NorCal

This weekend we had the chance to go see Ben play in the NorCal band. This is a very prestigious band in Northern California where all the high school band students have an opportunity to audition for a spot, and only a small number get in. On top of that, we heard after chair auditions on Friday that Ben had gotten THIRD chair! Third chair as a sophomore out of all the band students in California is pretty awesome!

Ben in Sonoma County Honor Band last weekend

We headed up to Humboldt University (the performance site) on Saturday morning, resolute to enjoy the journey and take it slow, for Riley's sake. She did pretty well! Of course, she had her moments. I mean, what human in their right mind would want to be strapped backwards facing, unable to move much or see much for hours on end? No one, especially not our little Riley. But she did well considering.

Beautiful drive!

Once we got to the hotel, Chris and I took advantage of the extra time before dinner to introduce Riley to the Big Bath (aka the pool). She has begun to love bath time, and we were excited to see her reaction to swimming for the first time.

She wasn't all that impressed. She kicked her legs a bit, but never got super excited. Then she got mildly freaked out by the loud splashing, so it was a short venture. But its fun to have little things like swimming to look forward to because you have a little person who you get to witness experiencing it for the first time.

We then went to a fancy restaurant with Mimi and Papa. We were short on time and we had a wiggly baby by that time, but it was nice to go to a nice sit down place. We haven't done that in awhile! And the food was great! Papa let us try some of his scallops, which I have never tried before. So good!

Evidence of her super wiggly-ness:

We dashed over to the University to find seating for the performance and got the seats closest to the door (Perfect!). Riley was ok through the beginning announcements-a pretty good accomplishment considering they went on for almost half an hour!) But most of the time we had her out of the concert hall so her tired squawks wouldn't ruin the recording. I was able to watch the choir performance, and Chris watched the band. I loved the choir! I've never given choir much thought, but after how well they did and how much fun it was to listen to, I figured if Riley wanted to try it out, I would be more than willing to support it :)

We got back to the hotel, put Riley down, and set my expectations to a long night of awakenings since we were in close quarters with no noisemaker to soften noises. But I was amazed to wake up for the first time at 3am of my own accord, wondering if Riley was still there! Five hours of straight sleep?! That hasn't happened for a LONG time! Especially with her routine all mixed up with the trip. Happy happy happy happy :)

The forest was thick on the edge of the chapel we went to on Sunday. This is me giving my hubby The Smolder.

The next morning we took our time getting ready and took off as soon as Riley fell asleep. We went through the Avenue of the Giants (redwood forest) on the way home-so worth it! Beautiful trees so tall we couldn't see the top! I love the feeling in forests too-dampish and cool. I can't wait until we go camping next!

The last hour of the journey Riley was DONE! She was full out crying by the time we pulled off the freeway, and the two minutes it took to get to the sleep, she was dead asleep. Poor girl! Road trips are rough stuff for babies. But I'm glad we were able to go support Ben and enjoy a family road trip this weekend!