Road Trips and the Cleveland Zoo

Every year, with the exception of last year because we'd just had Hannah, we head up to Sunny Cleveland for our family reunion on my mom's side.  You can read about our past adventures here, here, and here:)  I look forward to the trip every year, but this year, we were a little nervous after our Great Wolf Lodge excursion that lasted less than 24 hours.  While we originally planned to fly, it seemed silly when we could save so much money by driving.  So we took the plunge, and drove the six hour trip with our little lovelies yesterday, and it couldn't have gone better.

Scratch that - it definitely could have gone better.

Poor Hannah got sick about three hours into the trip and threw up, but after we stopped, cleaned her and the car seat up, and got back on the road, she seemed much better.  We don't know if she got car sick or it was a continuation of an upset tummy from the night before, but either way, it was the last time she got sick and for that we are thankful.

So - aside from the throw-up, it couldn't have gone better:)  We actually made the trip in six hours, and the kids were so well-behaved.

Jack thinks it's funny to pose with a sad face lately, not sure what that's about...

They napped very well in the car...

PA Turnpike scenery...

Our first night in the hotel room as a family of four did not go swimmingly.  Hannah does not adjust to sleeping in new places as easily as Jack ever did, and it took her awhile to go to sleep.  It's tricky when your four year old doesn't have volume control and is in the same room as the baby:)  But we survived, and today's morning nap went much better.  I suspect that each day will get easier...

*****

Today, we took the kids to the Cleveland Zoo, and it was awesome!  It wasn't crowded, the animals were out and about, and we were so close to them.  It was very hot, and we did tons of walking, but all in all, the experience was an enjoyable one.  Here are some of our photos from our zoo trip:

{Do you see the baby?}

{The polar bear was our favorite - don't know that I've ever seen one so close before...}

{Rosy cheeks}

{She was not loving it as much as I was.  Let's leave it at that.}

They both fell asleep immediately upon getting into the cool car.  We figured out the trick to getting them to sleep at night in the hotel - wear them out during the day like crazy, only allow short naps, and then stay up late in the evening visiting family.  No problems at bedtime tonight:)

It was a fun, family day, and I'd definitely go back to the Cleveland Zoo in the future.  Next time - I'll know to take the tram:)