*sigh*
This is what I hate about travel-blogging :( It is, by nature, a macro view, which makes it difficult to process the micro moments that make it all worth it. I'll just have to use the macro events as a framework to linger on the micro a bit. That way, you can skim through the bold bits to decide if you want to read more on that theme :)
We left Friday, March 16th, at 7am and drove and drove and drove for 7.5 hours until we reached Little Rock, AR. The kids traveled well. Alice and Robert were almost no maintenance on my part. James just wanted audio books the whole time. Matthew, well, he was something I did not plan properly for *sigh* Among other things, he declared a bathroom emergency twice in the 2 hours before reaching Little Rock which both turned out to be false alarms. Then, 15 minutes from our destination, it was suddenly the real thing and we were in the middle of nowhere. Literally. I dug around in the car and found an old disposable diaper. We pulled over so I could hold the diaper around him while he did his thing. I cleaned him up, and we were on the road again. That could have played out SO much worse.
We left our luggage in the car and spent the rest of the afternoon at a children's museum in downtown Little Rock. It was small enough that we could see everything in a couple hours, and the age range was almost spot-on for our kids. If only we had one adult to follow each kid around at his/her own pace and interest level. We got to see the world's largest musical Tesla coil. James couldn't get enough of the bed of nails. It was more like a bed of phillips screwdrivers, but he loved the sensation and thrill of danger. Robert and I had a delta-wave battle with our minds (we strapped brain monitors to our heads that measured delta waves (calm, relaxed waves) and it was like a mental tug-of-war). Alice got a kick out of the mansion of puzzles and brain games. It was a lot of math. We could figure out most of them, but you had to use your puzzle answers to complete a multiple-choice quiz to win the prize. In the end, she used her understanding of probability to "guess" at the ones we were missing and got it right. Matthew liked the pretend vet hospital. We were all a little scared by the tornado house.
Went to Corky's BBQ for dinner and went to bed at the hotel. Not much micro to linger on here, except Robert ate too much fried food and sugar free gum, so his gut was not happy that night. The other kids slept well, but Robert and the adults could have used another 8 hours :(
Next morning, we hopped back in the car and drove straight to my parents' house in Houston, TX. It was another 6.5 hours. By this time, the kids were tired of the road. And grouchy. And bored of all the things I had brought to entertain them. Matthew suffered the most.
We played at Grandma and Grandpa's house until Monday morning. The kids fell right into it at my parents' house. No awkward hugs or introductions necessary. They instantly fell in love with my sister's dachshund Sasha, too, which probably helped with the transition. Sasha is a sweet, quiet, unassuming kind of dog who would rather run away or snuggle Heather than bark or jump up in your face. We got to see my sister Lara and her family, too. I love how her family likes spending time together. They genuinely enjoy talking to each other and playing together...teenagers and all. I would love to have moments like that with my family of teenagers, too. This was also the point in the trip I realized I had only packed ONE pair of underwear for myself. Ugh.
Bobby and I jogged together Monday morning. Let me tell you...running at 6:30 in the morning in darkness in 100% humidity and 70F was NOTHING like a jog on the treadmill. I am NOT accustomed to breeze or uneven ground or interesting stuff to look at or keeping my own pace. Time to readjust those triathlon expectations a little bit more.
We drove 2 hours to the beach house on the Bolivar Peninsula. The kids did well. Matthew was beside himself with anticipation of the ACTUAL beach in his near future. The house was everything I had hoped for: private beach, lots of open space inside and out for our large crew, plenty of private space for regular bedtimes and baths and a moment to myself when I needed it. I loved having my parents and Erin with us. It's hard to be a mom on stage, and I know my parents had moments when they wished they could help more with the kids, but it was overall a very positive experience. Bobby stepped up and did a lot. More than his fair share. I was kinda wasted at this point in the trip...kicking myself for forgetting or underplanning some things...wanting a break from the kids, which is kinda the opposite of a family vacation...worried about the 2 days of driving between beach bliss and a freezy spring home in Illinois.
We stayed at the beach for a few days. The kids played on the beach every day for hours. Bobby was down there with them most of the time. There were shells, hermit crabs, oodles of sea birds, and small waves that were fun to run with but not so big as to knock anyone over. One day, there was a super low tide. A bunch of tangerine-sized jellyfish were beached. The kids found some great big shells and a golf ball coated in baby barnacles. When not at the beach, we ate, did puzzles, played with toys and read books, ran around the upper deck again and again and again (mostly Matthew and James here), explored a public park, watched ships going into and out of Galveston, sang Happy Birthday to Alice, and took Robert to convenient care to treat another asthma attack :( I had forgotten to pack his inhaler. Now we have 3. We spent one day in Galveston (the ferry ride there was cool) and saw "A Wrinkle in Time" in the theater. Made me cry. I didn't like crying, but the message resonated with me in ways I hadn't felt in a while. Maybe I'm still something of an 11-year-old girl deep inside. Maybe I'm just worried about Alice. Probably both.
We drove home to Illinois. I was reminded why I don't like traveling through Arkansas. All the kids were sick of the car by this point. We stopped again in Little Rock for the night. Alice, James, and Matthew braved the windy 69F air to go swimming in the outside pool. Alice worked on her glides and splashes while James gradually gathered enough courage and experience to finally jump into the pool from the side without assistance. That's another milestone for him. Bobby's one-on-one sessions at the pool have really made a difference for this boy. Him and Robert, both. Matthew played on the stairs until he got too cold, then snuggled into a nest of towels on my lap and shined in his charming, irresistible, and sweet little way. I didn't even care that he was soaking my pants and shirt through to my skin. That boy. I'm in so much trouble.
We came home to temps in the 60s. The kids pretty much hopped on their bikes right away and were zipping around the cul-de-sac until bedtime. Then it snowed and iced the whole next day. We got stuck in it this morning trying to get to church. The kids played in the snow for hours today, only 3 days after getting sunburned at the beach. Here are some pictures from our trip:
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Awesome! Love the pictures! Love everyone in them.
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