What a Trip

We are not the family that likes to sit around.  If we have an entire weekend with nothing planned we will probably go ahead and plan something.  With Jordan just 2 weeks old and Jason just a few hours into his summer break we decided it would be "fun" to go on a little weekend trip to Omaha.

Owen, Griffin, & Jordan in the hotel

The beginning of the trip actually went smoother than expected.  Jordan (and the other four of us) made it almost all the way from Grand Island to Omaha without stopping.  After a quick potty break in Papillion we headed for our first destination - the train park.  It was a success.

visiting Uncle Loyd

Next, considering this is Memorial Day weekend, we went to see a few graves.  All three boys were asleep in the car at one point as we drove around Omaha.  This trip was looking good!

After checking in at the hotel everyone was hungry.  With Jason on the trip you can guess that we headed straight for Chick-fil-A.  This is where our luck started to run out.

Surprisingly, Griffin was the last one with food in front of him as we all gobbled down our chicken sandwiches and waffle fries.  We pulled him out of the highchair, but he decided he wasn't ready to leave.  He shoved one last chicken nugget into his mouth as he screamed and coughed at the same time.  That is not a good combination.  "Susan, he's choking!" Jason said as I strapped Jordy back into his car seat.  Despite recommendations to not put your fingers in someone's mouth while they are choking, I did.  Out came the mashed, saliva covered chicken nugget and splattered onto the table.  Yum!  There are probably a few Chick-fil-A customers who now have a food aversion to chicken nuggets after seeing that.  Still, G was okay - throwing an all-out-fit now, but okay.

Jordy ready for the pool, too!

Unfazed, Owen had been looking forward to swimming in Omaha for days, so we weren't going to get out of it.  This was also going to be our first real test as the parents of three.  How would we keep three boys who can't swim alive in a pool deeper than them?  Thankfully, Griffin just sat on the step clinging for his life to the rail while Jason and Owen played away.  

Trying to sleep in a one room hotel "suite" with three little boys is as difficult as it sounds.  Yes, Griffin slept in the closet, but we did at least leave the door open.

In the morning as we filled up on the hotel's continental breakfast, the real fun began.  Just when we finished up our waffles and yogurt Jason got "the look" on his face as Griffin squirmed around in his chair.  Pea soup was pouring out of the backside of G's diaper onto the chair - as if the choking episode the day before wasn't enough.  With the help of the cleaning lady and Jordan's blanket, we rushed out and up to the bathtub.  I apologize to the couple who took our table after us.  I really hope the cleaning lady sprayed that chair well.

Undeterred by a little diarrhea, we were still determined to get to the zoo.

However, as we pulled into the Henry Doorly Zoo parking lot and the security guard shooed us away from the already full lot, I reminded Jason that a year before we had promised to never go to the zoo on Memorial Day weekend again.  Whoops.

Thankfully, this year we had a plan.  We didn't feel the need to see everything, so instead we just decided to go to the things the boys wanted to see - crocodiles, lions, tigers, and turtles of all things, and then avoid anything inside where the crowds would be sure to be backed up.  Imagining walking through a packed, narrow aquarium with three boys that could blow (literally and figuratively) at any moment was enough to make my skin crawl.  Our plan worked perfectly!  I even found a secluded spot by the giraffes to feed Jordan that unfortunately became a whole lot less secluded when all three giraffes came up to the fence five feet in front of me and became the perfect photo op for dozens of families.  Awkward.  

Three hours later we had our fill of the zoo, and Griffin had clearly filled his diaper again, too.  Not to mention, we were all exhausted.

The last stop before we hit the road was for some food.  I wasn't feeling so great but thought maybe it was just hunger pains.  After a few bites of Boston Market, I realized it definitely wasn't hunger pains.

Just before the Greenwood exit I lost it.  I lost it into the paper sack holding Jason's extra Boston Market cornbreads.  Jason sweetly rubbed my back (after cracking the window, of course) and reassured me that the exit was just two minutes away.  Unfortunately, the paper bag didn't have two minutes, and I was soon sitting in a pool of my own.  We pulled off and quickly exhausted all the wet wipes and gas station papertowels in the cleanup efforts.  I changed clothes, including shoes and undergarments, with the interstate traffic 20 yards away.  It. Was. Awful!  (But, thankfully, I did feel a lot better.)  

Eventually, we were back on the road and more anxious than ever to get home.  Our adventure wasn't quite over yet, however.  As we drove through Lincoln, Griffin decided to take off his shoes.  I have never smelled more stinky feet even from a grown man.  The smell of his feet was almost worse than vomit, and the combination of the two was unexplainable.  My innovative husband had Orange Ginger lotion in his bag, so we coated G's feet with it.  Imagine the smell in the car now!

A few moments later I looked back at the boys, and Owen had his hands over his mouth and a panicked look in his eyes.  Oh no!  I tossed back the cup that I was saving for myself, and he held it expectantly up to his mouth.  Nothing came.  Whew.  Two minutes later, we weren't so lucky.  "I need the throw up bucket!"  And this time he filled it.

We pulled off for the second time laughing uncontrollably because you just can't make this stuff up.  To top it all off, an unknown 60-something year old woman in a white tube top and too-short shorts bought Owen an octopus toy from the gas station.  Creepy but thoughtful.

We did eventually make it back home, and Jason spent a good hour at the car wash.

That was it.  Our first family vacation.  No, I didn't exaggerate anything.  That is just how things go when you're a Newman.