Our Amazing New York Trip: Day Two

Having a large family makes travel a little more difficult.  We could only buy seven plane tickets at a time, we couldn't find a rental car to seat 8 people, and we didn't all fit in one hotel room.  Having a set of grandparents come along makes travel a LOT easier!  Two extra adults to help on the plane, two extra adults to drive the second car, and two extra adults to sleep in the other hotel room! 

Once our plane arrived and we got our rental cars, we headed for Waterloo, NY, where Kevin's parents are living.  Kevin and I arrived quickly and easily following the mapquest directions we'd printed off.  Grandpa Reese and Grandma Kathy got lost following the gps.  Apparently the hotel address is a little wacky and didn't help much there. 

We had flown into JFK around 11:00, had some bagels that I brought along, but had not had lunch.  We decided to drive the 45 mins to Waterloo before we ate.  Kevin and carload arrived and sat in the hotel parking lot for quite a long time as we waited for Grandpa and carload to arrive.  We called them several times to check their progress and they seemed more lost every time we called!

We couldn't check into our hotel for a few more hours, and we were hungry and tired of waiting so we finally decided to head to the nearby Walmart to buy something for lunch.  As we were getting out of the car, I could see some people a few cars down loading groceries into their car.  Lo and behold, it was Kevin's parents!  Divine intervention put us there just at the right time!  We were so excited to see them so soon. 

Grandma and Grandpa eventually met up with us at Walmart and we purchased the necessary food supplies to feed our little army (plus a new bottle of sunscreen since I had to throw away a BRAND NEW one which I had put in my carry-on bag not thinking about it being a darn liquid).  We picnicked at the Holiday Inn table until check-in time.

It is SOOOO exciting to stay in a hotel when you are young.  (Actually, I was pretty excited to have someone else make the beds everyday.  Totally worth the money for that alone!)

After exploring our hotel and resting a bit, we got to go visit Grandpa and Grandma Yearsley at their home.  Eliza fell asleep, Anna fell asleep,

Madeline fell asleep,

Camilla did not fall asleep,

Natalia fell asleep,

Mari did not fall asleep (nor did Kevin or myself).

As we walked out to our car, we met a throng of sister missionaries coming to help with the pagent crowds.  We also met this cute little frog, plus a few of his frog buddies.  Frogs just hanging out on the lawn--my girls were so excited!

Grandma and Grandpa Yearsley live in a beautiful old house right on the Peter Whitmer farm.  It is a lovely, lovely place.  

If you look closely, you'll notice the little froggie got to be part of the family photo, though he did not get to come back to the hotel with us.  

And so ended the second day of our trip.  Beds were greatly appreciated by those who rode the plane all night!