Natalie & Ryan: A Grand Weekend

Where have I been? Well, the answer to that question would be....In Alpine, WY, staying at Ryan's grandparent's beautiful cabin. I was a bit reluctant about the whole thing, since it required a long trip in the car. We all know how badly Lilly hates her car seat. A four hour drive turned into 5+ with a cranky baby. At first, it seemed as if we'd be able to do it without much hassle. Ryan turned on "The Hunger Games" book-on-tape, and Lilly immediately fell asleep. We only made it to Brigham City before she woke up and realized she was starving. A pit stop later, we were back on the road, but Lilly wasn't about to let us have a pleasant ride. The rest of the drive included a few more pit stops, lots of mommy trying to calm down baby, and mommy and daddy both thinking "ARE WE THERE YET?!" Even having a two hour head start on Ryan's parents, we only arrived 15 minutes ahead of them. Ha! Lilly's great grandma and grandpa Moore were so cute with her. I always find it funny that a baby can turn even the most professional, adult-like person into a baby-talking goof. Lilly has the effect on everyone!

The weekend was short, but we had a great time. We couldn't go fishing like we did last time, so we just took it easy and enjoyed the local area. Saturday was spent picking raspberries (eating as many as I picked), having a picnic up in the mountains, locking the keys in the car, a long nap, a sink bath for Lilly, and a long game of Hand & Foot ( I think the first game that Ryan and I have ever won!) Sunday was fun, but when is getting to dress up a cute little girl to take her and show her off not fun? She was well-behaved the entire time, and actually made it through all 3 hours of church! The best part of the day was when Lilly started laughing! I was just laying on the bed with her when Ryan came over to talk to her. She let out this silly laugh, and Ryan and I just looked at each other in shock. Her first laugh! She doesn't do it very often, as Ryan and I aren't that funny, but she laughs once in a while, and it's so adorable! We left around 3 that afternoon and, again, were not looking forward to the long drive ahead of us. Again, Lilly tricked us into thinking we might get a quiet ride. WRONG! This time around, she screamed the entire 5 hour trip. By the time we got home, I was at my whits end. It didn't help that there was an accident in the middle of nowhere, Idaho, adding 40 or so minutes onto the drive, as we were diverted around it. I was so thankful to finally get home!

We decided that last night would be the first time that we didn't swaddle Lilly before bed. Usually Ryan wraps her up into a little bundle each night. I can't do it because I don't wrap it tightly enough to keep mini-Houdini from getting her arms out. I personally thought it would result in lots of missed sleep when her constant flailing kept her awake, but I was surprised when we got the exact opposite result. I woke several times last night to make sure she was breathing, because she never once woke up to eat. We put her to bed at 9, and she woke up at 8 this morning. I'm beyond shocked. Part of me fears that it was the long travels and crying that tired her out, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she can make that a routine.

I had to explain this picture. Grandpa Moore accidentally locked his keys in the truck. Not wanting to have to live in the mountains for the rest of our lives, he insisted that he tucked a hide-a-key under his truck years before. This is him and Ryan trying to find it...no luck. Luckily we had our car (a car that won't let you lock your keys inside), so we were able to take grandpa home for his spare set.