Texas 2015

We did it!  We survived another trip to Texas.  I swear, we have the WORST luck coming home from trips.  Thinking back to our last trip to Texas, coming home we got stuck on the plane in Dallas without air forever, we were dripping sweat and Quinton was screaming.  Coming home from Disney the second day what should have taken 8.5 hours took us 12 because of bad roads.  Coming home from Oregon, as I just blogged about,  was a long day too.  And then coming home from this trip... yeah I'll get to that soon.  

Tuesday the 14th we didn't even leave Boise until 11am, so it was quite nice to not have to be at the airport at the butt crack of dawn.  My mom dropped us off and we got through check in/security without any issues.  It's quite the show to see us with our three kids, three car seats, two suitcases, a stroller, and four back packs.  So so thankful for Natalia and her age this trip.  She was so very helpful!! We put one car seat in the stroller and she pushed it for us.  Made it so much easier on Charlie and myself to only have to worry about the other two and the suitcases.  I strapped Quinton to me as usual and he thankfully didn't protest in it.  We grabbed some food to take on the plane with us since we would be flying during lunch time.  The kids did awesome on the plane.  Quinton napped and the girls colored etc.  We landed in Vegas and were supposed to just stay on the plane while it was re-boarded.  About five minutes after everyone had left, we were told that we actually had to switch planes.  My first thought was um, we don't have boarding passes for another plane... So they told us to just show our ID's at the next gate and they'd let us on the plane first.  We quickly gathered all our things (we hadn't thought to repack all the girls stuff since we were supposed to just stay on this plane) and took off for the next gate.  The next flight also went really smoothly.  Quinton was a little squirmy because he really just wanted to play and wiggle, and thankfully all the people around us didn't seem to mind him standing in the isle being a goof.  We landed a little delayed in Oklahoma City.  

**side note: we either have to fly into Dallas or Oklahoma City and then drive around two hours to Wichita Falls.  This time the flight to OKC was cheaper and it was Southwest which was nice with the free bags.  We also decided we like that flight better because even with the plane change in Vegas it seemed to go much more quickly and the airport is smaller so we don't have to worry about the hassle of getting on the shuttle with all our stuff to get to the rental car place.  And the roads seem to be easier too.**

So we get our suitcases and car seats and go to check out our rental car.  UGH.  I usually reserve a mini van because they tend to be cheaper than an SUV and better gas mileage.  Well this one time I found a SUV (GMC Acadia or like car, seven passenger/suitcases it said) for $30 cheaper a day.  So I went with it.  The car this guy brought us was a small SUV/crossover thing, and I mean small.  It would have only fit one suitcase and two car seats.  No third row, so definitely not the seven passenger car I reserved.  So we went and told him there was no way this was going to work and that I had reserved that type of car for a reason.  He came back with a big old boat of a car and we finally got everything loaded up and strapped in.  Finally on the road we were about an hour behind schedule. UGH.  We knew we'd be getting in somewhat late to Wichita Falls anyway so we had told the Grandparents to now wait up for us and we'd come see them first thing Wednesday morning.  So we were ok there anyway.  We stuck to our normal of stopping at Whataburger for dinner, no trip is complete without Whataburger.  ;)  Charlie took some fun jumper pictures outside to show his enthusiasm for their delicious burgers.  

We had to try a few times to get the picture just right.  But going back looking at his faces i couldn't help but giggle so I had to make a blooper reel.  However I accidentally used the same picture twice. ;) 

We trekked on and got to our hotel around 9:30pm I think.  We decided to use our family discount and stay at the Marriott in town.  Which worked out anyway because Grandpa and Grandma had just moved into their new apartment at the assisted living manor.  (they really really needed to move in there a while ago, but finally just moved in may).  It was not nearly as nice as the Marriott we stayed in UT or the one Charlie's dad owns here in town.  But they did have a pool and free breakfast so oh well!  It took me a while to get us all unpacked enough to get settled in and ready to go see the grandparents in the morning.  I normally wouldn't worry about that because we'd have all our stuff with us when we stayed with them.  But I needed to be sure I had things to keep the girls occupied, snacks for Quinton etc.  We finally went to bed around 11pm.  The girls slept in one bed and Charlie/Quinton/ and myself in the other.  He took a little longer to settle down but then slept pretty good until 6am when he was up and ready to go.  

Wednesday we got showered up and then went down to eat breakfast. then we went to see the grandparents. Charlie's dad was there as well, he had flown in Monday for a quick visit to overlap our visit.  Grandma and Grandpa are pretty well known at the manor, they knew a ton of people from their church there already,  so the "Babies coming to visit the Hodges" were quite popular and the talk of the town.  ha ha.  We spent the morning visiting with them and catching up. 

 Then we all went out to lunch at a delicious bbq place.  Quinton was NOT a fan of it though because they had stuffed animal heads up on the walls and he was a little freaked out by them.  After lunch we decided to go back to the hotel so that Quinton could nap and the girls could swim.  Charlie took the girls down to the pool so I napped right along with Quinton. =) That night we all met back up at Vicki and Jim's house (Charlie's aunt and uncle) for dinner.  We were able to take our four generation picture again and that was very important to me.  Quinton was a little pudgy ball of an 8 week old when we were there last year for our picture and now he's getting so big and has such a personality.  

Each year we can sneak in another visit down there and Grandpa and Grandma are still around is such a treat.  After dinner we got to play a game of hand and foot.  The girls are getting old enough that they entertain themselves and Uncle Jim helped a lot too, especially once they got used to him again and allowed him to entertain them ha ha.  Quinton would wonder up to us for something and then go play with the girls.  Or wander off to the back bedroom where all the toys were, so he did really good at entertaining himself as well.  So it was nice that I actually got to play cards a lot this trip when usually I have to play with kids and entertain them.  =) 

We tried to start teaching Natalia Hand and Foot. She gets that three's are bad and that we draw two and discard one... but so far that's it.  ha ha ha

Cute cuddly girls at the beginning of the night, and then exhausted girls by the end of the night

That night Quinton did his weird screaming thing in his sleep that he did in Oregon.  This time only lasting about 10 min.  Thankfully the girls slept through it, but I feel bad for all the rooms around us who might have woken up to it.  eesh.  

Thursday we were up bright and early again, showered and had breakfast.  Went back to see Grandpa and Grandma.   Quinton took a good morning nap in the spare bedroom that time so the girls just watched PBS and colored.  Michael (Charlie's cousin) came too and we got to play cards again.  For lunch the boys ran out and picked up a bunch of Whataburger again.  ha ha ha.  Good stuff I tell you.  That afternoon the girls wanted to swim with me, so Charlie stayed back with Quinton while he slept and I went down to the pool with them. 

I'm so grateful for my lifeproof case on my phone.  I don't fully submerge it in water, but I do take it around the pool and don't care if it gets splashed... and I can get awesome photos like this one! She LOVES jumping into the pool doing cannon balls and belly flops. 

Lydia has all the sudden become a huge chicken in the pool (so much so she totally loses it at swim lessons now, ugh) so I worked really hard with her and got her to actually jump into the pool for me.  Once totally worn out and cold we went up to the room to get dried off.  We were so super quite and Quinton actually slept through us coming back, so we were going to set the girls up with a movie on the iPad while he slept.  As soon as we put on their headphones, they forgot about being good and whispering and Natalia belts out "it's too loud!"  ha ha ha.  That woke little man up right away.  Since he'd taken two naps that day we figured he'd had enough rest anyway, so we decided to just load up and head for Vicki's house again.  Again we had yummy dinner and card playing. 

 Quinton really loved playing with the dominoes, and Natalia was just coloring. Lydia had previously fallen asleep in my lap after repeatedly telling me she wanted to go back (to the hotel) and then just fell asleep.  So I moved her to the couch were she slept for a good hour and a half. 

By the way was on a total winning streak.  The only game I lost the whole trip (in teams or in singles) was to Charlie and I was in second place that game.  It was super lucky but it was awesome! 

Friday morning I wanted to go hit up the Goodwill there and then go to the mall in search of new cowgirl boots for Natalia.  It's tradition now!  ha ha ha.  She had outgrown hers and had been stealing Lydia's for a while now, so she needed some new ones.  We stopped at Target so I could grab more diapers for Quinton.  Michael met us there so he could go shopping with us.  Vicki called him while we were there to let him know that Grandpa had actually fallen into the bathtub the night before.  he THANKFULLY was ok, no broken bones just bruised.  The shower curtain had pretty much caught him but Grandma couldn't get him up.  So they called the nurses downstairs and got help.  Again, it's soo soo good they moved.  Not his first fall and probably not his last either.  So we decided to just let them rest that day and would see them at dinner.  So Vicki met up with us to go shopping too.  I scored some cute stuff at Goodwill for the kids and the girls found almost brand new sparkly shoes for each of them.  Then we went to the mall and found Natalia some new boots.  Took some convincing because she found some really cute green ones at the western store she really really wanted, but were $65 and yikes.  So we found a pair she liked second best for a fraction of that.  Then we took Vicki and Michael out to lunch at a local Mexican place (which Charlie's dad worked at as a teen ha ha ha) and it was yummy!  After lunch we went back to the hotel for a rest.

We told the girls if they could be quite while Quinton slept and watched a movie on the iPad then we could all go swimming together.  

The top one was at night time and the bottom one was during a nap.  But I just love sleeping baby pictures, he looks so peaceful

Quinton is so funny in the pool.  He absolutely loves it and loves being thrown in the air, but only if CHarlie is holding him. If I try to take him he gets really mad.  But at home we do mommy and me swim lessons and he's totally fine with me.  

He and I went up to the room a little early though when he got cold and Charlie swam with the girls for a little bit longer.  

We went back to Vicki's house again for dinner and this time she ordered pizza for everyone.   Pizza is probably one of Quinton's very favorite things to eat, so he ate tons. (grandma was really impressed with that and how much grown up food he eats with so few teeth ha ha)  Grandpa and Grandma came by for a little bit after dinner with their manor.  We saw Grandpa's bruised arms and were so thankful it wasn't worse.  Quinton again loved the dominoes, and this time he was quite hysterical with them. 

Uncle Jim set up the TP for the kiddos to play with that night and they got a huge kick out of it.  

Another fun night and we were sad to see it come to an end, knowing it was our last night in town.  

Back at the hotel the kiddos were all wound up and not ready for sleep at all! Quinton has discovered his reflection and whenever he sees it he has to give himself kisses.  It's really pretty cute, the girls never did that. 

Saturday morning we woke up and decided we'd had enough of the breakfast downstairs, so Charlie ran out and got us doughnuts.  We hurried and got our room packed up and the car loaded up.  Then it was off to Grandpa and Grandma's apartment for one last visit.  Quinton fell asleep again in the spare bedroom.  He slept for almost two hours back there!  This picture of Grandma's brother is in that room and I kept staring at it all week.  I think Charlie looks a lot like him, in the jaw and smile.  

During nap time we just played cards with Michael and Grandma and the girls did awesome just hanging out again.  

Vicki and Jim came by with the leftovers from the week and we had them for lunch.  Natalia took my phone and took tons of pictures that morning/afternoon which was fun to go back and look at. 

Our final game of hand and foot in Texas and I won again.  Winning streak I tell you. 

One last picture of the kiddos with Grandpa and Grandma before we left. 

Around three that afternoon it was time to head out and make our drive back to OKC.  So we said our goodbyes and loaded up the car.  At which point I got an email from Southwest saying our flight had been delayed 40 min.  No biggie we thought we can take our time getting ice cream and gas.  

No trip to Texas is complete without Braums.  We kept eating ice cream at Vicki's house so we never stopped at Braums during the week.  We promised we'd get some one the way out.  Natalia remembered her lime ice cream from our last trip and had been dreaming about it.  It was sure tasty!  Quinton was loving mine! 

After ice cream it was back on the road.  And then the emails from Southwest start pouring in.  One hour delayed, two hours delayed, three hours delayed.  At this point I'm getting annoyed and then I start to worry about our connecting flight out of Denver, thinking we are going to miss it. I called Southwest and they said the Denver flight was going to be delayed too so we didn't need to worry.  So we just kept going.  Had we known of these delays ahead of time we would have stayed in Wichita Falls a couple more hours to hang out... UGH!  So we got stuck at the airport in Oklahoma City for three hours... and it was boring.  It's about the size of the Boise airport and it was getting late so everything was shut down.  We had just enough time once we returned our car and get checked in to eat dinner before the restaurants all closed.  We let the kids run wild to help get the wiggles out and make sure they were good and exhausted for our flights since it was going to be a long late night.  Thankfully the airport was pretty empty and it was basically just people our flight left and lots of other families with kids who needed to get wiggles out too.  

Natalia planking on the seats

By the time we got on the plane it was 10:30pm! (our flight was originally supposed to leave at 6:40pm)  I had thankfully put jammies in the kids backpacks thinking they'd change in Denver, so they were all set for sleep when we finally boarded.  All three slept through that flight and we landed in Denver at 12:30am.  And thankfully that flight was delayed (supposed to leave at 9:30pm) so all we had to do was walk up to our gate and they had just started boarding.  Lydia slept through that flight, but Natalia and Quinton felt well rested and were loud and silly during the flight.  Quinton would make loud noises and Natalia would giggle at it only making him do more.  Poor people around us I felt awful. I was beyond worn out and seriously tired.  I head bobbed a lot, and he finally fell asleep about 20 min before we landed ha ha.

We got to Boise at 3am.  wow.  We had arranged for my brother to leave my car in the short term parking garage earlier that evening, so we didn't have to worry about someone coming to get us at 11:30pm... which was now 3am.  So that worked out well.  We got our stuff and then Charlie went to get the car and bring it around so we could load it up.  I do have to say after a few days with our boat of a rental car, we were so happy to be back in my Pilot again.  It suits us so perfectly.

We got home and got kiddos off to sleep.  Finally in our beds it was 3:45am and we were beat.  Of course Quinton woke up at 6am that morning and I wanted to scream.  Ha ha.  I took him downstairs to the tv room and started watching tv with him, he fell asleep in my lap.

I think he just really missed sleeping with Charlie and myself, because I was able to put him in bed between us and go back to sleep for a couple more hours.  

Woo.  There's my Texas blog!  I'm getting caught up.  For more pictures of our trip here is the link to my Facebook album: Texas 2015