Our Virginia Trip

 

One of our new years resolutions this year was to travel more and we are getting to it! We just got back last night from a four day trip to Virginia! This trip has actually been in the plans for a long time. Ray and Diane wanted us to come out to visit and generously paid for our airfare to come. The boys were so excited to fly on an airplane! Although we flew a LOT with Chase when he was younger, this was Hudson's first flight. The flight there went as smooth as it could have- there were lots of extra seats on the plane so we could spread out and the boys stayed fairly happy and entertained the whole way to Baltimore, MD. Ray picked us up there and we had a 3 hour drive to Powhatan, VA where Ben's parents live.

This trip ended up being kind of weird timing, since I came down with a really awful head cold 2 days before we left. I kept thinking I'd feel better by the time we left, but I was still pretty sick the day we flew, which lead to some intense ear and sinus for me, both on the plane and for about 24 hours afterwards. I was worried that maybe Chase was getting it because he had a lot of ear pain on the flight, which has never happened to him before. Between all the sickness and a long long day of traveling, we were all pretty relieved to get to the house! 

Once we got to their home the boys were introduced to Andy and Chelie- the Hugos cute little dogs. The boys loved them! Chelie is still a puppy, and pretty hyper, but still so sweet with the kids. Hudson quickly learned to boss her around and from then on we were constantly hearing, "No Chelie! No Chelie!" and then immediately "Chelie- come here!" Every single time Chelie barked Hudson stretched his arm out and yelled at her "too loud Chelie!" It was all pretty darling. 

We had plans to go on some fun little adventures while we were there- and only one actually happened. We did go visit a little bakery that some of their friends own for the boys to pick out donuts, which they loved. The rest of the day was spent mostly just taking it easy, since we had gotten to bed so late the night before and we were all still pretty tired.

Saturday our plans for fun were quickly dashed when Chase woke up at 2:00 am sick! My kid who NEVER gets sick has now been sick three times this winter- and his timing has been terrible (Christmas morning and now vacation!). Unfortunately, Chase never really got over the sickness while we were there. He was coughing a lot and had a fever on and off and was really tired and lethargic. It was so sad! Chase's sickness ended up being worse at nights, which meant that Ben and I were up with him for a big portion of each night while we were there. Once again reminding us that traveling with the kids is not a vacation, it's an adventure.

Saturday night Ben and I left the kiddos with his parents and had a little date night to meet up with our dear friends, Andrew and Chana Alder! We got to go be good friends with them when they were our neighbors for two years down in Provo and it was so so fun to see them again! They live in DC so we met in Fredericksburg, VA, which is about half way at a Korean restaurant (Ben picked, obviously). We had a wonderful night with the Alders and their cute daughter Grace. We met the best people at BYU and it's been so fun to stay in touch with these wonderful friends! Meanwhile, our boys enjoyed a night in being spoiled by their grandparents, who made them pizza for dinner and then let them have Oreos (a treat that they pretty much only associate with their Papa Ray). 

Sunday night we did a little BBQ and birthday party for the boys and they got to open their birthday gifts from Grandma and Papa Ray, which they loved. We did presents in Ben's grandma's suite (attached to Ray and Diane's home) so she could be part of it. She's getting so frail now we didn't do a lot of visiting with her (especially with all our sickness we brought with us), but it was still so great to be able to see her and introduce her to Hudson.

So overall, even though the trip didn't go as planned due to a crazy amount of sickness on our part, we still had a wonderful time. The boys enjoyed spending time bonding with their grandparents, which was really the point in us going anyway. Ben and I love seeing people love and dote on our sweet boys! 

The flight home was, well, probably the worst flight ever. I think Hudson will be put on the no-fly list. Basically, during our drive back to Balitmore on Monday morning Hudson was super cranky and his nose was running, so we assumed he was coming down with whatever was already plaguing Chase. We dosed both boys with medicine before the flight, hoping to eliminate fevers and ear pain. Shortly after taking off Hudson started screaming and would not stop! Ben finally got him to sleep for about 45 minutes, when the captain came on the loud speaker to talk and woke him up! And the screaming continued...for at least an hour. We are talking about screaming, crying, thrashing his little body around, and no matter what we did he would not be consoled. We were trying everything- the iPad, chocolate, juice, cuddling, bouncing, singing, you name it- we tried it. It was stressful and frustrating for us- I can't imagine how much more frustrating it was for Hudson. He was so tired, and we are assuming his ears were probably killing him! We finally got him to sleep again and he slept for another hour and then woke up fairly pleasant for that last hour into Salt Lake. It was crazy and exhausting and we were so happy to just get home! Oh Hudson, we may never fly with you ever again. Chase was a champ. Chase is invited to travel with us anytime. 

So it was fun to getaway, show our kids another part of the country and spend time with family that we rarely get to see. Even though it was hard and exhausting, I'm still glad we were able to go. Thanks to Ray and Diane for flying us in and being such wonderful, understanding hosts!