We knew it would have to happen sooner or later, so we decided sooner - the first road trip with 4 kids and 2 dogs....
So last Friday, we decided to make the trek down to the Hill Country to visit my parents. I think we were a little nuts, as this was the day after the triplets first set of shots - and unlike Bryan, they did not tolerate them well. Anyway, back to the trip. We decided to leave after the 10:30 bottle, this way we could stop for lunch just down the road and then hopefully Bryan and the babies would nap for awhile.
At 11:30, we were on our way...
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| Everybody is loaded up, the dogs were in their kennel on the floor next to Bryan. |
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| Pulling out of our neighborhood - he had to have his glasses, hat, blanket, and stuffed animal, Steve. |
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| 30 minutes down the road, conveniently right as we pulled into Sonic! |
We only had to stop once to change all of the kids and feed the babies. Thankfully, we put Trey's DVD player in the car so Bryan watched Toy Story and had a snack while we were stopped. I'm not going to say it was easy, but it wasn't quite as hard as I feared!!
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| Bryan watching his movie |
6+ hours later, we arrived!! Bryan got out of the car and immediately wanted to go find "Bee Bob" (Billy Bob) with Papa.
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| Trying to find Billy Bob |
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| Billy Bob |
After he fed Billy Bob, he wanted to go for a ride with Papa. So Bryan and Papa were off on the mule. There is a picture further down, but some of you may remember the fantastic car seat that my dad has rigged - basically a high chair strapped down to the seat!! Bryan LOVES it!! When I told him we were going to see Nana and Papa he immediately said, "Ride Papa". They were out the door too fast for me to get any pictures!! When I went to find them for dinner, I checked the garden and saw Papa but couldn't see Bryan. As I got closer, this is what I saw....
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| He was hiding in the tomatoes having a snack! |
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| Showing me his loot |
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| "Lelicious, Mommy" |
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| I asked him how many tomatoes he had - "Free momatoes" |
We ate dinner, then he ran around the house having a ball while we fed the babies. When it was time for bed, he was out in no time!! He slept in my parents' room on his cot, and Mom said he barely lifted his head when she got up in the morning. She went back in to get him later and my dad told her that he got up to find his wallet emptied all over the cot - money, credit cards and all!! I've taught my son well!!
After getting dressed, we had pancakes for breakfast. Then it was time to ice cookies with Nana.
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| Nana iced and Bryan decorated |
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| "Shake Shake" |
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| Picking his next color |
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| Taste Test |
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| He checked the icing on almost every cookie! |
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| He would take a bite then add the next one to the stack... Also, can you tell he was up to something? |
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| This was the something!! Yummy icing!! |
Next, it was time to go explore outside!! His memory amazes me. He hadn't been to the ranch since March, but he knew there were fish to be seen.
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| Fishies!! |
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| Looking for the fishies |
It didn't take long before he was off again!! He and Nana went into the yard to hang his birdfeeder.
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| I would love to know what he was telling her! |
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| Then it was time to pick a peach for Daddy |
After this, my camera died and I forgot my charger!! I guess if I was going to forget something, camera charger is something we could live without! So, after picking peaches, Trey and I decided we wanted to spend a little time with Bryan alone. We hopped in the van and headed to the toy store while Mom and Dad watched Ruby, William, and Savannah. We were half way to the gate when Trey asked if I brought Bryan a bag... NOPE! OOPS!! I guess I was too excited about spending time with him. Oh well, we will make it work!
There is something about a small town toy store that can't be beat. Bryan could run around and look at everything without getting lost. The toys are things you won't find at Toys'R'Us or Walmart, I love it. Bryan picked out a baseball and bat, a Melissa and Doug train that is made with stacking blocks, and we bought his birthday present a little early. I figure this is the last time we can buy him presents while he is with us! Then, we made a quick stop at my favorite quilting store before heading back to the ranch - we had no diapers and were close to needing one :)! On the way back we stopped for a Happy Meal so Bryan could go straight down for a nap.
After his nap, Bryan's first request was "Ride Papa." Trey, Dad, Bryan, and I hopped on the mule to go feed the horses and collect eggs.
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| Getting the eggs |
It was a fun busy day!!
The next morning we got up and played with Bryan, because he was going to be staying for a week after we left. We fed Billy Bob, and when it was time for Bryan to go in for breakfast, he ordered Billy Bob to take a nap. He checked out the window a couple of times and Billy Bob was still standing in the road. Bryan would yell, "Bee Bob, NAP!!" SO funny, he was convinced that the deer would take a nap because he said so!
Anyway, after breakfast, we played a little more, fed the babies, and loaded the van.
So, Trey and I were headed home with 3 babies and 2 dogs. We did it with only 1 stop to feed and 1 for gas. And for those of you that were wondering, this is how you feed babies in the car while stopped at a park....
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| Feeding William |
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Savannah
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Trey sat in the floor in the back to feed Ruby!
