In June we went to Texas to visit Paul's brother and his family. Sam and Ally love their cousins in Texas but usually only get to see them a few times a year because they live so far away. They moved to Salado, Texas before we had Sam. So because of pregnancies and newborns we never had a good chunk of time to go visit them. This summer we decided to change that. We went to stay with them for four nights in June and had a blast. I unfortunately took very few photos because we were constantly on the go. All the ones we do have are mostly from iPhones or we stole from our mother-in-law.
We left for Texas on Friday the 21st at about 8:30 am. The drive was mostly uneventful the first day. We hit zero traffic issues and the kids were great the entire time. We had picked up car dvd players that hooked onto the headrests a few days prior to the trip and I really think that helped the kids pass the time. Mary and Dennis were going to Texas too so they went along with us. I am sure Dennis would have liked to move at a faster pace then we traveled but it really did work out well. The kids love their grandparents and getting to see them at all the rest stops was a lot of fun. We stayed at a hotel in Arkansas over night on the way to Texas. It was a really nice room and the kids actually slept really great. I slept in a bed with Sam and Ally slept in the pack and play. They really love hotels.
The hotel we were at had a hot breakfast so we all got a great start to our day and were off again for our Texas road adventure. Everything was going perfectly until we hit the Texas state line. In fact, it was either Paul or I who right as we crossed mentioned how great the trip was going with both kids.
Well... right after we crossed into Texas little Ally decided it was time to throw up. And I mean a massive amount. We were just pulling off the highway to grab lunch at a KFC/Taco Bell when we hear that horrible noise that every parent can recognize. The sound of mass amounts of throw up and your scared child.
We pull in to the parking lot and poor Ally is so scared and covered in the mess. Also - just to point out, at this time I had my car for all of about 5 days. Paul and I went ahead and traded in my 2010 model of the Mazda5 for the 2013 version. Now - before anyone thinks that is crazy just hear me out. My 2010 had 110k miles on it from driving so much at my previous job. It had a lot of things that were needing repaired and it had been in an accident involving a semi so had about 15k worth of damage on it - so it really was time to either put in some money to fix up a car with a ton of miles on it, or trade it in. We got a great deal on our trade-in and the new one, so we switched into a new car right before vacation.
We get out of the car and she is crying and covered in the throw up. Of course, we are in Texas, so it is incredibly hot and we know this is going to take a long time to clean up. Paul's parents take Sam in to eat and Paul and I start to work on getting Ally clean. After she is cleaned up we take out the carseat and start cleaning the car and carseat. Because we obviously have to get Ally hooked back up into it to continue our drive. Paul asked the workers in Taco Bell if they had any cleaner and they graciously gave us a bottle to use. It contained a bit of bleach and that was great because it took care of the smell in the car. At this point we have no idea why she was sick. She could have been starting to come down with the flu, she could have felt ill from traveling, who knew. So we went inside and only gave her applesauce and water so as not to upset her stomach any further for the remaining 6 hours of the drive.
After a much longer lunch then anyone thought we would have when we pulled off the interstate we got back on the road for Dan and Krystl's house. Everything went smoothly again for the rest of the drive until we once again pulled off the exit for Dan and Krystl's. We literally pulled into their neighborhood and Ally threw up again. The girls were out front so excited we were there and had decorated this sign for the front and we literally flew past them into the driveway to get Ally out of the car as fast as possible. I felt so terrible sitting in their driveway with Ally once again covered in throw up. I was thinking we had brought the flu to their house and wished she would have just shown some signs of being sick 48 hours before this so we could have cancelled our trip. But the thing was she showed absolutely no signs of being sick and as soon as she was out of the car she was once again fine.
For dinner that night she ate well and we just kept an eye on her and kept her on blankets so if she was ill she wouldn't be sick on the nice rugs or furniture. We put the kids to bed somewhat early since they had a long two days in the car. Dan and Krystl were extremely nice to give us the girls wing. We had Lizzi and Chloes room and their bathroom for our stay. We had the kids in Chloe's room and Paul and I were going to sleep in Lizzi's room. However, the kids were a bit scared so I stayed with Sam on the bed and Ally was right next to us in the pack in play.
The next day was Sunday and Dan and Krystl left with the girls for church. It was actually a bit nice to have just a bit of down time just as a family (Mary and Dennis were in a house next door that is owned by Krystl's grandparents house). We kept an eye on Ally and she was acting just fine however we didn't want to take her to church just in case. So Paul went with Sam to meet them and I stayed home with Ally.
While at home I fed her lunch just to make sure that she was keeping food down and not going to be sick if we took her out in public. I grabbed some lunch meat, fresh fruit, and applesauce to see how she would do. She scarfed it down since she hadn't eaten much for the past 24 hours and was as happy as could be.
As you can see she was happy to be eating and acting 100% better. At this point we finally starting thinking that maybe it was car sickness. She was watching movies and perhaps just got sick to her stomach from the drive. But since she was eating and happy we decided to let her go out to lunch with everyone else and just decided to watch her for the rest of the vacation.
We went out to lunch to a pizza place in town. Ally had already eaten so she got to play with the I-Pad during dinner. Sam had his cheese pizza with Lizzi and Chloe and enjoyed being at a table with no adults.
After lunch we just hung out at Dan and Krystl's house until that evening. We took the kids to a drive-in movie that evening. It would be the latest the kids ever got to stay up. The movie didn't even start until after their normal bedtime but they actually stayed awake for the entire movie. Looking back at these pictures you can tell that Sam doesn't feel very well either. So I am thinking that instead of the car sickness perhaps the kids had a very short flu bug. Thankfully it doesn't seem that we passed it along to the others. Actually, Paul was sick here too. His throat was hurting and he had a really bad headache for the next two days. So my guess is we all got some form of sick and Ally reacted to it by getting sick.
We went to see Monsters University and it would technically count as the kids first movie. We took in lunch meat, chips, and drinks so that we could eat dinner while watching the movie. The kids did pretty well. Sam wanted to stay next to me and Ally seemed to want to jump around between vehicles. The movie didn't end until midnight their time and I by the time we drove back to their house (it was about an hour away) we didn't get them in bed until 1:00. Thankfully they collapsed into bed and slept in as late as they ever have before (I think it was about 9 before they woke up).
On Monday I went shopping for a bit with Mary and Krystl while the kids went with the boys to a park and played outside at Dan and Krystl's. For lunch we grilled out and then after naps we went out for dinner in town. After dinner it was just time to play outside before bed. Dan and Krystl have a very nice trampoline and Sam absolutely loved it. He wore himself out with how much he would jump. If we ever get a bigger yard we are definitely buying one of those!
Tuesday was Chloe's birthday so we did whatever she wanted for the whole day. We started the day at a water park for the kids and it was a lot of fun. The kids had a great time and we ate lunch at the park before heading home for naps.
Right after the above two photos were taken all the lifeguards started blowing whistles and telling everyone to get out of the pool. Apparently someone saw a snake in the pool and they wanted everyone out. At first I thought perhaps Dennis took Sam somewhere he wasn't suppose to be and they were in trouble, but that wasn't the case :)
After having everyone out of the water for about 15 minutes, they figured out they couldn't catch the snake but it was a poisonous one (welcome to Texas!!). They let us back in all the other areas except for the one he was in so they could add chemicals to the water to kill the snake.
Other then moms pool this was the first water park the kids got to experience. The lazy river was a hit which was a good thing because that was the only place available for the kids to play! The slides were too big for them. We stayed for about 2 hours and loaded the kids up to take them home for a nap.
After naps we went out to dinner for Chloe's birthday and then headed to a splash park for her birthday. Dinner was a Mexican restaurant that was pretty good, but crazy expensive. The kids liked being with all the other kids though so it was a hit.
The splash park was where Chloe's actual birthday was being held. It didn't work out quite as planned because the party started at 7:00 and unfortunately that was also when the splash part turned off. It was at a town park however so we could still use the picnic shelter for ice cream and watching Chloe open her presents and then let the kids run around on the playground. Sam had two older boys there to play with and he basically spent the entire time running. I have to say Texas is when we saw a turn around in his sleep and I think part of that is due to us keeping him so busy he would collapse into bed every night utterly exhausted. We kept them up this night so we could pack once we got home, so it was another late night for the kids. However, we only see Chloe and Lizzi a few times a year so I don't regret letting them play that much at all.
That night we packed up the car and the next morning we said goodbye to the girls, Dan, and Krystl. The kids were so sad to be leaving and I know we need to do this trip more often. Probably at least every other year if we can because it definitely is worth the drive to see the kids play together and have fun. Here are a few other random picks from the few days we were there:
The trip home was thankfully much less eventful then the way there. We stopped at an awesome bbq place before leaving Texas for lunch. It was just a little tiny place and I wish I could remember what town we even stopped in because that place was amazing! The kids ate tons of turkey and my chicken was probably the best I have ever had. Everyone was happy with our lunch stop.
After lunch we kept driving to make a decent start on the drive home.
We stayed in another very nice hotel. The hotels were each just over $100 for the night. However, the beds were very nice with the linens that you know get washed after every person stays there and it included a hot breakfast each morning which meant the kids were full and we could start off the day driving as far as we could make it.
It was my last night sleeping in the same bed as Sam and I have to say I was really sad. We don't ever let the kids sleep in our room at night so being on vacation and knowing he was scared we let him go ahead and sleep in my bed. It also meant that I could stay on one side and he could sleep against the wall so less chance of him falling off the bed. Here is what they looked like that morning. Paul and I were actually up before they were. They were just so exhausted from the long drive and then from lack of sleep while playing with the girls.
The next morning we loaded up the car and let the kids get some energy out by playing on the luggage carriers while we worked. It was about an 8 hour drive to get home so we wanted them to have some fun that morning.
For lunch we stopped at Lambert's in Missouri. It was our first time to eat there and it was definitely an experience. The food portions were huge (actually too big, I wish they would have smaller portions for a lower price, it was a complete waste of food) but it was good. The kids loved the flying rolls except I must say they need to work on their aim. Some landed in food and just splashes the food everywhere. Was not a fan of that part. However, after eating they had a lot of stuff for the kids to look at and play with before heading home.
All in all, and throw up aside, the trip was a blast. Sam still talks about the fun he had with Lizzi and Chloe and is always asking to go back. We need to make it a point to go visit more and knowing that the kids are always getting to a stage where it is easier to travel with them, we will be back in the next few years. I didn't take a whole lot of photos while there so these are all stolen from my mother-in-law or from our i-phones.
