Houston Trip

We were finally able to make our trip to Houston - in the van. It took us 8 hours and 45 minutes to get there. That includes lots of stopping for me and the girls. Once we arrived, it was time to walk to the neighborhood park for Tyler's cub scout meeting and cook-out. It really was a lot of fun. The kids did a lot of running and playing.

This is Tyler ready for his meeting.

The park is just around the corner from their house.
The girls were refusing to have their picture taken.

Caroline was able to bond quickly with Aunt Amy.

Caroline was even willing to sit down again long enough to have a cookie.

Caroline and Shelby are ready for the next day after a good night of sleep.

On Thursday my dad went and met up with an old friend for lunch, so Amy and I took the kids to the mall. We happened upon the Easter Bunny so we got their picture made. Caroline feels the same way about the Easter Bunny as she does Santa. She is not a big fan, and she was not going to get too close to him.

The kids pretty much spent the rest of the day builiding a fort in Shelby's room. They had a great time and entertained themselves for hours. They had big plans for them to all sleep in the fort. Shortly after this picture was taken, the fort fell.

A little while later Shelby comes downstairs and says "Kayla is homesick and she has water pouring out of her eyes." I thought that was cute. Kayla really did have water pouring out of her eyes. I have never seen her cry so hard. I think she was just overly tired. I ended up laying down with her until she fell asleep. At 3am she ends up in bed with me. And to top it all off, Caroline got up for the day at 5:30.

So now it is Friday. I can think of nothing better to do on Good Friday during spring break, on a day with such perfect weather, than go to the Houston Zoo. About 20,000 other people had the same idea. It was a nice day. I think the kids had a good time. The parents were too stressed out trying to keep our eyes out for all of our kids. I can't say we saw too many animals that day. It was just way too crowded.

Here is my proof that we actually did see a few animals.

After the zoo, Dad and Taylor took turns having a clarinet concert. I was pretty impressed by my dad. He could still kind of play. Sort of.

Meanwhile, Kayla and Shelby were having a blast in the backyard with the water hose and the swingset.

Saturday morning we headed out. We stopped by Terrell to see my grandma. My Aunt Stephany and Uncle David came over. Monica was still in town with William so we were able to see them as well. It was a nice, but short, visit. It was great to see all of them. Kayla knew everyone except for William. We have pictures of his family in our house so she knew who he was. But poor William was a little overwhelmed by me and the girls. We had a hard time getting him in a picture.

The car ride home was not one of Caroline's finest. It took us 11 hours to get home from the time we left Houston. This includes our visit in Terrell. Out of the 11 hours, I would bet that Caroline screamed for about 9 of those. My dad and Kayla were troopers. Neither one of them ever complained. Kayla was just about perfect. She was so well behaved at my grandma's and she was really good in the car. I was so proud of her. Caroline was not so good. I was glad to get home.

Thank you, Amy and Steve, for having us and allowing us to invade your home. I had a great time, and I know the girls did too. I was worn out after our 3 nights there, and Caroline really did me in on the car ride home. But there was not time to rest yet...the next day was Easter.