Trip to Texas Part 1 & 2- The Drive & Visit with Grandma L and Grandpa J

We made it to Texas to days ago. We left Friday evening and put in a few hours of driving in. On Saturday, Sunday, and Monday we drove between 7 and 8 hours and it went great. The kids were amazingly well behaved. Babalu and Rookie took nice turns on the Nintendo DS and an old phone for entertainment (as well as books and a Minecraft coloring book). Snuggle Puppy sat in his seat and played with his trains, looked out the window and ate snacks the whole way. I read books (finished one short one and am nearly done with two more, I was alternating every chapter or two) and then out in a half day of driving while Big Daddy slept. I passed the time listening to podcasts from the "Stuff You Missed in History Class" show and it was a blast. I'm a history nerd.

We managed to book hotels with free breakfasts so that was supposed to be taken care of. The last morning the breakfast provided was so horrible that I splurged on drive thru from McDonald's. We did picnic lunches every day to save money and that went well. Dinner was bought at various fast food places. The last night on the road we were all tired so we ordered pizza and had it delivered to our room. The kids thought that was awesome. I just liked that I didn't have to go anywhere in a town with an annoying collusion of highways and nothing that I could really see from the parking lot.

We arrived at the Mother-in-Law's home on Monday evening. The boys are having a blast. Grandpa J took them fishing in his pond twice (once for "catch and release" and once more for keeping) and there are 6 cat fish in the fridge waiting to be cooked tonight. They also went to two of the local volunteer fire stations where Grandpa J is a volunteer to see the vehicles. Babalu wants to be a fire fighter now. There are also goats here including one that was born yesterday (he is one from a set of twins. He made it through the birth but his sister didn't). We are hoping that he survived the night so we can see him today. The boys are also loving playing with their 1 year old cousin, Baby B. He is such a social little guy, a nice change from Snuggle Puppy who is not social at all.

I had a nice visit with my Mother-in-Law yesterday while the guys were at the fire stations. She spends a lot time in bed because of her health so I hadn't really had a chance to chat with her yet. I heard a few new stories about when Big Daddy was tiny. I love hearing about him. And she thinks our boys are wonderful which is always nice to hear (and I think it true, my boys are the best!).

I think today we are planning to hang out around the house and see the baby goat. Tomorrow I'm hoping we can check out the very small zoo near by. On Friday after breakfast we are headed to my Mom's place about 3 hours south of our current location. We have a busy visit with her as long as the weather cooperates. I'll post more about that later...

Week 20

Ever had a week where there is so much outside stuff going on that only the minimum gets accomplished? That has been thing week. Monday Big Daddy was home plus we had co-op (which we skipped because the kids wanted to hang out with Daddy), Tuesday the kids started choir practice (which they loved!) then we ran errands and yesterday we had to sit at the car dealership for several hours waiting for the car to have it's oil changed and all that. Today we get to go back and have 2 new tires put on the car. Tomorrow looks like a normal Friday so we can get Cub Scout work done. But the kids have been fairly good and are getting what they can finished. Next week is week 21 and after that we take 2 weeks off for a road trip :)

Back to the grind stone (AKA Week 19)

We have begun our new semester of school. So far (half way through the week) we are doing fairly well. The kids haven't been complaining too much and I think they are happy with their work.

Our read aloud schedule is so messed up that I'm not even going to think about it until after our road trip to Texas. We fell  very behind. The same with history but I'm not concerned with that. We do the bits that are interesting to the boys and that is mostly kings/knights/battles/dragons. Thankfully the middle ages are full of that sort of thing.

Winter Break

The last couple of weeks have been nice. The Biggies each had a day at zoo camp and all three of them had a weekend at their Nonni's house.

Tomorrow it is back to the grindstone. I have to spend an hour or two prepping. Our Co-op resumes tomorrow as does Babalu's swim practice.  Next week Scouts resumes and the boy's begin choir practice. Big Daddy and I decided that they needed something artsy and choir is a good outlet for kids who aren't into art. Another new thing is that on Friday's (for I don't know how long) we will be looking after a friend's baby (who I shall call Bam Bam). We are super excited, he is a sweet little thing and will enjoy him very much.

Because of our schedule of activities our weekly schedule will be pretty different. The kids are in different choirs but they meet back-to-back so I will have one boy doing daily work while the other in singing. I'm hoping it works out. I still have to work out the particulars.

We also have begun the preparations for our road trip at the end of the month. I want the house clean and organized before we leave. Plus the sheer amount of things one must bring for a family of 5 for two weeks is crazy, even with doing laundry a few times. The main purpose of the trip is to deliver my mother's things to her so I can make room in my garage. I hope we can fit everything in our van or at the very least fit all of the heavy things. My mother could stock a library with all of her books.