This past weekend, my kids, my husband, my sister and I went on a little trip to see my big brother, his wife and kids. We left on Friday when my husband got home from work. We had a couple little setback, so we didn't head out exactly when planned, but we did pretty good.
I had my oldest son bring the snacks (in a little plastic grocery bag) to the van so we would have some things to munch on, as needed. This was the first setback. He thought it was trash and ran it right to the dumpster and tossed that in... as well as the Nintendo DS he was holding. So, the plastic bag was easy to retrieve, it was right at the top of everything since it had just been deposited. The DS, not so easy to retrieve. It took a good 15 minutes or so. First I tried holding his legs because he would be able to reach it, but he didn't trust me enough to not let him fall in. It got knocked down further. I went to see if we could borrow someone's long grabber thing, but by the time I found someone that would bring it over, my husband had helped my son get the DS. The trip would not go so well knowing that the DS was being served to the landfill. The other setback was that my husband couldn't find any of his hats. That took a little while to solve also and then we hit the road.
We drove for 8 hours that night and ended up in a little hotel room with beds that were too soft. My back enjoys firm beds, and seems to enjoy them even more when 33 weeks pregnant. We finally all fell to sleep and slept well til the morning. My daughter didn't even remember my youngest son falling out of bed and landing on top of her. That is what woke me up at 6 am for the rest of the day. We headed out by a little after 7 am and were to my brother's house by 9:45 am. The hotel had a free continental breakfast. It wasn't very impressive which caused my oldest son to announce that it was a 1 star hotel. He gives things stars based on the food that is served... buffets always get 5 stars. I was humiliated, but that is how we learn.
When we arrived at my brother's house, we didn't see a vehicle there, so my husband and kids went out back. Their cousins were very happy to see them in their backyard. My oldest nephew is old enough to watch the kids (which I often forget, where does time go anyway?!) so I didn't even think they would be home. My sister-in-law and brother arrived home shortly thereafter. My brother had to bring the boy scouts to an archery range to earn a badge or something and my sister-in-law was running a quick errand.
That day the kids played outside for hours. This is the second time they have been together in 4 months. They love having time to be together. We had tuna fish sandwiches for lunch. My brother and husband brought the older kids to the archery range where they got to learn the rules of the range and got to shoot some arrows. I guess my daughter was a really good shot from 10 yards away. My nephew watched the kids later that evening while we went out to Mongolian Barbecue. I had never had it until I was visiting them in May. It is a very impressive dinner and it is interesting to see them cooking it on the grill.
On Sunday, my sister-in-law made pancakes with bacon. It was a delicious breakfast. I ate more than I should have, but I enjoyed every bite of it. We had church from 11-2 pm and then went to the Temple to walk around and get pictures afterward. Upon arrival back at the house, we had leftover Mongolian Barbecue for lunch. We sat around and talked for hours while the children played outside. I made a mistake and took a nap, a long nap, and ended up staying up til 1 am (Pacific time), which is 2 am my time. That was not a good thing. When I woke up it was time to start thinking about dinner. My brother grilled steak and squash on his grill. My sister-in-law made French fries and corn on the cob inside. It was an amazing dinner! Then came out my sister's surprise birthday cake. It was made at Costco, chocolate cake, 4 layers with chocolate chunks around the outside and fudge between the layers. If it weren't so rich, I think I would have eaten the whole thing. She was very surprised.
My sister-in-law and I stayed up talking until 1 am. The children went to sleep around 10 and it was very nice to get to visit without noise for a while. I think my brother, sister and husband all fell to sleep around 11. I planned to leave by 7 their time, but it was a little after 8 am when we finally left. I woke up at 6:50 am officially. My son woke me up an hour before to get medicine for a toothache. I had a piece of that cake for breakfast (it is so yummy!). We kissed everyone goodbye and jumped in the van. I drove the whole way home, we got here about 8:30 pm. There were a few stops on the way... potty breaks, a stop at the Boise Mall for something my sister has wanted forever, to buy gas and to grab food and keep going. It was a longer trip home than previously, but it was well worth the trip to get to see the family.
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