Plans seem to always be changing for us so we are officially used to it now ; ) We were planning to head to Houston on the 22nd but a new project was underway with Rob's company & they needed him on site in DALLAS for the first week. We decided that rather than send him away for a week to return late on Friday evening only to get back in a car with the family six hours later to drive all the way back to Texas that we should just add a week onto our adventure. It was decided only days before we were to leave & it was a bit crazy to wrap up life in Orlando, pack up a family of six & arrange for Bella girl to be cared for while we were away. Thanks to some kind friends, we had help one day with kids while I packed & another friend that loves Bella and agreed to move into our home while we were away. Before we knew it, we were packed & waking up to alarms at 3:30 am to hit the road. I hit the snooze button once since I had stayed up way too late preparing the house for Heather but I was energized once it went off the second time. The only hiccup in the morning was when I went to put Eloise in the car & noticed a giant goose-egg on her forehead with a gash & a streak of dried blood down the side of her face. OH MY! We quickly remembered that she had crawled into our bed in the middle of the night (not unusual) & had managed to roll off the bed hitting the night stand on the way down. In my sleep I scooped her up, calmed her down & she fell back asleep. In Rob's sleep he dreamed that I took Eloise into the bathroom to examine her before putting her back in bed. All that to say, we loaded up & kept an eye on her. She is fine by the way even though it took more than a few days for the goose egg to resolve.
Our drive went well. It was not as much fun as our drive the first time around (over Christmas) but we still survived without any major incidents. We stopped in Baton Rouge for the night, enjoyed a delicious meal (and adult beverages for mommy & daddy) at On the Border, watched some Olympics in our hotel room snuggled up with the big girls & got a good nights sleep. The next morning, we were up & at'em by 7am & I had a lovely time entertaining four kids in a hotel room while Rob packed the car. My goodness, that is the worst part of our time at hotels! We made it to Grandma Shirley's house around 3:30 & were excited that Aunt Sheila, Uncle Ron, my cousin Allison, her daughter Landry, Uncle Joe, Aunt Debbie & Aunt Sharon all decided to join us for dinner. Grandma Shirley made up for all those Thanksgiving's we have missed & made a delicious chicken & dressing with lots of sides. We had a wonderful time watching sweet Landry showing off her newly acquired walking skills & catching up with those we miss dearly while we are away. On Monday, Bob & Jeannine came over for the afternoon & stayed for dinner. It was beautiful weather most of the week so we played outside quite a bit.
Tuesday we made the hour trek over to see the Boyer family near Ft. Worth. Levi was at school for part of the day but Joel was a great host & enjoyed lunch with the ladies.
These two almost three year olds together make me melt....
Look at these four scooter riding maniacs!
Our scooter trip to the park might have been the worst decision we made that day ; ) Jocelyn said it wasn't too far which is a true statement but in reality with two speedy scooter-ers & two new scooter-ers, too many cars, lots of yelling "STOP!! Turn around!" it felt like an eternity between her house & the neighborhood park. Thankfully she brought her double BOB stroller for O&A to ride in because for the trip home it carried two babies, a two year old, a four year old, four scooters & four helmets with the other two kids walking alongside. WOW! We were beat when that trip was over! All said & done, our kids had a great time playing with each other which delighted us mommy's greatly. I wish this family lived around the corner from us : )
Wednesday was a day of recovery for four grumpy kids after out doing themselves the day prior. There were lots of tears & refusals of naps. Those are the days that exhaust me the most. Thankfully Grandma Shirley raised four children of her own & offered much encouragement & some hugs for all of us along the way. At one point all had been screaming then it was quiet & Anson started saying in his sweet little voice "mamamama." She looked at me & said, "doesn't that make it all worth it!" It's true, loving them day in & day out is worth it & I am pretty sure I will never be this "needed" again as I am in the little years. My friend Brooke & I met up in Richardson for the boys one year old photo shoot & tag teamed on capturing their cuteness. I think we succeeded! I enjoyed playing with her wide angle lens she has added to her collection since our family moved away. More of that shoot to come : ) We were spoiled with a night out for sushi with Brad & Brooke. It was absolutely wonderful with more laughing than I had done in awhile. It is such a gift to spend time with old friends. Aunt Sharon & Grandma held down the fort with our crew & they were all fast asleep when we arrived home.
Thursday, we loaded up in the morning & made our way down to Grammy & Papa's house where we spent the entire day. We would have likely stayed there all week but they are in the midst of multiple renovations due to a leak in their home. It was a work in progress & looking good! We were thankful they took the day off to play with us!
Papa & Anson, I think these two look alike!
Grammy & Owen with his little grin
Due to my "schedule" of pregnancy & birthing babies, we had not been to their home in just over two years so it was all new to the girls! They were beyond excited when Papa dumped a bag of sand onto the ground & gave them some shovels & buckets. They played & played & played while the boys snoozed & us adults chatted. We packed a lunch & went to Kidsville a nearby park that was built over 20 years ago. The Valentine family along with four to five thousand others helped build it which made it so special to have our four playing there. It was huge & the areas to climb on/walk through were big enough for me & Jeannine to join in on the fun.
Look closely & you can see Grammy's name...
The boys love to swing...
My four enjoying "Kidsville"
The rest of our time was spent relaxing at home base with G.Gran. Honestly it took a full day for the kids to recover from the previous full day of fun so it was nice to have a place to get our "grumpies" out. G.Gran got some bubbles, a couple bubble wands & a bubble instrument that Char is playing the in next picture. It provided lots of fun for our little bunch.
and handsome Luke with the Loftin blue eyes as our family says.....
All the vintage Little People enjoyed lots of attention this week & spent lots of time in Anson's mouth or being finger puppets on this girl.
What is better than a clean baby you say? TWO clean babies! They are getting pretty heavy to hold one on each hip but Kelly managed to do it for a picture. Later that evening my Aunt Cindy & Mallory stopped by & we pretty much laughed for two hours straight. It was fabulous.
I was thinking it would be a quiet week since only a couple people knew we were coming...boy was I wrong! We were blessed by the visits & sad to run out of time. We were also blessed by the hospitality of my precious Grandmother that is more laid back about her house being taken over by four mini Valentine's than I am ; ) The week flew by & soon we were loaded up for a four hour trip to Houston that included a stop by Buc-ee's. If you don't know what that is....look it up. Makes us proud to be Texans.
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