Great State of Texas!

[August 24- August 31]
My mom's immediate and extended family hails from the great State of Texas. She has fond memories growing up as a little girl there, then living in California as a youth before meeting and marrying my dad. My grandparents moved back to Texas right after my mom was married. I have fond memories growing up driving the long distance to Texas, and visiting with them in the same house they still live in today.

My mom was planning a trip to see her parents and asked if I wanted to tag along. We decided I would fly there with the two kids, and drive home with her.

Carson was so excited to fly... so excited he forgot to tell me he needed to go potty as we were in line to board the plane. He starts yelling Mommy, and as I look down I can see the puddle forming. Oh, it was joyous! All I could do was scoop up both kids in my arms tell the flight attendant I'd hurry and b-line for the nearest restroom. Luckily, I had a fresh pair of underwear in my backpack and the hand air dryer came in handy for his shorts. Phew, we made it back just in time :) 

He was so thrilled to have his very own Sprite!

Despite being away from Jordan for so long, and the exhaustion of two toddlers; I had a great time! My grandparents house is, lets say not-so kid friendly with expensive glass and crystal knick-knacks everywhere - so I opted to stay at my Uncle Malcolm & Aunt Jennifer's house. My two little cousins, Dylan (8) and Caitlyn (6) loved entertaining my little munchkins for the week! I have no idea why but there is something about Texas that intrigues me, and if it honestly wasn't so far from mine and Jordan's immediate families - I would totally consider moving there in a heartbeat.

Grandma (Great) Mitchell & Brynlee -- I've always believed Brynlee looked and reminded me of my Grandma Mitchell, aren't they so cute together :)

Great (Great) Grandpa Pack

Grandpa & Grandma Mitchell

We enjoyed playing with cousins, having family dinners, visiting Pack Optical (which is my Great-grandpa Pack's optical office where my Grandma worked for many years before retiring), visiting the Saginaw Fire Department (where my uncle Malcolm is a firefighter), going to the Fort Worth Zoo and seeing Carson's favorite animal the elephant, shopping at Ikea!, and joy riding around the DFW area looking at the beautiful neighborhoods with green grass everywhere.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After our 7 day visit, we began the two-day trek home. Normally, my dad drove us as kids in one 18 hour stent, but I wasn't sure how Carson and Brynlee would travel that distance so we decided two days would be best stopping in Albuquerque along the way. On a scale of 1-10, I'd say the kids did a 6 on the first day, when they slept it was glorious but I had to constantly turn and keep Bryn engaged in something. The second day seemed to go much faster, the kids slept more, and we were home by early evening. I came home to the cleanest my house has ever been! Whether or not Jordan was bored or what, it was so NICE and I was glad to finally be home with him again!