Walla Walla, but who knows... terrible two's maybe?? Luckily, she woke up her old self the next morning... at 6am!
  
• Taking Riley and Cassidy to have their pictures taken together and neither one of them really cooperating- especially Riley, who decided she was very shy and clung to my leg. We got one good one of them together and several great ones of Cassidy alone.
  
• Getting to go play with Grady, Sydney, Joshua, Justin, and Katie over at Courtney's and enjoying a visit with Courtney, Sheila, and Robyn. We had 7 kids there, ranging in age from 4 1/2 to 6 months old and Court has the PERFECT backyard and house for it. Riley and Cassidy enjoyed playing in the sandbox, sliding down the slide in the little pool, and jumping on the trampoline with a sprinkler underneath. Heaven for a 2 1/2 and 3 year-old!
  
• After the play-date at Courtney's and a full afternoon, Riley had no nap and was ready for sleep by the time we pulled out Wednesday night for the drive home. She was asleep 5 minutes after leaving the gas station and didn't wake-up the entire drive- it was peaceful, but a little boring for me! :)

It was a full and tiring three days, but it was all worth it! Back at home, Tyson and Rick had a fun time going to Applebee's for lunch with Sean and his daughters, playing at the Happy Valley water pad, a bike ride and lunch with Aaron, his wife, and sons, organizing the garage, and building Riley's big-girl bed. I hear he was absolutely perfect while we were away, but because I had the camera in Kennewick, there are no pictures from their adventures. Here are some of the pictures of Riley's adventures:

Doesn't Riley look stunning! These are her pj's, socks for the cold morning walk, sunglasses (a must-have for her), a cup of juice and milk, and that unruly hair! I love it!

The girls modeling the candy necklaces they made.

Swimming at Papa's and Grandma's

Playing the "pine-o" at Great-Grandma's

Sitting on the same couch we have had countless pictures taken on at my Grandma's house over the years.

The girls with Great-Grandma

One of my favorite pictures of Riley and Grandma- but we need to teach Riley about sitting in a skirt! :)

Riley and I- she's looking cute, but wouldn't let me put my arm around her. And I look a little like a beached whale... note to self, no more pregnant pictures of me sitting on couches- YIKES!

Our attempt at a picture of me and the girls- but Riley not wanting anything to do with it!

The girls "helping" grandma make the chicken chalupa, but really just eating the corn tortillas!

Playing in the pool at Courtney's

Coloring at Grandma's- yes, sunglasses on- inside!