I will apologize in advance for the length of this post...not only is this my way to try and stay connected to our family that is so spread apart with us being the lone rangers in Texas, but it's also a journal for the kids to be able to have when they are older. My way of remembering all the things that get so easily forgotten or pushed deep down in the memories...
We started our journey Friday mid morning, a whopping 18 hours after Daddy got back from the UAE for 2 weeks. Our car was STUFFED and the intent was to break the trip up into 2 days to keep us from driving too much in one day after a crazy 2 weeks prior and to keep the boys from being too restless. We purposefully left a little before lunch so we would have a reason to stop, get out and stretch our legs some. We made it to Jackson/Pearl, MS by dinner time and were able to find a Chick Fil A to let the boys play and get out some of that strapped in energy from the car ride. So we were traveling only from 11:30 to 6:30 and the boys did great. Noah was a hoot at our lunch stop, climbing all over the place, playing with the people in the booth behind us, playing with cups, trying to catch a fly...anything but sit still, but you can't really blame him. Drew was too excited about movies in the car and car toys to take a nap like planned, but he 'rested' some while Noah took a short nap. They both did quite well in the car, though it would have been completely different, no doubt, without the movies...man, that makes it so much easier! We got to our hotel after some good playtime at the CFA playground and then tried to wind the boys down for bed...Drew did ok, Noah was crazy! He had never slept in anything besides a Pack N Play or crib at this point and the PnP was packed under EVERYTHING in the car, so we didn't want to get it out. So Drew slept with Daddy in one bed, and Noah with Mommy in the other. Drew did alright, but it took Noah over an hour to settle down, not falling asleep until after 10:30. He was jumping all over the bed, climbing on Mommy, I tried to get in his face and sternly tell him it was time for sleep, well, he got in mine and mimicked it right back...it was so HILARIOUS! He was trying to get me to tickle and play with him, and asking for the "bownce hous", oh, it was a long night it seemed. And he was up at 6! (He normally sleeps from 8p to 7:30a).
So, we were all up by 6:45, ate breakfast at the hotel and back on the road by 8:30. We were making decent time until we hit Mobile, AL. Then, just like everyone else in the Southeast apparently, we were all making our way down to the coast for the week of July 4th...go figure! It got REALLY bad once we were on the 2 lane highway that took us all the way down to Gulf Shores. The boys were ansy, tired and hungry and instead of stopping, we just kept going, thinking we could make it all the way. Well, we did, but it was not as pleasant. But we stopped for lunch down the street from the condo and the boys ate about 3 bites and just ran around the rest of the time...again, can't blame them, but our tolerance and patience were lost about an hour north, so it was less than ideal. We wrapped it up and headed to the condo to meet Grandpa and Nana. Thanks to the grandparents, both boys finally laid down for a nap before heading over to the beach houses. Everyone trickled in late that afternoon for the most part, all of us cursing the traffic to get there. But we unpacked and got dinner ready for everyone. The boys were a bit overwhelmed meeting everyone again, but were excited about the cousins, especially Scott's kids...both boys just thought they were worth following around!
Sunday morning, several of us took a walk to the beach to find lots of jellyfish on the shore and in the waters. We had breakfast back at the houses (Noah was crazy cranky and fussy) and a devotion led by Grandpa and Nana, with some AWESOME children's songs! LOL! We headed out to a Lagoon around 11, thinking maybe there would be less jellyfish, etc. Well, they were there too and being on that side made it even hotter due to little breeze. The boys weren't huge fans of the sand either, though they slowly warmed up to it. They did some building of sand castles, Noah moved sand from one spot to another and they got their first experience of it all. We didn't last long there, and headed back for a quick lunch and boys nap. (a crucial part of every day not just for the kids, but for M and D!) We spent the afternoon in the pool - a true God-send! The boys loved it! Drew was swimming all over the place with his floaties on, and both loved jumping into the pool! Our 'no fear' Noah joined right in, though at one point, he stopped jumping out, and rather up, so would hit his tail on the edge of the pool, so he wasn't as consistently enjoying that part! But he got better and was a hoot regardless! At one point, with Grandpa on the other side of the pool, doing absolutely nothing to anyone, Noah pointed at him and sternly said "Granpa, top it!" (Grandpa, stop it!), over and over again! It was SO funny! He must know that usually, Grandpa is up to something! :) We had a good afternoon and evening, with a great Thompson dance party after dinner - the boys thought it was greatness! Though they weren't huge participants, they were mesmerized!
Monday was a beautiful and HOT day! The boys slept a bit better and were in better moods. We got in the pool a bit in the AM and then headed to the zoo with quite a crew - Scott's whole family, Calvin and Kelly, Grandpa and Nana, Shirley and Natalie. We enjoyed the zoo, though it did make me realize how good we have it in Fort Worth, but the boys enjoyed being so close to some of the animals, and in general, being with Scott's kids! The boys fought their nap when back at the houses, but did get some rest and spent the rest of the day in the pool for the most part. Turns out we missed probably the best day at the beach, but it also turns out that my family doesn't really love the beach and pulling teeth to get them there every day wasn't my idea of fun either, so it was ok. Most of the rest of the family were able to enjoy, so that was good. Noah was continuing to be pretty clingy to Mommy for all needs being met, and otherwise and didn't want much to do with any others, so that was a bit tiring already, and pretty much lasted the entire week! He did enjoy all the stairs at the houses, each having 3 levels and was adamant about doing them by himself, bossing us to "go back!", needing his space to do it himself...oh, it's fatiguing!
Wednesday morning instead of getting them all out to the beach again, we took the boys souvenir shopping...they enjoyed picking out some shirts and toys and seeing the big pirate ship! We also let them ride on the little cars/animals that move (Nana liked spoiling them with that!) and they thought that was great! More swimming in the pool (something Daddy and Drew could have done all day every day I think). Drew got confident enough to jump in with his floatie on, without someone there to catch him. He also had fun playing keep away and other games with Scott's kids in the pool - frisbee over the pool, pretending to be Wild Kratts, all sorts of good fun! Most of the family made their tie-dyed shirts as well, which was WAY more involved than I realized and had my fill by shirt #4! :)
Thursday Matthew made his signature pancakes for the whole family for breakfast, which was a hit, and A LOT of pancakes were made! We had more fun on the beach (this time a little less like pulling teeth to get there) and lots of us were out there. We buried a few people in the sand, including Daddy, and the boys weren't sure what to do about it. Noah started digging in at his toes/feet to get him out. Drew ventured into the water more finally and had fun with that as well as leaving tracks in the sand, digging and building mounds right at the water break and just general beach fun. Having all the other kids there was a huge help to get him going! Noah moved sand the entire morning! He was more content than any other day I think...he just moved sand from one spot to the other, in and out of buckets, dug, destroyed other people's castles, whatever, he was finally into it! The sand sculpture was created, appropriately as an American flag, being July 4th and all. The afternoon again was spent in the pool, with more of the same fun - Scott's kids were great with Drew especially. Noah went back and forth on the pool the whole week, but had fun playing 'around' the pool just as much as he did in it, throwing and kicking balls into the pool and in general terrorizing people when he could! We had a fun evening with the whole family playing games, decorating souvenir plates (thanks Stella!), playing chase (the boys loved running up and down the long hall with the big boys), playing with Playdough, etc. all while waiting for the fireworks. We had a GREAT view from the back porches of the houses. The boys LOVED them, Noah kept asking for "works, works!" But we were up late and Noah zonked out easily once in bed, even with some random fireworks still going off. Drew on the other hand had such a blast, he didn't want the night to end!
Friday brought rain...LOTS of rain! It rained quite a bit the night before and was off and on all day long! It wasn't all bad though...we all had a good chance to have a low-key day, just spending time together. We also spent a good part of the day packing up and getting ready to leave. So, all was well.
Saturday all 39 of us were gone before 7 am! Unbelievable. I tell you what, when we are motivated, we can get it done! NOBODY wanted to be in that traffic again like coming down and we all made sure that didn't happen! We mostly said our good-byes the night before, the make the morning quick (it takes a long time to say good-bye to that many people as you can imagine!) We all made it back home safe without event. There was some pretty good rain we all had to drive through to get out, but we made it! The 4 of us left before Grandpa, Nana and Uncle Kevin, who stayed behind to make sure all was taken care of with all the houses. But we were able to meet up with them for lunch at Chick Fil A (seriously, the best place for kids in general, but while on a road trip, to give them an outlet for their energy, perfect!!!). We drove the entire way home with another stop for dinner. And we realized that no matter if we stop at an actual sit down restaurant or fast food, it takes us an hour every time we stop...between diaper change/bathroom, eating with their little interest in it, instead wanting to play, it's an hour every time. But, even with that, we made it home early enough for baths for the boys and an almost normal bedtime! It was great! They traveled amazingly on the way home! Giving us probably way too much confidence to try it again this winter to go north for a Thompson wedding! :) But really, they did great in the car and we were SO happy to be home!
To sum it up, we had a great time seeing everyone. My family is by no means a 'beach bum' family and I'm too OCD to push it (I literally spent almost the entire day Sunday de-sanding everything...nothing came into the house without me cleaning it off first! And yes, I'm crazy!). But the time with family was great. Our pediatrician puts it well though, "You don't take vacations with little kids...you take trips!" It's a lot of work and not quite the relaxation most people have in mind. But you do it to try different things and see people you love and places you've never been before. Drew had a great time, did well with everyone, but fell in love with Scott's kids all over again, Jake making a lasting impression no doubt. Both boys felt at home with that family and warmed up to them, both also taking a liking to Uncle Scott...and you know what, I remember feeling the same way when I was a kid - loved to play with Uncle Scott! Noah set his limit there and didn't want much to do with any one else unless it was Momma (Daddy, Nana, Grandpa, and Uncle Kevin were ok too), but he was a bit of a mess to handle it felt like. He didn't want ANYONE to tell him what or how to do anything and we all heard the phrase "No like it!" about a hundred times at least! His tone of voice still rings in my head. I found the perfect shirt for him while I was there...pictures of a fish, crab and shark, with 'Crazy, Grumpy, Hungry' over them respectively...that's pretty much what it felt like!
When looking back, we had a really good time. We love the Thompson family and look forward to seeing everyone again soon - January for Emily's big day! Pray for good traveling weather! Seriously, an amazing family...who else can say 39 people had a generational music video competition - LOVED it! I think that needs to be a family reunion tradition!!! Wonder who will plan the next one....not it!!! :)
