Weekend with Family

This weekend we went back to Hurricane for Judson's fourth birthday party and Jennifer's wedding shower. We had a really great time at both events. We headed in town on Friday and had an uneventful trip. I had kept the kids up in hopes that they would sleep for the ride in, and luckily they all did. Natalie woke up about 5 miles from the exit, and Matt said, "You're just in time, Natalie. We're almost at Mom-o's house." Next thing you know, Nolan pops right up. His Mom-o sensor kicked in as soon as he heard her name!

We tried a new sleeping arrangement this time, and it turned out to be perfect. Nathan slept in the crib, and Natalie slept in the big bed in the same room. I had concern that Natalie would wake up Nathan or decide to wonder around in the middle of the night, but none of this happened. Matt and I actually got to sleep together without Nolan in the middle. When he's at Mom-o's, he likes to cuddle up with her at night instead!

We headed to Jason and Kim's on Saturday afternoon for the party. The kids were so well-behaved and played very well with each other and the other kids there. Natalie was a happy girl as long as she had a balloon. I had picked out some Superman PJ's for Judson, and felt like such a boring aunt since I didn't get him a toy. However, the pajamas were a hit. They had a Velcro cape that attached to the shirt, and by the end of the party, Judson was wearing the pajamas and pretending that he was Superman.

Saturday evening, Matt and I headed off to Charleston for Jennifer's wedding shower. It was a couple's shower, which I had never been to before, but really enjoyed. It was nice to see Jennifer and Aaron together since I haven't had much of a chance to spend time with the two of them. What a perfect pair. I'm so happy for her and am very much looking forward to their big day!

Sunday, after we had our Mother's Day dinner at Mom-o's we headed back. The weather was terrible, but thankfully the worst of the rain was only in the first 20 minutes of the trip back. Matt and I had taken to-go cups of coffee with us, so unfortunately we did have to stop at a rest area on the way back home. Matt asked Nolan if he needed to use the bathroom, and of course he said he wanted to. So Nolan unfastened his seat belt, but then complained that he was stuck. Somehow, he had locked up his seat belt and had also wrapped it around himself a time or two. When he had tried himself to get out, all of the slack in the belt had retracted. Matt tried everything to get him out of the seat belt, including taking Nolan's pants off. But, nothing worked to get him out, and it just seemed to get tighter and tighter around his belly. I searched the owner's manual trying to find a secret to unlocking the belt. I even sat in my seat, locked up my own seat belt, and tried to figure out if there was a way to unlock it without actually retracting the belt back in...but to no avail. So our last resort was to cut the seat belt off of him. Matt thankfully had a sharp knife with him, and we were able to get Nolan freed. Now, we'll have to take the van to the dealership to get a new seat belt. I told Matt we should ask the mechanics if there is a way to unlock the belts in case this ever happens again.

The kids seemed pretty happy to be back home and they were all pretty exhausted. I'm hoping for some long naps today, so that I too can get some rest! Here are some pics from the weekend.