April TX Trip

It's been two months, but I wanted to post about the trip to TX for my grandmother's funeral.  Even though the reason for the visit wasn't the most pleasant, it's still always good to visit TX and see family I haven't seen in way too long.

Chet was unable to accompany us this time, so the girls and I set off one evening on our own.  I prefer to travel in the evening, because the girls aren't quite so wound up, and they end up sleeping for most of the trip.  They also don't have any trouble going back to bed once we arrive and get situated. 

We stopped at a Subway in Louisiana for dinner.

A day or two after we arrived, my mom, the girls, and I attended an annual event in Humble called Good Oil Days.

Sydney rode a horse for the first time.

There was a petting zoo, and Sydney wasn't scared at all, even though there were about a million goats all trying to get the food pellets she was given to dole out, and a very hungry deer that was bigger than she was.  Even I was a little scared.  Sydney realized she was in control though, and would only feed a single food pellet at a time to the goats, and soon started withholding food from them altogether.  She preferred feeding the scary chickens (not pictured).

Even Lorelei fed a goat.

We rode a train.

Lorelei fell asleep (this never happens).

And a day or two later we headed to Lufkin for the funeral.  We ate lunch and visited with family before the service, which was really nice, and took some pictures.

This funeral was different than P-ma's funeral, in that Chet was not there to help.  At P-ma's funeral, Chet took Lorelei out of the church service, and Sydney and I stayed.  I knew I wouldn't be able to keep them both quiet on my own, and the thought of causing a scene terrified me.  The funeral director must have sensed this (or else he was told that there were two wild children running amok), because before the service started, he led us into a huge room with couches and a television where we could run amok in peace (ha!) and still see/hear the service.  Whew! 

See that blurry picture?  That's what they were like the entire service: in motion.  Notice that Lorelei is barefoot.

 

After the service and burial, we headed to my other aunt and uncle's house, ate dinner, visited, and took more pictures.  Again, it was so nice to see family.  I hadn't seen this side of the family since the Christmas just before Sydney's first birthday, which means they had never even met Lorelei. 

 

The girls and I headed back to Mississippi a couple of days after the funeral.  This time, I decided to travel during the day, so we left as soon as we could get ready that morning.  Grant helped us load up and saw us off.

Traveling during the day (alone, without another adult) was a big mistake.  I think it took us 10 hours (instead of 7) to get home.  We just had to stop way too often, and we were all at our wit's end by the time we pulled into the driveway.

Chet and I have learned that the best places to stop when you're traveling with young children is Target and Walmart.  At Target and Walmart the kids can run around a little bit, you can buy food straight from the store shelves if you need to, and you can sit to eat at either the Target food court or Starbucks, or at the Walmart McDonald's or Subway.  And people don't really give you a second glance if you're chasing children around the store, letting them run off energy. 

I did get a few curious/dirty looks when I let them do this though:

But I was beyond caring.  Those people had no idea.

I think this was our last stop before we got home.  The girls were eating Lunchables in the Target food court, and I was downing Easter candy that I had just bought from the clearance shelf at 90% off.  Desperate times call for desperate measures. 

This half-crazed look on Lorelei's face depicts how we all felt by this point.

And can you believe that Sydney had the nerve to say, as soon as we pulled into the driveway, "I want to go back to Texas!"  Um, no, Sydney.  Now get in the house.