On the road again.

We took our first road trip this weekend since Ryan was born. My friend Diana had a baby shower up in Salem (4 hours away) and I really wanted to go and "be there" for her. The drive up was fine, thanks to the portable DVD player. We really need to get headphones for Ashley, though... Chris and I could barely talk for the sounds of "Little Bear" in the background. I had been excited to do some furniture shopping in Eugene on the way up-- sort of a pit stop for all of us-- but Ashley was just done by the time we got there. She had one fit after another, no matter where we were. Those public tantrums-- makes you feel just great about your parenting skills. Ryan was a total angel, as usual. We gave up on shopping earlier than I would have liked, and finished the trip to Salem, where we got a room at the Super 8, which was suprisingly clean and comfortable. Nice. First off, Ashley gave herself a bruise in the middle of her forehead from hitting the headboard because she was jumping on the bed. This matched perfectly with the almost-black-eye that she got from walking into a table at the furniture store earlier in the day. Now we looked really great in public--- screaming kid, bruised and battered, frustrated parents, yelling through clenched teeth, "Just wait til we get to the car, young lady!"

But Ryan was an angel.

Sunday was a better day, at first. We had breakfast, then wandered around the Capitol Mall and downtown Salem and found an awesome playground that had Ashley in total kid heaven. She was so happy, she even mastered her fear of slides and went down every slide there, even the big twisty one! I couldn't believe it. She really is the kind of kid that you can't push to do anything she's not ready for. Once she makes up her mind, though... she is great at it. After the park, Chris dropped Ryan and I off at the shower and ran a couple errands with Ashley so that I could see Diana. Everyone loved Ryan, he was so alert and smiley-- I was very proud.

Then it was back on the road, after a stop in Eugene for dinner. Unfortunately, I was having some "Rotor Rooter" issues, as Chris likes to say, and I ended up having to stop every 20 minutes for the first 2 hours of the trip. I hate gas station bathrooms...

Poor Ryan also had some gas problems and by the time I started feeling better and not needing to stop; he got very unhappy and was either crying or whimpering for the rest of the trip. We stopped at least 3 more times to try to comfprt him, but it was one of those situations that wasn't going to get any better until we got home! One sweet moment worth remembering was that Ashley ended up holding his hand, and talking to him, which made him stop crying. She didn't get that he wanted her to keep on holding him, though, so every time she would let go, he would fuss again. Poor Chris was twisted around trying to hold Ryan's hand, but Ashley's was the only thing that would keep him quiet. They love each other so much already. Anyways, Ashley kindof redeemed herself on the trip home; she didn't fuss or object that everyone was getting out of their carseats but her, so many times.

I'm glad that we went, but I was SO glad to be home.