Late in October Della went on her first road-trip by way of a 5 hour journey to Cour D'Alene. Unfortunately the excursion was to attend the funeral of our much-loved Uncle but we took the opportunity to bring our widely spread family together. We rented a fantastic home in Cour D'Alene which allowed us to relax in luxurious comfort while the Della and her cousin, Willow, played and played and played ...and played some more.
We loaded up the Expedition and retained two fantastic backseat babysitters for the journey. Here are Nana and Aunt Ellen tucking Della in for the trip.
To assist with babysitting we mounted our Nexus tablet so Della could enjoy Winnie the Pooh and the Lorax. Della did fantastically well for the long drive. We left Seattle around 4pm with the hopes that she would sleep for the second half, which she did!!
After the funeral the extended family and friends gathered at my Uncles favorite restaurant, Longhorn BBQ, for some food and memories.
There was also some roughhousing as the kids burned off some energy. Della loves her cousin and I believe she matured an additional 2 months as she tried her best to follow Willow around.
Babysitters rotated from Nana and Papa ...
... to Granddad and Auntie Ellen.
Della did exceptionally well throughout the day. She made lots of friends and threw no significant tantrums.
Towards the end she enjoyed being passed around by my cousins and their daughters.
As always, the baby was huge hit.
Back at the house the girls discovered the secret playroom tucked in under the stairs and nicely stocked with toys and books.
Those faces don't look mischievous do they?
We threw in some cartoons to buy the parents a little more conversation time.
We also rotated supervision duties which mainly included preventing Della from eating random things and trying to escape up the stairs.
... round ...
... and round the kitchen island.
This is what our morning looked like, typical sleepy unkempt family time. One of the perks of vacation home renting ... a cozy kitchen for gathering.
Aunt Cary brought some balloon which the girls found VERY entertaining.
Della spent some more time in the toy cubby ... lovin all the stuffed animals.
Della was also very fascinated with the bar stool. She used it as a walker and jungle gym.
Della also discovered a love for floaty red balloons and chased this one around the kitchen for quite awhile. I was very worried that the balloon would pop but after ...
... picking it up and pushing it around the room ...
... trying her best to squash it ...
... trying her best to bite it ...
... the balloon stayed inflated and Della had a blast!
Overall, a sad occasion provided a nice family retreat. We will miss our Uncle and know he would have enjoyed watching little miss Della and Willow romp.
Nice...great pictures and commentary.
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