Duncan finished school in the middle of May. He asked for 2 weeks if he had school today! I am glad he likes it and he will be very happy to go back in the fall.
We went to see the buffalo and we did see some. All of the kids enjoyed the trip. I didn't think about it but the air in the van wasn't working at the time and when we got home, the van was filled with dust. Well it needed a good cleaning anyway so Abby helped me ( really she did most of the cleaning, she likes to clean cars!). We spent about 5 hours cleaning it good and getting it ready for vacation.
At the end of May we went to Texas to see Joni, Wayne, and Alex. Us, Hawkins, and Mom all went in our van. We left after supper on Friday so the kids could sleep on the way. We drove all the way through to Houston, well with a few stops on the way!
On Saturday morning we were almost to Dallas. We stopped at a park and made eggs and let the kids play since we had a few more hours to go! This was a good choice, they did pretty well the rest of the way and even napped some more! We stopped at a bakery and at Buckee's (truck stop) on the way. Our stops take any where from 30 minutes to an hour it seems by the time we get everyone out and bathroom breaks and loaded back up.
We finally arrived in Houston, it seemed like forever from Dallas and that is what Joni said would happen. Within the first hour of being at their house, I broke a lamp by running into a table. Owen got into a fire ant hill and had bites all over his legs and a few on his hands. They looked nasty. Topical benadryl and ibuprofen seemed to work. It did take all week for them to look better. He still has a few spots, but much better now. Where else would you get to ride a tricycle in the house, no where except Aunt Joni's. Duncan had a blast on it and finally it ended up outside and he rode that thing all week. We thought it was going to be a fight to leave it there, he kept telling everyone Alex out grew it so he needed to take it home!
Sunday we went to church at Rose and Bill's church (neighbors of Joni's). All of the kids were very good, I was really surprised. We went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant on Sunday night.It was very good. On the way there Aunt Joni decided to show us some sights of Texas, as we were driving along here comes a police officer with lights on, coming towards our van, Tracy pulled out of the way and he followed him, so Tracy moved again and the police officer followed again. Finally Tracy said, is he pulling us over? Yep he sure was because Joni had us going the wrong way down a one way street! Thankfully there was not lots of traffic!
Monday we went to the pool in the neighborhood, that was fun. Tracy stayed at home with the little ones. Monday night we grilled out and some of Joni and Waynes friends came over. We went to Nasa on Tuesday, that was lots of fun. Lots to see, we did not go on the tour because there wasn't time. The Hawkins, Mom and Alex went they said it was very cool. The only thing Duncan wanted to do was ride the train that takes you on the tour and you have to get off at every stop. Next time we go we will do it. On the way home we went to the Chase tower, Aunt Joni's friend Tim works there and he took us clear to the top. The 75th floor is the roof. It was way cool to see Houston from the top of the building. Tracy and Hannah neither one really like heights, but they both came on the roof just didn't go to the edge. I was proud of both of them! Duncan sure didn't have any fear, he was right at the edge with who ever would hold his hand. Wednesday we went to Galveston Island. This was lots of fun too. Tracy, the kids and I went to Moody Gardens and went to the aquarium. Abby and Rodney went to the body exhibit, Taylor, Alex, Mom and Joni went to the Bishops Palace. Sarah and Hannah went to the aquarium also. The kids really liked seeing the fish and turtles! We went to the beach in the afternoon, that was lots of fun. I didn't put on my swim suit because the babies were tired and I didn't think they would really like the ocean. Boy was I wrong. We couldn't hardly get Ethan out of the water, Olivia and Owen really liked it too, and as always, once Elliott was warmed up he really enjoyed it too. Duncan had a blast and was with Uncle Rodney most of the time out jumping the waves! We had to stop at McDonald's on the way home to get the kids sandwiches because we didn't leave until 5. They were starving and I knew they would be ready for bed as soon as we got back. One thing I learned about Houston, it takes a least 30 minutes to get anywhere, and everywhere we went, it took anywhere from 1 to 2 hours! Wayne had to work everyday while we were there, that was a bummer, but we did get to visit and he really enjoyed hanging with the babies on the floor while they ate.
Joni and Wayne have a dog, Mickey. He is an inside dog. Mickey did very well with the kids around. He let them do what ever most of the time. Ethan decided to body slam him one day and Mickey let everyone know he did not like that and it scared him. That was the only time Mickey acted out towards the kids. He is a very good dog. Thursday we got up and had breakfast, then headed to Dallas for the night. It was a long trip, but the kids rested. We got to Dallas and checked in at our hotel, swam for a while. We got tacos for dinner, very yummy! Everyone went to bed early, by 10. The kids slept all night. They had been getting up by 6 or 6:30 the whole week so we didn't set an alarm. They slept until 7:45 on Friday morning! Nice dark curtains in the room. So we got up and went to breakfast, everyone ate well! Then off to the Dallas zoo. One last thing before we headed home! The zoo was fun. Duncan's favorite thing to do was feed the giraffe. That was his favorite animal too! After the zoo we went to the Ten Star diner (taco's that we had on Thursday night) for lunch and then headed out. Thankfully we only had to stop for supper and then the kids could go to sleep for the night. Rodney drove most of the way, every time we switched drivers, one of the kids would cry. Finally Rodney couldn't drive anymore so I drove for a few hours. I said I would drive the rest of the way home, but I didn't make it. Rodney had to drive from Missouri. Abby couldn't see well enough at night to drive and Tracy can't stay awake so they neither one drove! We got home about 6:30 Saturday morning. It was a good trip, lots of driving but well worth it. The only thing that would of been better is if the air would of worked right and we didn't have to keep buying freon to put in it! Oh well.
Olivia started walking on vacation! She now will walk across the room, guess she has decided it is time to walk! Owen got way more ornery on vacation. Everyone has decided to be more of a monkey, they all climb up the kitchen chairs onto the table. We have decided to put a ratchet strap around the chairs so they can't push the chairs around!
We have been to the park with the Miller's since vacation. That was lots of fun. The kids played and then a little picnic lunch. To my surprise, all of the kids sat on the blanket and ate. Elliott did decided he was going to wander around, but he did eat all of his sandwich.
The other day Owen was being ornery to his dad, and Tracy called him a shithead. Duncan immediately looked up at Tracy and said, "Your a shithead Dad!" All Tracy could do was laugh! Guess we need to be more careful what we say. Duncan has called the TV, Damn TV (thanks aunt Abby), and has said shit over and over, thanks to me. Guess we will learn someday.
