It was the best of trips.
It was the worst of trips.
Sigh.
Traveling with a 16 month old is pure awesomeness. Aubrey Kate is easy breezy these days. She's pretty content to talk incessantly or watch a movie.
Sometimes both. At the same time.
But Rhys. He's the wild card.
We started off the trip by getting him his new big boy car seat. Check out the cuteness.
I have no idea how he got so big either.
By now, I have learned that a few new things and a couple of our favorite toys are the best. Instead of packing half the playroom and not being able to find a single thing.
I got AK some little party favor packets. They have a mini-coloring book, three crayons and a couple of stickers. These were both THE BEST SURPRISE EVER and good for tens of minutes of entertainment.
For Rhys, I bought him a little farm set with animals, stacking cups, a tractor and a farmer. He put everything into the cups. And then took everything out of the cups. In. And out. Again, for tens of minutes.
The rest of the time, they read books, AK watched movies and Rhys just watched the world go by. He was clearly soaking up sitting upright.
There was some sleeping too.
Is there anything more precious than sleeping littles?
And to keep it honest, there was also the obligatory West Monroe, LA stop.
Yep. That happened.
All in all, we made the trip home in eleven hours.
Rock.Stars.
Now, the week at home was so fabulous. The kids were beyond excited to see their grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins.
(Please forgive the amateurness of these photos. One, we are total amateurs and two, these little people move a lot. Taking their picture proves more difficult every day.)
We did some cooking with Puddin'.
Road the carousel at the mall. Twice. On two separate days. Because really, Birmingham, if you are hiding your indoor playgrounds, please let them out. We were at a loss for spots to run off energy during the rainy days.
Talked through world issues with Meme.
Took one, single, not all that thrilled about it, family photo. In bad lighting.
Played outside with Buddy.
A lot. And it was cold.
Tried to take one good picture with Gigi and all the great-grandchildren in attendance. Baby Meredith was sleeping upstairs and Jonythan was with his dad's family. Missed y'all!
I especially enjoyed watching Buddy as he tried not to implode as all of those precious children (the ones who can walk at least) ran in circles around his house. Like, literally, ran in a circle. Someone was calling it like a NASCAR race. We joked about putting numbers on them next time.
Poor Buddy. I hope they didn't do too much damage.
Someone asked me if this is what holidays were like for my family growing up too. And, well, no. My brother and I were the only grandchildren on either side until we were adults. Our family gatherings, at least when our grandparents were alive, were rather quiet and subdued.
This was much more chaotic. And I loved it.
Then came Saturday.
Game Day.
Really, I try to keep college football in check. I don't live in Alabama anymore and there is one day out of the year when I am extremely grateful for that.
The day after the Iron Bowl.
Win or lose, I want no part of it.
But I do adore Auburn and our family get togethers to watch the game. Even if we do have to remind my mother that we do not, in fact, want to KILL anyone.
Ever.
We had a great time "tailgating" and just spending time together. And the whole winning the game thing wasn't bad either.
Put me in coach! Baby and I are ready to play!
Me, Mom and my SIL Carrie. I think we make some super fabulous Auburn women!
After the win, my parent's neighbors rolled their tree. We went to take pictures. Of course.
(Auburn rolls the trees at the entrance to campus after a sports victory. Or at least we used to roll the trees. They are gone and until the new ones arrive/grow, we now roll anything standing still on the entire city block.)
After that night, we set back out on the road headed for Texas.
It did not go so well.
This time, Rhys was both sick with a stomach bug (which only because I've now had it for four full days do I realize how miserable he likely was) and very much over the newness of the car seat.
Aubrey Kate was, again, easy breezy. Give this girl an iPad and she is Good.To.Go.
The traffic back into Texas was also miserable. For some reason, traffic is stop and go beginning just after Shreveport, LA. Meaning the whole "native Texan" thing is not as big of a deal as Texans would have you believe. Based on the amount of traffic coming back into the state after holidays, I would say most of us are pure imports.
At least in the DFW area.
So the trip home took thirteen hours.
Of which, Rhys fussed, cried or all out screamed eleven.
Including the entire last hour. Screamed the whole way.
My entire body was tense by the time we got home. Like in knots. I suspect all mothers get that way listening to their children SCREAM BLOODY MURDER.
Every time I put him in the car on Monday, he fought me and screamed. He's a strong little guy so forcing him into the seat is not the easiest thing.
Bless him.
But it was totally worth it. I got to hug my mom and dad's necks. That in and of itself was totally worth the drive. Seeing the joy on my kids faces playing with their family was pretty amazing too.
Family. It's good stuff, y'all.
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