BUT
We did it! We survived! And not only that, on they way down the kids were all amazing travelers!
Our flight out of Boise left Thursday at 6am. I had originally planned to get up at 3:30am to get myself ready, Quinton ready, finish the last of the packing and then get girls up... Quinton had other ideas. He woke up at 2:30am ready to eat, thankfully he did because after he was fed I continued on with my plan and we managed to be out the door right on time. Had I gotten up at 3:30am who knows how late we would have been!!
Getting three car seats, three kids, three back packs, one diaper bag, two suitcases, and one stroller all through the line and checked in was quite the spectacle I'm sure! Security was actually a breeze this time because they didn't make us take off our shoes, and they were very quick about scanning the girls milks and Quinton's bottle. We got on our plane fairly easily as well and we were off. Quinton fell asleep and the girls were too excited to sleep just yet. They colored and played on the iPad on our way to Denver. During take off Natalia turned to Charlie and said, "daddy, this wing isn't flapping!" he he he. One gentleman behind me commented on how well we traveled and how well behaved our kids were. It totally made my day because I tried to think of everything that could go wrong ahead of time and have a plan or toy in place for that. ha ha ha. During landing in Denver, Natalia saw these tee pee looking things on top of the airport and told Charlie that Indians lived there. Once in Denver we got the girls and daddy smoothies and I got myself some coffee. The kiddos changed out of their pj's and into some outfits I had in the backpack. Right before boarding I went to change Lydia's diaper because she had pooped. While up on the changing table I asked her if she was poopy. Her response (and I hope you can visualize it because it's hilarious) "yeah mommy and it's a ginormous one" All while holding her hands about six inches apart to emphasize how big it was. I busted up laughing. Got back on the plane for Dallas. This time Natalia and Quinton both slept. Lydia just doesn't sleep in places that aren't her bed. She stayed in a good mood though and we made it through that flight as well. While in the air, the lady next to me sneezed so Lydia turns to me and says, "Mommy, that lady has a booger nose." The same gentleman was on our flight again and complimented us again, saying we were a well oiled machine and made a great team etc. We got a couple other quick compliments as well, and it seriously made me feel great! Grandpa Steve and Cece were waiting for us in Dallas, their flight landed about an hour before us, so they were there to help us gather up all our suitcases/car seats etc. Cece stayed with me and the kids while Steve and Charlie went to the rental car place to get our rental. We had rented a mini van because it costs way less then an SUV... and you all should know I'm really not a fan of mini vans!! But, I had to admit this one fit us perfectly and had all the amenities that made our drive much less of a pain. We got everything loaded and headed off on our drive. We stopped for lunch at Whataburger because a visit to Texas just isn't complete without one. By the time we got to Wichita Falls it was 5:30pm... making for a really long day of travel. Again, the kids did amazing. Quinton miraculously didn't cry at all and slept the whole drive!! Both girls stayed awake (despite how tired they seemed) and watched Frozen on the iPad. Once we got to Grandpa and Grandma's house we unloaded the car and settled in to visit. They had a delicious dinner ready for us, but the girls were too excited to eat and just wanted to play. Our original plan was to have the girls sleep on an air mattress at the foot of our bed and Quinton in a pack and play next to me. HA! That night just as we finished reading and singing the girls decided to climb into bed with me and Quinton would wake after 10 min in the pack n play after a couple of tries I just said screw it and he slept next to me with either girl on my side as well. With all of us in there, Charlie decided to just sleep on the air mattress. That night though when Quinton woke at 4am to eat, it woke Lydia up who then climbed over and woke Natalia up. It took a good hour for them to settle back in and fall asleep. Once he woke up at 7am to eat, then there was no keeping them in bed and we were up for the day.
Friday was really just a day of rest for us. We were so exhausted from the traveling and from a long night! The girls played with toys we had brought and the few Grandma had for them, watched movies, and colored etc. I got Lydia to go down for a nap and in the process got to take one myself. It was probably one of the highlights of my trip because we never get to snuggle like that. Natalia loves to sleep in our bed now, and I'm always pulling Quinton into bed with me... but Lydia sleeps in her crib and pretty much no where else so I don't get to nap with her ever. I don't remember much else of that day. That night we went over to Aunt Vicki's house for dinner. I decided rather than trying to chase down girls and get them to eat, and then allowing myself to eat I was just going to sit and eat and then worry about them. Worked out much better that way. We then got to sit down and play cards and the girls were set up by Aunt Vicki with the TV and bowls of cheerios which worked out awesome. Quinton was happiest laying on a blanket just watching us. That night we didn't get to bed until super late. I had the idea to have Charlie sleep with the girls in the big bed and I would sleep with Quinton on the air mattress. I also had bottles with water and the formula ready to mix next to me to see if I could keep him from waking the girls. It went much better that night so we continued to do it that way the next two more nights.
Saturday I really wanted to try and get out of the house a little so we took the girls to the mall so I could find cowgirl boots for Lydia. We had bought Natalia a pair the year before that still fit so she didn't need any. We found some for Lydia and of course they found Minnie Mouse/Princess flip flops that they loved. I caved quickly and Charlie gave in as well. Luckily they were half off and then rang up even a couple bucks cheaper than that. ;) We also ran to Target for a few things too. Once back at the house we waited for Charlie's cousin Kevin and his wife Joy and their kids Anna (who is three weeks younger then Lydia) and Eli (two weeks older then Quinton) to come. Everyone had fun playing in the back yard, the girls splashed around in a little pool and we took tons of pictures of the generations and families etc.
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| Quinton and Eli... can you believe my chunk monkey is younger?!?!?! |
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| Four generations of Hodges men!! So very thankful we were able to go and get this picture. |
Sunday it was a trip to the Goodwill to see if they had any cute used boots and I scored a pair for Quinton. He won't be able to wear them until next year probably, but they were too cute to pass up. I also scored a couple of cute outfits for him and a couple things for Natalia. The rack for Lydia was pretty sparse though. =( After that we walked over to Braums for ice cream, like What a Burger a trip to Texas isn't complete without Braums. We also had lunch there because we were all getting hungry. We took the girls home and let them play for a bit. Lydia refused to nap, but was also on the verge of a meltdown because she was exhausted from being up late every night, waking up too early every morning, and refusing to nap. We decided to just load them up and take them over to the Prairie Dog exhibit (which really isn't much but it's fun to see them) there is a great park right next to it though that they love. Quinton started to melt down though so I went back to the van and just fed him with the doors open. We had a good breeze going and he crashed. Then we went back to Aunt Vicki's house for yummy Mexican pile-on which is basically all the fixings for tacos/burritos/nachos and you just do what you want. I got to sit and just chat with Joy for a long time about being a mommy and our different birth experiences. ha ha ha.
Monday it was time to pack up and head back. It was sad to leave, Charlie's grandparents are doing great for their ages, but you just never know... and I'm always so worried that each time we leave them it'll be the last time we see them. Grandpa Hodges will be 92 this year and Grandma Hodges just turned 89. =( We loaded up the car and began the drive back. Again, Natalia and Quinton rested and Lydia refused. We stopped half way at Braum's once more because it's almost like a tradition. Our original plan of attack was to have Charlie drop myself, the kids, and all our stuff off at the front of the check in and then go return the car by himself. But, I really didn't like the idea of being separated... or trying to take care of all three of them by myself while sitting with all our stuff. So we decided to brave the shuttle. It was CRAZY and chaotic, but we managed and we survived! It was only really tough because we were the last ones on at the rental car place so all our car seats were blocking others suitcases, and we were the last stop on the shuttle so we kept having to shift them all around. Thankfully the bus driver was super nice and helped us load and unload it all... as was everyone around us. People gave up their seats for the girls and I, and one nice lady helped me unload the girls and grab their backpacks etc. I thanked her profusely as she was walking away!! We got all checked in and went though security. We had about an hour to kill (which we planned on) so we could eat dinner before boarding. We knew we only had a 45 min layover in Los Angeles and most of that was boarding time. We got everyone fed and did the usual potty/diaper stuff. We got in line to board and when they announced it was time, they encouraged anyone who needed extra time to board to cut to the front. We were totally fine not doing it, but a couple of people around us said why not take advantage. So we did. BIG MISTAKE! The plane was HOT HOT HOT. They couldn't get it to cool down until we were up in the air, and then we were stuck on the runway for almost 20 minutes. I was sweating, Quinton was screaming because he hates being hot. I was trying to fan myself/Quinton and Natalia next to me. Charlie was trying to fan me and Quinton and Lydia. This really nice lady behind me started to fan Quinton to help out too. Once in the air I was able to finally get Quinton to calm down and fall asleep. Lydia FINALLY crashed next to Charlie and slept the entire flight.
It's taken a few days to get back on track. I'm still so exhausted but the girls are back to normal, and hopefully Quinton will be too. Today is Natalia's birthday, so we've been busy trying to play catch up and prepare for her party at the same time. I took a lot of pictures on our trip and don't want to go through and add them all here because that would take forever, so make sure to click on the link to see our fun!
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