Well we are finally back and it has been the most amazing vacation I think we have had as a family because we got to spend time with both sides of our family and do some amazing things. I have a lot to write down so I decided it probably would be best to go day by day. Unfortunately I didn't take a lot of pictures so now that I am uploading I am missing a lot of people and moments so I will need to remember that on our next trip to try and document everything with photos.
Day 1 Leaving
We left on Friday and when we got our airline tickets we thought that it would be best to travel at night so that Ryan would be tired and sleep. Well of course that didn't happen but both boys did really great on the plane so that was really nice. The bad part is that our plane was almost an hour late so we didn't even get into Houston until 1am their time and then we had to get our rental car and drive to my brother's house which is about 40 minutes from the airport. So we didn't get home until about 2:30, we got the boys in bed and then sat and talked with my brother for about an hour and then we went to bed.
Day 2 Dallas
Well when we decided to go to Houston we asked Dan's Mom and Sister's who live in Tulsa, OK if they would mind driving to Dallas and meeting us. They of course said they would love to so we decided to meet for lunch. So we had to leave my brother's house by 7am to drive the 4 hours to Dallas to be able to meet them. The drive was really hard for me because every time I told Dan I would drive I got really tired and had to pull over to let him drive. The kids did really great in the car and Dan really loved the drive because Texas was really green and beautiful, well that was of course until we got into the city. Dan doesn't do well driving in new locations and of course we were on a toll road and he got into a toll lane that didn't have an attendant and we didn't have any coins so he just drove through it which of course made me so upset and we started arguing which was not fun. So it will be interesting to see what kind of ticket they send us. We decided to meet them at a Mall and eat at Dave and Buster's so that after lunch the kids could play. So Dan's Mom, Step dad, Sister Shannon and her new husband Jay and her three kids, DJ, Will, and Kasey, and his sister Caitlin all come and met us. It was so great to see them and we had so much fun playing and hanging out. We had to leave around 4 so that we could make it back before it got to late and let me tell you that it was really hard to leave them. We really had so much fun and miss them so much that although it was great to spend the afternoon with them it definitely was not long enough. So we left and drove back to Houston which took almost 5 hours and my brother's kids were waiting up since they hadn't seen us yet. So we let the kids stay up till about 11 so that they could play and then we went to bed around 2 again.
This is Will, DJ, Dan, Christian, Kasey, Jay and PawPaw Ray sitting at the Mall after lunch.
This is Shannon and Ryan this was the first time Ryan has met all of them except for Nana who was so great to come out and spend a week with us after Ryan was born.
DJ, Will and Christian. I couldn't believe how much Christian loves his cousins that unfortunately he doesn't get to see very often. He hasn't seen then in about 4 years but you wouldn't have even known it and he absolutely adores Will and followed him around all afternoon.
Caitlin, Christian and Dan. Dan I think had the most fun at Dave & Busters and it was so great to see him be the brother. I don't get to see it very often and it was fun to watch him play and interact with his sisters and to see the amazing bond he has will them.
Day 3 Easter
Well it was nice the kids slept in till about 8:30 and then we had an Easter egg hunt and the kids got baskets from the Easter bunny. Ryan didn't like the egg hunt at all, he didn't like being on the grass and he wasn't feeling well. He and I were both really sick the whole trip, we both didn't completely got over are colds before we left and then traveling and staying up later than we should didn't help either so most of Sunday he felt miserable which was sad since it was his first Easter but oh well. Christian on the other hand had a great time hunting for the eggs, I think he got the most. After the egg hunt we went to church which was so nice and then we came back and had a wonderful Chicken dinner and spent the night hanging out and playing games with Cris and Kenna till again about 2 am.
Trent, Spencer, Brittanie, Christian and Ryan all ready to go to Church
Ryan got one egg and then was ready for me to pick him up
They were ready for the egg hunt to begin
Christian was running around like a crazy man trying to get all the eggs
Day 4 & 5 Hanging out
On Monday my sister in law Kenna got Dan to run with her. She ran a marathon in January and loves to have people to run with. Well Dan use to run in the army but really has not done much since then so when she said she wanted to run he gladly joined her and I hope he continues it because he was really in a better mood afterwards. The rest of the day we pretty much just hung out played some games and watch some TV. I got to take Brittanie and Spencer to their Karate classes and it was so fun to watch them doing all the moves and Christian got to join in for Brittanie's class which was really cool. That night my brother had two extra tickets to the Rockets game so Dan and Christian got to have a guys night out. They got to go down on to the court before the game and sit in McGradys chair which Christian totally loved. It was Rockets go Green night so they came home with some pretty cool shirts and my brother was amazed how into sports Christian really is. He didn't want to leave the game until the game was over and he was really upset that other people left. On Tuesday we did some grocery shopping and played on the trampoline (which Dan hurt his back on and Ryan loved jumping) and then played more games.
This was our first experience with the Wii it was so much fun and I totally loved bowling. Spencer (my 4 yr old nephew) is so good I didn't beat him once.
Day 6 Brittanie's Birthday
Well Wednesday was one of my favorite days of the whole vacation. It started with Balloons done the hall for Brittanie's birthday then for lunch we got to go to Brittanie's school and have lunch with her. It was really fun to see her school and all her friends. Then I made dinner for everyone and then we went to the Rockets game. We had such a great time at the game and it ended up being a tribute game to Dikembe Mutombo since he is retiring after this season and they had the commissioner there and the Former President Bush. It was so cool to see all these different people and we had amazing seats. I think we were like 20 rows up. It was Ryan's first Rockets game and he stayed awake for the whole thing which really surprised me. It was a really great day.
We took McDonald's to the school for lunch and Christian got this funny pirate hat in his happy meal so then we had the baby's put it on, they looked so cute.
Ryan would not look at the camera because he was so into the game.
It was foam finger night
Can you see George Bush?
Here are the players at the start of the game, see how close we were
Day 7 Hair & Shopping
Well on Thursday the rest of the family came to Texas. In the morning Kenna's Mom, Dad, Sister and Brother in law came so the guys all went golfing and Kenna's sister did my hair. It is really blonde and short. I unfortunately don't have any pictures of it but I will try and take some in the next couple of days and update the blog. Then we had lunch and the girls all got to go shopping. Kenna has lost a little over 30 pounds so my family decided that she needed some new clothes for her birthday. So we ended up shopping for about three hours and then we met the rest of the family for dinner at this really great BBQ place. My sister and her family and my Mom and Cousins met us there as well. Then we went back to the house and actually went to bed at a decent time midnight.
Day 8 Alligator Park
On Friday we went to this alligator park. What the park has is a bunch of ponds or swamps surrounded by paths and trees and there are alligator living there. It was really cool and the kids could go fishing and stuff. Well the first sign we saw said not to feed the alligators and to make sure that you stay at least 30 feet away (which is the size of school bus) and the last thing it said was to make sure not to approach baby alligators because the mom's will attack. So needless to say I was a little freaked out but it was really cool and we did actually see some alligators even though it was stormy weather so the ranger thought we wouldn't see any. Then the kids got to go swimming at this indoor pool. It was really fun and again we spent the night playing games and staying up way to late.
These 3 are so cute, we are so lucky that they are so close in age and love to be together.
Isn't it UGLY!
This was a deck they had over the water and Christian of course was acting as goofy as ever
Can you tell that my brother did not follow the the rules. Look at how close they got!
Ryan loved being outside
Day 9 Baptism and Surprise party
Saturday was such a busy day we had the baptism at 10 am so we all had to get up early and make sure everyone was ready. Of course on our way there I got lost and both of our phones were dead so we said a prayer and thank goodness found some random couple at a shopping center who knew where it was and directed us there. We were 10 minutes late to the baptism thank goodness my brother is so great he wouldn't let them start without us but I was still totally upset about it. Other than that the baptism was amazing. My mom and Kenna's dad sang the most beautiful song and Brittanie was so cute and nervous. Then afterwards we had a surprise party for Kenna. She is turning 30 May 1st so I came up with the idea to through her a party about two months ago so that we all could be there to celebrate with her. Pulling it all off was really hard because she didn't want to do a BBQ after the baptism and she totally fought my brother and I about having it at a friend's house but after all was said and done she had a great time and was totally shocked. It was a wonder day and I am so proud of my Niece for deciding to be baptized. Saturday night we spent again playing games and then saying our goodbye since we were leaving really early the next morning.
Christian was so excited for Brittanie
This was Dan and Ryan at the end of the party you can tell we had a busy day
Day 10 Leaving
So we woke up around 5:30 on Sunday morning and headed to the airport we got checked in and made it on the plane with no problems. Again the kids would not sleep but Dan and I were both exhausted so we took turns napping on the plane. Then when we got to LAX and got our luggage Dan found that our bags were soaking wet and totally smelt like Urine. I don't know what had leaked on them and I really don't want to know. Thank goodness it happened on the way home and not when we got there because we got to just throw everything in the wash and throw the suitcases away. We had so much fun and we loved spending time with our families. I think the parts that we love the most about spending time with my brother's family is that one the kids all get along so great that they play and don't really bother us adults and two we play games, talk and just hang out with them and we never really get tired of being with them. Which is really weird for me because that is one of the worst parts of me I would say because usually I can only handle a little time with people before they or I start getting on their nervous but for some reason this never happens with them. We wish that we could live right next to them and hopefully some day that will happen. Well this post has seriously taken me all day so sorry it is so long but I didn't want to leave any detail out because it was such a wonderful trip. Dan just mentioned that I am not in any of these pictures so I will have to try and get some pictures from others that I can prove I was there. It is really great to be home and back into our routine!
