Alabama Trip: Installment 1

So yeah... It's only been a month since I last posted.  And 2 weeks since we got back from Alabama.  What can I say?  It's a busy time of year.  But I figured I should probably at least start posting some stuff from our way-awesome trip to Alabama this year. 

After all, I've decided tomorrow is going to be a lazy pajama day.  Lynnaea and I will not be leaving the house.  And after the busy days we've been having, I'm quite looking forward to it.  So I'll sit here and pop my holiday mint m&m's for some late-night oomph and get this thing started! 

Welcome to our Alabama Adventure 2014 Installment 1! 

We began our morning at 3:30 on November 19th.  Jeremy and I did.  We did everything we could to finalize getting ready before waking up the munchkin.  And at 4, we couldn't put off waking her anymore.  She was surprisingly easy-going about being awoken from her sleep -- though she did want to do a lot more snuggling than usual.  My mom (bless her) picked us up around 4:25 and dropped us off at the ferry.  We hauled a suitcase, a rollaway bag, a backpack, and a carseat (whith child still in it) onto the ferry.  We spent the hour ferry ride deconstructing the car seat and keeping Lynnaea entertained.  She wasn't into sleeping like all other commuters were at that hideous time of the morning (4:50).  We docked in Seattle, and hoofed it several blocks to the light rail station.  Jeremy wore Lynnaea on his back and carried most of the items.  I had the backpack and rollaway bag. 

I was exhausted by the time we boarded the light rail.  Then we got to the airport (45 minutes later), got checked in.  Checked our bag and car seat (I love Southwest!  They let you take checked bags for free!!!).  Went through security.  Blech.  It took about 20 minutes.  Not horrible, but still annoying.  Lynnaea fell asleep in the baby carrier during the security line wait.  She woke up around the time we got to our gate.

She likes to pick her nose.  Nice, huh?  But yeah, this is pretty much right after she woke up. 

She did not sleep on the first flight.  Which was only 2 hours.  Which, sure, is nice.  But that meant the 2nd flight would be a long haul.  Our first layover was in Las Vegas.  Now there's an interesting airport for you.  Gambling machines everywhere.  And children aren't allowed near them.  Which is nice, since they are totally lit up with lights and look oh-so-appealing to a toddler.  Anyway, turns out one of my cousins is in Las Vegas these days, and she drove 30 minutes to see us during our brief layover!  It was pretty awesome of her, and it was nice to see her.  It had been almost a decade since I had.  We had a nice visit for the short amount of time we had. 

We left Last Vegas and flew about 4 hours to Birmingham.  Julie picked us up (after we got all our luggage), and we got Chick-Fil-A for dinner.  It's, like, the greatest welcome back to the South.  We were exhausted, so after visiting for a bit, we all turned in for the night.  The next couple days were spent in the Birmingham area with Julie and her family.  Lynnaea was in heaven, because there were other little kids there.  Which made it even more vacation-y for us!  At home, we are her entertainment.  She likes it way better when there are new people.  I can't say as I blame her.  We're kinda boring ;).  Anyway, she enjoyed hanging out in the backyard at Julie and Jon's house. 

We even found a huge knot in one of the trees in the yard and we could sit her on it.  She even cooperated long enough -- and sat still so she didn't fall ;) -- to snap a picture of it!

We spent Friday night at my friend April's house.  After an awesome [Scrubs] party.  Which, did I mention, was awesome.  Here's a group shot.  But if you're curious about other pictures and the details of the awesome party, just check out this link.

It was good times. 

On Saturday, we drove our rental to Dothan.  After April cooked us a delicious breakfast.  And so this is where I'll leave you with installment 1.  Because I need some sleep!