Abby and I traveled to Ann Arbor for a long weekend at the end of April. I have mentioned my dearest college friends, Liz and Kristy, several times on this blog. The last time we saw one another, Liz and Kristy were brand-new moms. In the two and a half years since that visit, we have each added a baby girl to our families! In fact, Liz was already carrying her baby girl at the time of our last visit and didn’t even know it. (Yep, her two are eleven months apart!)
It was high time to get these girls together! Fortunately, Liz and Pete had just relocated from Detroit to Ann Arbor, and their new home could accommodate the required number of beds (2) and pack ‘n’ plays (3). It was quite a lot of planning and coordinating, but Liz welcomed us with grace and love. The children got along extremely well, and naps/bedtimes overlapped much more than we thought they would. That left plenty of time for talking, which is really what we cared about the most after all!
Liz’s daughter, Madeline (nearly 2 years old)
Kristy’s daughter Gabriella (2 1/2 years old) literally latched onto Nick on an outing to a nearby park. Pretty cute!
One evening, Liz invited two other close friends who still live in the area over for dinner.
It was such a treat to catch up with them in person!
(Tara, Jessica, me, Kristy, and Liz)
On the last morning, we took a field trip to the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum. Tara joined us with her twin girls. We were quite a sight on the walk there, and it was fun to reflect on how much has changed since our carefree college days! Nick and Gabriella had to walk or another double stroller would have been required.
(Note: The turtle is blessedly fake. A real one wouldn’t last long in a museum designed for touchy toddlers. Our cat Isis can attest to this.)
Tara with her girls, Cassie (left, I think) and Allie
She is an amazing mama to these two!
Obviously, I have to take a moment to document Abby’s first plane ride! Let me tell you…it was exhausting (for me!). It went well, but I felt like a circus entertainer, constantly whipping something new out of my bag of tricks to keep her from falling apart. Let’s just say she ate a ton of snacks!
On the way to Detroit, she sat in my lap.
My magic weapon: the Ride On Carry On!
Since you have to pay $25 each way to check a bag, this paid for itself with one trip. And I didn’t have to juggle a stroller and a bag!
It attaches to the front of any carry-on sized, rolling luggage and collapses (once you take the child out) in order to go through security or at gate check. We also got a lot of attention going through the airport. People snapped pictures and stopped to ask what it was and how to get one!
Happy at the gate in her own seat
Thank you to Paul for supporting this weekend and taking care of the boys while the girls were away! It was a lot of work on everybody’s part to make it happen but what a blessing these deep and true friendships are!
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