Mason's 1st Trip to Naples

Last week, Justin and I took the kids down to Naples for a quick visit with his grandparents.  I'm so glad we went but it was a lot of work!  It's hard traveling with two small kids and we had no idea what to expect with Mason being in the car seat for an extended period of time.  Our trip both ways took 8 hours instead of 6.5 but that was good considering we made a couple stops on the way down and the way back.

Tuesday morning we got on the road about 8:45 in the morning. Our motto was to drive as far as we could in between stops (translated: drive until we couldn't stand to hear Mason cry anymore).  Kate was our easy traveler - she watched movies the entire trip (Cinderella, Tinkerbell, Strawberry Shortcake, Barbie Princess and Micky Mouse Clubhouse).  She got so upset with us that we put a pullup on her, but we didn't want to risk waking Mason up if she needed to stop while he was asleep.  To our surprise, Kate never had one accident in her pull up and waited until we stopped each time to go potty.  We were so proud of her!

When we left Tuesday morning, Mason cried for about 30 minutes and then fell sleep for the next two hours.  We made it to Ocala and stopped for lunch at Chickfila so Kate could eat and play while I fed Mason in the car.  When he was done, I got my food to-go and we hit the road again.  Mason slept another couple hours and we stopped again in Venice, FL at a Publix.  Once again, I fed Mason in the car and Justin and Kate went inside to get some snacks.  We finally made it to Naples around 5:00pm.  There were several periods of crying and even some screaming, but overall Mason did great.  He would play for a little bit while he was awake but that usually only lasted a couple minutes.  I'm so relieved I never got a speeding ticket because to be completely honest, when the crying started my foot always pressed the gas pedal a little harder.

Gaga graciously let us stay at her house although she is temporarily staying at an assisted living facility.  It's amazing how we were only there 30 minutes and we had already taken over the house.  Wednesday, we spent most of the day out at the Evers' house.  All of the pictures I took were out there.  I tried to do better about taking pictures but both of the kids kept me so busy I didn't have much time to pause and grab my camera.     

 Handsome boy.  

He was in a great mood the entire time! 

Spending time with Aunt Molly.

 Can't visit Nene and Pa's house without riding the tractor!

 Fishing with daddy.

 The Evers men 

(I wish Papa had been there too).

 Nene and the kids.

We left Nene and Pa's around 3 and had hoped to see Gaga that afternoon but she wasn't feeling up to it. Thursday was Valentine's day and the weather was miserable in Naples - rainy and overcast. We went to Bass Pro that morning and headed back into town at lunch time to eat at the Silver Slipper (my pick) and then back to Gaga's house for naps.  After short naps, Gaga was feeling a little better so we ran over to the place she was staying and was able to visit with her about 15 minutes.  Although we didn't get to chat long, it was so good to see her and I was so happy she was able to meet Mason.  That evening, the weather was still terrible so I just ran out and picked up a pizza (daddy's pick) at a fancy restaurant and we enjoyed thin crust pepperoni for dinner and Cheesecake Factory cheesecake for dessert.  It was the perfect Valentine's day!

Friday morning, Mason got us all up early (5:30am) so we quickly packed and got on the road by 7:30am.  We only made it an hour or so before Mason decided he was ready to eat so once again we stopped at Chickfila.  We got back on the road after our breakfast stop and pushed through all the way to Gainesville.  Once we ate lunch, we got back on the road and made it back home by 4:00pm.  Whew.  I was so relieved to make it back!

We had a great trip and I'm so thankful Mason was able to meet all his great-grandparents!  What a blessing they are.