Our Trip to Texas!

Chris and I were fortunate enough to take Avery to visit her Auntie Sammie and Uncle Shane down in Texas. It was her first time in Texas and her first time on a plane. Of course my anxiety was through the roof during the time leading up to the trip. The unknown and out of my hands situations that were about to become a reality: a 10 month old on the airplane. I made check lists, asked for advice, prepared and prepared yet still it was not satisfying the dread of flying with Avery. The unknown was killing me. I really was not sure how she would do on the flights. First of all, we had no choice but to do a lay over. There are no direct flights to Amarillo, Texas. Second of all, the flight to Dallas, Texas was 4 1/2 hours long. And leaving Boston at 6am. Oy. How in the heck am I going to be able to entertain a (most likely cranky from lack of sleep) 10 month old for 4 1/2 hours on an airplane?? Well, we all went to bed early the night before and we just hoped for the best!

As you can imagine, 3:30am came quickly. We got our things together and lastly, put Avery in her car seat. She fell back asleep during the car ride down to the airport, but as expected she was bright eyed and bushy tailed when we got to the airport at 4:15am. She was very intrigued by her new surroundings, new sounds and lots and lots of new people. We made it through security no problem and made it to our gate. She met some new friends that we were going to be flying with. It's amazing the looks you get from people when they realize you have a baby and that baby is going to be on the plane with them. I noticed people kind of "sizing her up" in a way - what kind of baby are they dealing with? Well lucky for us, Avery was perfectly pleasant while waiting to board. She was chatting away and playing with some toys we brought for her. We boarded the plane and got a window seat. She was all about looking out with window at the people and vehicles outside. Chris settled my paranoia of germs by wiping down every surface Avery may put her hands or mouth on. Bleck. We settled into our seats and right before we took of wouldn't you know it: Avery fell asleep! Hallelujah! It was a miracle! I never thought she would fall asleep with all the commotion, as anyone who knows her knows she can't miss anything, heaven forbid. She slept the first 2 hours of the flight, woke up and had a bottle and then played with her toys and looked at her books. Not a peep from her otherwise. She did continue to make friends on the plane, especially playing peek a boo with the people around us. The layover was a little stressful but nothing crazy and the second flight was short and a breeze as well. We could not have been more proud of Avery. She earned her wings for sure!! We got so many compliments from people on the planes (both going to Texas and coming home) about how good of a baby she is. Phew!!

Needless to say, we were thrilled once we landed in Amarillo and finally got to see Sammie and Shane! The first day we spent visiting at their adorable little home. It was nice out so we spent some time outside and grilled our dinner. Avery enjoyed exploring the house and meeting their 2 kitties, Emma and Jingle. 

The next day we visited a donut shop where Avery had her first taste of a yummy donut! We got to stop by the car shop owned by Shane's grandfather so his Gramps and Grams could meet Avery. Later that day, Sammie and Shane took us to see the Palo Duro Canyon, which was beyond gorgeous! It is the second largest canyon in the US (after the Grand Canyon of course). Avery had a blast walking around and exploring the canyon. She loved the wind in her face and the sunshine on her skin. Sammie and Shane even got her a cute armadillo hat to protect her eyes from the sun. Surprisingly enough she kept it on! Last stop of the day was at Shane's parents' house where Avery got to see horses for the first time! She really enjoyed seeing the horses and petting the gentle ones. We were so happy that Shane's mom, Michelle and his sister, Cheyenne were nice enough to invite us over and show us the horses. Avery sat on top of Belle, a beautiful and docile horse. I thought for sure Avery would get scared once we sat her up on the horse but she loved it!! She pet Belle and felt her hair with her hands and her feet. She had a ball! Then they let the horses out to run around and Avery got a kick out of watching them gallop away! We stayed for dinner and a nice visit with his family. It was a wonderful time! We were so thankful Shane's family welcomed us into their home!

The next day the weather was not as nice so we went out a did some more "touristy" things that they wanted to show us. We got delicious shaved ice "Bahama mamas" which Avery loved. And we stopped at The Big Texan with the stereotypical Texas entertainment, food and souvenirs. We went out to eat for our last dinner at a delicious steak house. Then spent the rest of the night playing games. 

Our travels home were not as smooth as our travels out to Texas. The first flight was a very small and old plane. Unfortunately it was not pressurized very well and Avery's ears were not having it. Luckily it was a short flight so we just tried to comfort her on the way down until we landed. She ended up falling asleep once we landed. Our flight was already 15 minutes late, then we had to wait for a bay to open and to add to the delay, they did not line their equipment up properly so our original hour long layover was now less than 30 minutes. At Dallas airport you have to take a tram to the other terminals. As I have explained it to others, we "home aloned" our butts through the airport with Chris carrying the carry-on luggage and me carrying a sleeping Avery and her diaper bag. Thankfully we made our flight with minutes left and the flight home was another successful one. Minus the fact that we had no time to stop between flights to change Avery's diaper. I had a night time diaper on her so I was hoping we would at least make it to Boston airport before needing to change her. Well wouldn't you know it, she must have been sitting a certain way and pee went right up her back and onto my lap. Nooooo!! So back to the tiny ass bathroom to do a complete wardrobe change for Avery. She loved all the mirrors (and of course touching them - ugh so gross!) in the bathroom and thankfully we were able to change her without any issues. We landed in Boston successfully, exhausted but full of wonderful memories and new experiences for Avery! We are so happy we were able to give her some one-on-one time with her auntie and uncle even if it was just a short trip! Until next time, Texas!