Up North

Joseph and I headed up to Chicago/MI/IN last weekend to visit my friends Taylor and Teresa. Tay lives south of the city, and Teresa and her husband Michael were back after evacuating from Tokyo after the earthquake.

What can I say, the combo of not traveling in months plus having my BFF need to evacuate her home put the need for speed back into my wheelie bag. So Joseph and I booked a flight 4 days before we left.

It was Joseph's first flight that we had to pay for (booo) but he was a great air passenger, as always. It had been recommended to me that we bring his car seat on the plane, but really, that was awful. Imagine trying to get a carseat, toddler, and 4 bags down an aisle. Luckily there were friendly passengers on the plane to help us! The flight home we ditched the car seat at ticketing and it was much more enjoyable (and easy!). Maybe the car seat would be good if you were going during nap time? I dunno, but I don't think we'll be doing that again ourselves!

Besides that little snafu, everything went off without a hitch. Joseph slept almost the entire ride to Michigan, and the whole ride back from Indiana. He had a ton of fun with Teresa's nieces and cousins, and loved all the dotage of all the adoring adults! We went for walks, learned numbers, and played with trains (of course). He just barely fit in the pack'n'play we were able to borrow, for which I'm eternally grateful, because I don't know how we'd have done it in a strange adult sized bed! I think Mama would have spent a lot of her free time laying next to Joseph during naps and bedtime! I suppose we'll see for next time, as he's pretty much maxed out the PNP for length.

Enough logistics! We had a super time and are so thankful for the hospitality we received from Mike and Teresa's families during such a stressful time for them! I didn't bring my camera, but Mike took lots of pics. But, being as the flew back to Japan, I'm sure they have other things on their mind.

Stay safe, guys, and can't wait till you are back!