Annual Cherry Blossom Festival Trip

For several years, my mom, my sister, and I have met up in Macon at the end of March/beginning of April for the Cherry Blossom Festival. It's just a good "girls" day and a nice way for all of us to meet up without having to drive a ton. I went in 2007 and 2008, but Laura and mom had met for a couple of years before that, too. We didn't meet in 2009 because LL was teeny tiny, but we decided to pick back up the tradition again this year.

We ended up going the last weekend in March (I know, I'm mega behind) and it worked out wonderfully because it wasn't super hot like it had been the last two times I went. Usually it's sweltering, but this year it was very pleasant. I even had to dress LL in pants and a long-sleved shirt. It was sooo much better than being so dang hot!

We met up in the parking lot at the Macon Mall just like we always do. It was getting close to time to eat, so we decided to go inside, eat and feed the kids, and then take a picture with Lorelai AND Ben and the Easter Bunny! Laura went with me last year to get LL's picture taken with the Easter Bunny because we were in Atlanta and LL was sooo tiny! I was really nervous that LL would cry this year because she can understand a lot better what's going on, but she didn't. She just looked at the bunny like "Dude - do you know how crazy you look?!". Here's the pic - I think it turned out so good!

After lunch and the Easter Bunny, we headed out to the festival. It's always so pretty with all the pink everywhere, but it is also super packed. Really, there's not a whole lot to do there. They have booths set up where you can buy stuff, arts and crafts, food, and rides and stuff for the kids (carnival rides, sort of). Ben and LL were way too young for that stuff. So mainly we just walked around and spent time together.

 We even found a little grassy area and pulled out a blanket and just played for a little while.

I had the hardest time getting LL to nap. She finally fell asleep in her stroller, but she only slept for about 30 minutes. Yes, that's foreshadowing.

We finally ended up leaving around 4ish to come home. Mom had to feed LL her dinner in the car and LL was not very happy about it. Around Adel LL started melting and I could tell she was about to throw up. We pulled over on the side of the road and I got her out of her car seat ands he did start throwing up. Remember - she had only napped for about 30 minutes the entire day! After I got her calmed down, I realized that she was BURNING UP. I didn't know if it was just because she had gotten so upset, or if it was a fever. We were only about 15 minutes away from home and, when we got there, she was still so hot. I took her temp and it was 102! She went straight to sleep b/c she was sooo exhausted, and the next day she started showing the signs of an ear infection. :( This was also the night that our neighbors hosted a wedding and reception in their backyard and it was SO LOUD that our windows were shaking. I think Matt called the cops 4-5 times before they finally settled down.

Even though it ended VERY rough, I still had a good time and I can't wait until next year!