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Tuesday night, Robby mentioned driving to Dallas for the New Year Holiday and since I had some IKEA gift cards to spend, I jumped on it. We were out to eat when he thought about it and once we came home he quickly booked our hotel-we were IKEA bound (actually, Frico Texas bound)
With only one day to pack and plan, the kids were still ready to get on the road as soon as they woke up. Anderson was the first one up and was ready to put on his clothes when I mentioned it. Graham was asking about the hotel as soon as Robby lifted him out of bed.
Pretty soon after breakfast, the kids were looking out the door waiting on Nonna and Pops to come over and they saw Grandpa’s truck pull in the driveway. They couldn’t have been happier because within a few minutes, all the grandparents were there and everyone had the full attention of one person. They loved it.
Nonna brought me a piece of chocolate pie and some fruit for the kids and Grannymom brought a big tin of popcorn. I immediately ate the pie, the kids had 3 bowls apiece of popcorn for a snack and they had the fruit in the car as their lunch. When the grandparents were all here, they all ended up in the garage watching everyone ride scooters, bikes and trikes. I spent this time to run back and forth between the house and the car to load up as much stuff as I could. After everyone left, Campbell had her morning nap and everyone else played and then watching a movie as they devoured the popcorn tin.
Robby was home around noon and we loaded up and were on the road a little bit before 1. The kids were going strong and we were only asked about how much longer a few (hundred) times. We tell them how much longer in Arthur movies-so when we left it was 10 Arthur movies left but the time seemed to pass well and soon we were saying only 2 movies left. We stopped in Texarkana for a Sonic drink and bathroom stop. Everyone got their own drink so it was not a surprise when we had to stop a few more miles down the road for another bathroom stop.
Campbell usually takes a long afternoon nap but I guess she was to excited about going to Texas because she didn’t take a nap until the last 45 minutes in the car. Graham has a quick snooze but was only asleep for 30-45 minutes himself. Everyone did very well and we were nearing our supper stop in pretty good time.
We ate at Pappacitas and everyone was on their best behavior. The wait was fairly short but we did have time to go to the bathroom before our name was called. The music in the bathroom was so noisy that Graham put his hands over his ears but within a minute or two he was dancing the salsa while waiting on everyone to finish. We had chips, salsa, cheese dip (which Graham ate his weight in), mac and cheese and quesadillas for the kids and lots of enchiladas for Robby and me. We all could have split one dish but ended up stuffing ourselves. Though the kids must have been hungry because Robby get the beans in front of Campbell quick enough, Anderson ate most of his mac, Reagan loved her beans and Graham was stuffing it in his mouth so quick his fork wouldn’t work that fast so he had to use his hands.
Most of the trip down here, Graham had been on hotel watch pointed out the hotels. Needless to say, he was very pleased when we finally found our hotel. We are at an Embassy Suites-and if you look at our pictures of the kids in the room, you can see why Robby picked this hotel…IKEA is right behind us. Oh, happy day! After getting to the hotel, we found our room-stocked with two pack n plays, extra blankets and sheets (what could be better). We walked around and scouted out the breakfast area (which Reagan is excited about-though she is disappointed that we are only staying for 2 nights instead of 10 as we did on our last vacation) The boys were thrilled with our glass elevator ride to the 12th floor and back down to our 7th floor room.
After our walk through, we talked to Nonna and Pops on the computer and then everyone took a turn talking to Grannymom and Grandpa on the phone. Then it was time for bed-Graham in one pack n play in the bathroom, Reagan and Anderson in their sleeping bags in the front room and Campbell in her pack n play with them….
But someone has just started pulling up and did this repeatedly in their crib because it caused Reagan and Anderson to laugh hysterically. Eventually, the big kids were moved to the bedroom area and at last it was peaceful in the room. A big day tomorrow, shopping, swimming, eating and ringing in the new year.
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