Lucas the Traveller

This past weekend, we drove to Austin, TX for Ben's friend's wedding. He went to the Academy with Ben and is a great guy. Ben was a groomsman, so we got to be part of the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. It was a beautiful wedding of two awesome people who are just perfect together. I'm so glad I got to go be part of it.

That being said, travelling with a one year old, to a formal event, is not the most relaxing thing. The drive was 7.5 hours each way. Luckily, we could drive in one car, unlike our drive to and from San Antonio. Lucas handled the drive down to Austin so well. He never melted down, and only slept about an hour that whole day. He just wasn't interested in napping that afternoon, even though we were in the car. We got to Austin around 5 pm, checked into the hotel, went swimming in the indoor pool, ordered Carabba's to go, and ate in our room. The hotel room was really nice, but it was just a room, not a suite. So we had to sleep in the same room as Lucas. We put his pack and play in the corner and draped the extra duvet and comforter around the sides so he couldn't see out unless he stood up. He slept great! Only woke up once, just like normal.

The next day was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. We went shopping at Target in the morning (yay!) and then went back to the room for Lucas's nap. He slept in the room while Ben and I ate lunch in the hallway. It was a little funny sitting in the hallway, watching a movie on an iPad. The maids probably thought we were crazy. He only slept about 1.5 hours and that was his only nap for the day. Yikes! But we went to the rehearsal, about a 20 minute drive from the hotel. Lucas ran around and explored the courtyard and porch of the historic mansion while Ben was rehearsing. Then, we drove about 45 minutes to the restaurant that the rehearsal dinner was going to be held. It was casual and on a lake, so beautiful views. Lucas had fun playing in the gravel for about an hour. The food wasn't served until around 7, which is a lot later than Little Man is used to eating. But he wasn't too upset by this, and ate some fajitas and enchiladas. We ended up leaving around 8:15, driving 30 minutes back to the hotel, and putting Lucas in the bath and bed. The funniest part of the day was when Ben took Lucas's diaper off for the bath. It was FULL of gravel! It had to have been uncomfortable sitting in his carseat! But he never complained.

Lucas slept great again and the next day was the wedding. Ben got picked up by another groomsman so I could try to get Lucas to take a second nap before going to the wedding, which started at 5:30. He did sleep about 45 minutes, and I was happy with any extra sleep since I knew we would be out much later than normal. The wedding was gorgeous, with so many little details that the bride and groom did themselves. Lucas was great, easily distracted by the snacks I brought, until he saw Daddy up front. Then he wanted to go up there with Daddy. I had to take him to the back because I didn't want him to scream during the vows. But he didn't fuss too much, and was not a distraction during the short ceremony.

The reception immediately followed, and was in a ballroom overlooking the courtyard where the ceremony had taken place. It was pretty hot, even though it was evening at this point, so I let Lucas walk around barefoot. He had a blast wandering around, "talking" to pretty much everyone who saw him. He was definitely a hit, in his little vest and pants outfit, barefoot, and his normal adorable self. Its funny how many people are so open and friendly to my little man. I love that he has this effect on people. We ate a delicious dinner of barbeque, but served beautifully in a buffet, and got to know the other people at our table. They were all Academy guys and their wives. After dinner, the music came on and we danced with the bride and groom. Lucas was, again, a hit. Ben had him on his shoulders at one point, in the middle of everyone dancing. It was so cute, I hope the photographers took a picture.

We partied until 9:15 and I just had to take Lucas home. His normal bedtime is 8:00, and I didn't want the great day to end in a meltdown, when he had been perfect so far. We headed back to the hotel, and went to bed. He never even cried.

The next day we drove home. Lucas was pretty much over the car by about 4 hours into the drive. We stopped at Target in OKC (I'm sensing a trend...) and let him wander around. The last hour and a half in the car wasn't fun, but we made it home.

***End of long story, moral of the story below***

 

Wow, this is a long post, sorry if you are completely bored by now! Anyways, the point I wanted to make was that this weekend was a complete change from our normal schedule. Lucas was pretty whiney a few times, but overall he was great. He really rolled with the punches, and I think he even enjoyed most of it. I need to look back at this in the future when I am thinking about doing something that will probably be stressful and hard, but will also be fun and something I will remember. I want to be the kind of mom, and family, that is able to adapt and do whatever I want to do. I don't want Lucas to be the reason I don't do things I want to do, I want him to be part of things. I want him to look back at pictures and see how much fun we have always had with him. He makes everything that much better, and I want to experience all kinds of things with him.