Several weeks ago the four of us took a 6-hour road trip up to Holland, Michigan for an LPA regional. It was Mike's first regional event and our first one in our own district. It was a lot easier to deal with the kids with two adults in the car.
Maddy enjoying one of the hotel room beds. We got free cookies at check-in that she immediately crumbled all over the bed. We arrived around dinner time, registered, hung out near the pool, met some folks, and tried to get the kids to eat something other than chips and brownies. I think Ben ate part of a strawberry.
They were pretty wiped out after dinner so we crashed in our room. Ben was too tired to whine about Maddy lying on top of him and making him share his crackers.
One of the people who helped organize the event offered to lend us her Candyland game to keep the kids occupied. On Saturday morning there were some meetings that Mike and I wanted to attend, so we dropped Ben off in the childcare room. We tried to leave Maddy there, too - it worked for a bit, until we heard her crying to be rescued.
We got to meet some really great people at the conference. Many of them were locals from Michigan. It was kind of strange to be around several families who spent a lot of time together and whose LP kids pretty much grew up together. We don't have other kids like Maddy near us. I also appreciated talking to a couple other parents about things, like how hard it is to relocate; how challenging it is to deal with an unexpected dwarfism diagnosis; and how tough it is to do both at the same time. Not many people can relate to that. We also got to meet some awesome people from Indiana who are part of an active chapter that's about two hours from us. We are going to try to participate in their chapter's activities when we can.
We got to meet some really great people at the conference. Many of them were locals from Michigan. It was kind of strange to be around several families who spent a lot of time together and whose LP kids pretty much grew up together. We don't have other kids like Maddy near us. I also appreciated talking to a couple other parents about things, like how hard it is to relocate; how challenging it is to deal with an unexpected dwarfism diagnosis; and how tough it is to do both at the same time. Not many people can relate to that. We also got to meet some awesome people from Indiana who are part of an active chapter that's about two hours from us. We are going to try to participate in their chapter's activities when we can.
In the afternoon, there was a shuttle that Mike and Ben took downtown to the Tulip Festival parade. The rain didn't keep Ben from enjoying the rides.
Trying to stay dry during the parade.
Ben eating his first candy apple. It was all he dreamed it would be. Mike said that things kind of went downhill from here, with Ben getting tired and complaining about the loudness of the parade. And it literally rained on the parade. Luckily the shuttle brought everyone back early. While the guys were gone, I tried to get Maddy to take a nap in our room. It was not what I would call a success. She's a great sleeper in her own bed. She apparently sees portable cribs as some kind of torture device. She briefly snoozed on my bed.
Before dinner there was a kids' show by an entertainer who had a puppet and sang silly songs. Ben was super hyped. Maddy watched from the sidelines. Then the kids had their own buffet. We were eventually able to set Ben up with food at a table and leave him. But Maddy came with us to the adult banquet next door...not for lack of trying. We met some more nice people at our table and had a great time chatting. I was a little embarrassed when Maddy shoved her entire hand into the table's butter dish, though.
One of Maddy's new friends. She is Ben's age and was very sweet to Maddy, even while Maddy looked like she was going to swipe her necklace.
All the kids got a goody bag of "prizes." Maddy loved this plush ball. She really loved dropping it on the floor repeatedly to make Daddy fetch it.
Ben pretty much attacked the dance floor. He ran and ran around it in big circles. He's all sweaty in this photo. He wanted to wear his glow bracelet.
Maddy and Daddy on the dance floor. Soon after this the kids pooped out. We said our goodbyes and went back to our room for the night.
Sunday morning, before checking out. She had had a better night's sleep but was still squirmy and tired. It was Mother's Day and the hotel didn't offer a normal breakfast so we went across the street to Denny's. Ben had chocolate chip pancakes and Maddy pretended she didn't like bacon and eggs.
On the long road home. Mr. Crankypants conked out right after this and took a nice, long nap. Maddy thought he was playing a game and laughed.
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