TEXAS OUR TEXAS, PART 1

Last week we drove to Texas because my boys were going to be the ring bearers in a wedding. I’ll share more on that tomorrow! Today I’m sharing the first part of our trip, which included lots of driving and family time.

Car trips with littles is not for the faint of heart, but the boys did SO good! This was the first car trip that we’ve taken where I felt like for the most part, Jack was able to entertain himself. I always stock up on new activity books and prizes from the Target Dollar Spot and the Dollar Store before road trips and typically give him something new about halfway to that day’s destination.

These car trays are always a lifesaver. They have a clip that can go behind a car seat so that it doesn’t get dropped over and over, but for older kids, they can just set it on their laps. They are also great for playing with toys in the car since it has the higher edges and keeps things from falling.

We rolled into Amarillo around 9 pm and were just hoping a restaurant would be open, since it was also the fourth of July. Luckily, Logan’s Roadhouse was open till 10 PM near our hotel. We were the only customers, because I’m sure most everyone was somewhere watching fireworks, but we were able to get full bellies and some wiggles out!

Once we finally got to the hotel, the mama in me kicked into high gear to get the boys bathed and in bed. Their usual bedtime is around 8 PM so we weren’t too far off, however my children do not sleep in the car. I can count on 1 hand the number of times either has fallen asleep in the car, ever.

The only kink in our evening was that we did not have a pack and play for the first night, so our plan was to let the boys sleep together on the pull out sofa. Well, Korben was NOT happy about that decision. I don’t think it had anything to do with sleeping with brother. I think it was all about unfamiliar surroundings, because Korben is my child who doesn’t like ANYTHING unfamiliar. Thankfully he just laid in the bed till he FINALLY went to sleep around midnight.

Remember how I said my boys have only fallen asleep in the car a handful of times, ever? Well thankfully day 2 of our trip was one of them! After lunch, Korben was OUT and slept the entire rest of the drive (which was about 4 hours).

Jack did such a great job entertaining himself with the activity books I got him and his toys, so for about the last hour of the trip, he got to play on his kindle, which is always a treat!

After being in a car for 2 days, is there really anything more fun than “surfing” on and hanging from the luggage cart for 2 little boys? The answer is no, no there is not.

Once we got everything unloaded, we headed over to my brother’s house. It was such a treat that the area of Dallas we were coming to the wedding for was about 15 minutes from my brother’s house, so we planned our week to maximize family time!

We haven’t all been able to be together since December 2020, when we took a family trip to Breckenridge, CO. We talk on facetime all the time, but it was SO fun to see the kids play together. Korben and my niece, Abbey, were born 6 weeks apart. When we were in Breckenridge they had both just turned 1, so getting to play together as 2.5 year olds was seriously so fun!

We planned our trip so that Wednesday could be a “chill out” day. We headed back to my brother’s house after breakfast and just let the kids P L A Y! They pulled out this amazing splash pad/mini pool and at first my boys wouldn’t get in it, which I didn’t understand. Jack finally said, “Mama, doesn’t the water have to warm up?” We had a good laugh and told Jack that the water in Texas just comes out HOT. To his benefit, typically I have to fill our mini-pool in Colorado and let it sit for a few hours to warm up because the water comes out SO COLD!

On Thursday, we took all of the kids to the Perot Museum. If you live in the Dallas area or you are visiting Dallas and have the chance, it is a must!

My mom (aka Mama J if you’ve been around here a while) LOVED having all of the grandbabies together in one place.

Of course their favorite exhibit was the dinosaurs, but they also had space, energy, engineering, gems and minerals and the human body. Jack loved all of the interactive exhibits and I was surprised that the toddlers were so engaged through the very end!

After the kids were able to get a nap, we went to a hibachi grill for dinner. Jack and Korben have both been to hibachi before - Jack loves it and Korben is terrified of the fire, but it was my niece’s first time and she loved it!

I’m so blessed to have such a close knit family and I love the bond that our kids have, even living states apart! My dad passed away a year before I met Sean and a few years before my brother met his wife, Holly. That time of just the three of us (my mom, my brother and me) really took our bond to a different level and in a weird way I’m so grateful for that.

Tomorrow I’ll be sharing part 2 of our Texas adventure, where my boys become ring bearers!