Never a Dull Moment

Never.

We just returned from a long weekend trip with my parents and nephews.  I know, I know, Branson is supposed to be for old folks, but these young folks made the trip.  Kris and I wanted to fly, but there are no direct flights from Houston to Branson.  If we flew, we'd have to fly to Atlanta and change planes.  That would take over seven hours, not counting getting to the airport, checking in, renting a car, etc.  So....ROAD TRIP!  Woo hoo!  I know you all are jealous.  I actually think road trips are fun.  Kris doesn't necessarily feel the same way as I do.  Especially after this past weekend.

We left from Houston Thursday night at 8:00 and made it to my parents' house a little before midnight.  The next morning we picked up my nephews and hit the road.  Oh, I guess I should back up and say that we rented a car.  Kris didn't want to put the extra miles on our vehicles.  And boy, are we glad he made that decision!  It wasn't an hour and a half into our trip when Sadie started throwing up.  The child has NEVER thrown up in her whole sixteen months of existence.  Until this weekend.  When I say throwing up, she was seriously vomiting.  Thankfully we were close to a rest stop, so Kris quickly pulled in.  Sadie was crying and puking as I was unbuckling the car seat as fast as I possibly could.  No way was I going to take her out of the seat in the car.  I get her out and take her clothes off.  The poor baby was so weak and shaking and crying.  I wanted to cry with her.  My mom took her, cleaned her up, and put new clothes on her.  I cleaned the car seat while Kris cleaned the rental car.  I needed to clean the little buckles, so I told Kris to dig out his toothbrush.  I didn't want to use mine because I just bought a new one a few days prior.  I don't know how long it took us, but it was not a quick process.  We finally got back on the road with all the windows rolled down.

Next stop, Dollar General.  Baby wipes, paper towels, two different air fresheners, and a new toothbrush.  Things were going ok, stopped for gas, a little further down the road we stopped for a picnic.  The kids were able to run around for a little while.  Back on the road, thirty minutes later we had to pull off for a diaper change.  Zay, my nephew, wanted to know when we were going to get there.  At the rate we were going, the next day!

Kris had a conference call at 3:30, but we couldn't have Sadie in the car in case she started making noise.  At 3:00 we stopped.....put Zay in the car with us, Sadie in the car with my parents.  Zay ended up falling asleep, so Kris was able to talk without any disturbances.  Forty-five minutes or so later, my parents pull over.  Mom said that Sadie was crying and calling for me.  I get in the car with her, dad drives the rental car, mom drives their vehicle.  Thirty minutes later, we stop again.  Zay wasn't feeling well.  It could have been the hills and curves or it could have been the smell of the air fresheners and puke.  Car seat change again - Sadie back with us, Zay back with my parents.  aaahhhhh!!!

We FINALLY get to our potel, as my youngest nephew called it.  We pull in, and Zay gets sick.  In my mom's brand new car!  Seriously?  Can we not catch a break?!

Time for dinner.  We decided to go to a smaller section of Branson.  However, we didn't realize HOW small it was.  There were only a few fast food options and one mexican restaurant called Tequila's.  Tequila's it is.  Kris, Sadie, and I go in and get seated.  What's taking my parents so long?  Kris goes to check.  Zay got sick again.  They go back to the potel and we eat alone.  It was quite a hole in the wall with interesting people to watch.  At one point we lost it - we started thinking about the day and couldn't stop laughing.  When our food arrived, it made us laugh even harder.  They call this mexican food and expect us to eat it?  ha ha!  We had to stop at Sonic for milkshakes to get the taste of Tequila's out of our mouths.

Saturday was Silver Dollar City.  It was fun, but it was crowded.  Everyone except my mom and Sadie toured the cave.  I took Zay on his first real roller coaster ride.  Yummy cinnamon rolls.  Craftsmen making knives and rolling pins and sugar/syrup and quilts.....

Sadie in the wilderness schoolhouse 

Sadie and daddy on a ride.  Poor Kris had to fold himself in half to fit into the little seat!

The kids were wiped out after a busy day.  But the day wasn't over yet.  Next was the Noah's Ark musical.  It was really great!  We loved watching Sadie get so excited about seeing live animals on the stage.  She was pointing, clapping, bouncing, and trying to call them.  Too cute.  By the end of the first act, though, she was getting restless.  Kris ended up taking her to a "cry room" for the second act.  The sets were truly incredible.  I don't know where the show will be appearing next, but if you have the opportunity to see it, you should!

Sunday was back to Silver Dollar City.  It was more enjoyable because there weren't nearly as many people there.  Roller coaster ride again, train ride, good food, nice weather.  Time to head home.  

Sadie slept a short while after we got on the road.  When she woke up, she was watching her silly song DVD.  I had noticed a really pretty scenic overlook on the way up and wanted to stop on the way back.  I spotted it and told Kris to pull in.  As soon as we pulled in, Sadie started throwing up again.  This time worse than the first time.  Here we go again.  My parents didn't see us pull in, so we called them to let them know what happened.  They turned around.  The cleanup process began again.  This time we used MY toothbrush.  Poor Sadie was down to her last outfit.  We considered just setting the rental car on fire and leaving it on the side of the road.  How were we going to get the smell out?  Kris put a disposable bib on Sadie - one with a big pocket on it to catch "stuff".  Thankfully she didn't have to use it because she was fine the rest of the trip.

I'll spare you the details of the rest of the trip.  Nothing too exciting happened.  We made it safely home.  Tired and stinky, but safe.  It was a crazy few days, but I guess all that matters was this:

Three cousins and two grandparents spending time together....memories, even if they were crazy memories!