6am Wake-up

On Saturday, Oct. 31st we started our vacation. This was Ava's first vacation and we were excited for the week ahead. We decided to get an early start so Ava would sleep through most of the drive to L.A. and then onto Oceanside (San Diego). Rich and I got up at 4:45am and then we got Ava up just before 6am. Since it was so early we just changed her diaper, put her in the car, and headed down the road. Fortunately she was able to fall back asleep before long and we got to enjoy the sunrise.

Our first pit stop was in Santa Nella, 2 hours down I-5, to meet my parents at McDonalds. Since we were vacationing with them we caravaned part of the way. By the time we got to McDonalds Ava was awake (meaning her eyes were open), grumpy, and ready for her breakfast. We all got something and Ava had her usual oatmeal and bottle before we hit the road again.

Our next pit stop was just before the grapevine a few more hours down the road. Ava slept almost all the way there and had some sweet bedhead when we arrived. We ate at Taco Bell and Ava enjoyed some sweet potatoes and puff cereal. Since I really don't like public restrooms (especially for changing Ava) we changed her in the car. I however did brave the restroom because I knew I was not tough enough to hold it for 6+ hours. After refueling our bodies and stretching our legs we got in the car and headed to L.A. to see the McDowell's (Rich's sister). Fortunately, Ava fell asleep again and we enjoyed listening to "The Dawn Treader" by C.S. Lewis on C.D. This leg of the journey did not take long and we were happy to have a long break at the McDowell's. We were excited for Ava to see her cousins and have the chance to play with them. We were sad that Parker was sleeping, but happy we got to spend some time with her before we left. Zoie was wide awake and did a good job entertaining Ava. Rich enjoyed taking a break from driving and played video games with Craig. I just enjoyed the opportunity to visit and watch Ava with her cousins.Since it was Halloween we did bring our costumes and changed into them at the McDowell's. It was great to see Anne and the girls dressed up as Disney Princesses. We went with them to part of their Harvest Festival, but then left to finish our journey to Oceanside.We got to Oceanside around 8:30pm and we were all worn out. We were happy to finally be there and out of the car. Ava did amazingly well during the long day and slept most of the time while in the car. When we were settled we gave Ava a bath, feed her a bottle, and laid her down to sleep. She did not fuss or fight sleep too long and probably slept better than anyone else during the whole vacation.