Epic East Coast Adventure Spring Break 2011 {day one}

Phew! If you made it passed the title you're doing great!

Yesterday was an early day for us but even so we ended up going to bed pretty late.  With daylight savings tricking us into thinking we weren't tired and me having previously agreed to let J1 stay up all night and play xbox live {that's a story for a different day} sleep wasn't too kind to us. Thankfully my awesome mom came over and helped us finish getting ready before she took us to the airport {and did I mention it was basically the middle of the night when we left?!}

Getting to the airport was easy, as was checking my cooler of milk {special delivery}, but seeing as how everyone in the metroplex is on spring break security was a bear. 

We made it through with barely enough time to grab some breakfast {shout out to Mickey D's for your Big Breakfast Deluxe} and get on board as the next to last people.  That meant that there was no space for our roll aboards so we checked them at the gate- too bad my ipod was in my roll aboard, I don't know why I tossed it in the front pocket- I had illusions we'd be sitting around the gate for an hour and I would grab it then.  Kids sat in the row in front of me and wouldn't you know it neither of our two rows had an outlet, an outlet I need to be able to pump!  GRRR

One smooth three hour flight later we're in Newark!  I tried every combination of east coast destinations but flying in and out of Newark was our cheapest options and as this was the second time I'd booked these tickets {I originally booked them last year but had to cancel last minute when I couldn't get the time off of work} I was trying to be frugal :) We got our rental car and were on our way- but not before a restroom break for one kiddo at the airport and another 10 minutes into our destination!  Speaking of our rental car, I booked and pre paid for a compact car thinking it's just the three of us and we won't need anything bigger.  J1 however decides that's not good enough for him and asks the attendant who shows us to our car if he could "hook us up with a Yukon".  The attendant said not a Yukon but how about a brand spankin' new minivan? Seeing as how this is what I pimp at home it's not a stretch, however it has 2 miles- YES 2 WHOLE MILES- on it and the kids are loving the automatic doors and windows they can roll down.  Did I mention that he upgraded us to this for free?!  Way to go son!

 

After an uneventful trip full of naps- the kids not me- we arrive at our destination... Mr T's house!  Not THAT Mr T but my surrobabe Mr T.  He was actually crying when we got there so you know I had to scoop him right up and love on him.  He is such a good baby and he went right to sleep for me.  The kids both had their turns holding him but shhhh he loved it the best when I held him. I'm wondering if it might have had something to do with the subtle scent of eau du spilled milk on my pants?  The bottle had literally overfloweth earlier due to the aforementioned lack of ability to pump on the plane ;) 

We had some wonderful down time with him before the rest of the family made it home and the noise level skyrocketed.  There was some WWE type wrestling going on, a Nerf gun war, and my two very excited children more than happy to explore 4 floors of open space (basements are especially awesome seeing as how we don't have them in the south).

Mr T's grandma made us a feast for kings and it was delish!  Well I thought it was delicious and the kids ate it because I asked them to please at least pretend to eat then I would get them something later *lol* My kids are extremely picky eaters and while I know some people say tell them to eat or starve I just can't do that. But I was very proud that they tried all kinds of different foods and even liked the edamame!

 After dessert of homemade lava cakes and ice cream and stocked with tons of leftovers {thanks Grandma B!} we left to head to our hotel. And we were ~super~ surprised when we got here!  I booked it last minute on Hotwire and went with a hotel that had good stars/ratings but was still fairly cheap.  I made a mistake of going with the cheap hotel once before in Austin and boy did we pay for it.  But this is what we arrived to:

This is the Heaven bed- and we have two.  And heavenly they are.  This is the bathroom:

This is also a little slice of heaven.  And how gorgeous is this backsplash in the kitchen? Notice the wood floors too!

We're staying at the Element Hotel and I have almost nothing bad to say at this point {there is a pretty distinct odor of cigarette smoke halfway down our hall but it doesn't permeate into our room so I'm ok}!  We were greeted with fresh smoothies, um hello J2 and I were sold!

Tomorrow the plan is to go to Boston and see the USS Constitution but we're playing it by ear and both kids mentioned just wanting to lay low tomorrow. We don't HAVE to do anything so we can do just that.  I do need to find a Target {yeah you didn't think I was going to go 2 weeks without hitting one up did you?} to stock up on some supplies like bottled water, snacks, pb&j, and a cooler for the milk.  Also on the agenda for tomorrow is to see one of my BFF's Wendy!!  It's been almost a year since I've seen her and I'll also be getting to meet the love of her life too, I can't wait!

So who knows what will happen tomorrow but we are having a great time and can't wait for more adventures!  Until then!