Austin, TX trip part 1

I am finally getting our TX trip posted! I decided to do it in parts like the FL post since I have so many pics. We headed on Wed, June 15, around 6pm. We had 3 pillow pets, 80 diapers, 1 GPS, 2 grandparents, 2 parents, and 2 children under the age of 5, among other things! We decided to stick the boys all the way in the back so that they didn't distract Daddy as much, and so that Mom and I could be near the doors. They did very well on our drive. It's nice going at night because they do sleep well for the most part in their seats. One thing we learned from our trip is that the state of Oklahoma has as many casinos as Las Vegas, and they need to use the money they earn from them to FIX THEIR ROADS! They were HORRIBLE...I felt like I was on a never-ending roller coaster ride. Bumpy is an understatement. Somehow the boys slept through that, thank goodness.

My cute, ornery-as-the-day-is-long little toddler. Hunter was a trooper on the trip, since he is too young for movies yet and didn't understand what we were doing. We did have some meltdowns, especially on the way home, which was during the day, but all things considered he was a really good boy. Luckily he distracts easily. Like when he realized that if he tips his "no-spill" sippy cup upside down and shakes it hard enough, water will still come out. ;)

My sweet big boy. Holden was great on our drive. He loves to watch movies on his DVD player, play on his Leapster Explorer, have books read to him, and chat with whoever will engage him. We didn't have the car sickness issues that we had on our FL drive, so I'm wondering if those were due to the mountains? He was also good at handing Hunter snacks and keeping him entertained.

We arrived in Texas around 5:3o am. And yes, we are the kind of dorks that go to the Texas welcome area at 5:30am to attempt to take pictures by the star while it is still dark out. You can see how well our group picture turned out. HA!

This one is a bit better. I don't think we look too horrible considering we have been in a van for 15 hours!

The boys enjoying the opportunity to stretch.

Happy little guy on Texas soil.

We originally planned to go to the JFK Museum in Dallas when it opened. As we were driving into the city, we saw a cool helicopter hovering that Holden kept pointing out. Soon we see crowds of people....wearing Mavericks jerseys, jewelry, etc. Come to find out we were about to be in the middle of the Mavericks' victory parade, which the helicopter was televising. Crack me up! Only us! After MANY detours, we gave up on the museum and headed to a Cracker Barrel for breakfast.

Hunter was a big fan of this option. :)

(That is a fruit stick he is eating. Disgusting, right? But he likes them.)

Breakfast pics in Dallas
After Cracker Barrel, we headed to...LEGO LAND!
It was truly one of the neatest places we have visited.

I would highly recommend Lego Land for all ages. Holden had a blast on the rides, building things, and climbing in the kids' area. Hunter enjoyed looking at everything and playing in the toddler spot. We all enjoyed the neat simulations that were built, the rides, and the 4-D movie.

The simulation room was so neat! It was an entire city made of Legos. There were buttons that the boys could push that made things move and light up. The city started in "daylight," but slowly faded to night. At "night time," fireworks went off on the walls. Really fun!
Don't we look hot in our 4-D glasses?
Hunter found them to be quite tasty.
We enjoyed the Bob the Builder movie!

Lego Land was located in a huge mall. Once we were finished, Holden enjoyed the carousel, and Papa took the boys on a train ride. I am glad he decided to take Hunter, because I had no idea how far the train would go, or how long the ride would be! It evidently went clear around the mall. I think I would have freaked out if Holden were off by himself on it! When they returned, Hunter had fallen asleep. Guess he was pretty impressed. ;)

For lunch we hit up the Rainforest Cafe. This was the first visit for both boys. Holden loved throwing pennies in the alligator's mouth!
Can you find the actual monkey amidst these pictures? Yes, we are big dorks.

And we have a lot of fun!

We checked into the Westin by the Dallas airport for the night. Daddy, the boys, and I enjoyed the rooftop pool. It was HOT, but really windy. The pool water was freezing, and Holden loved getting really warm in the hot tub, then jumping back in the cold water. Hunter just liked splashing by the steps.

I'll skip the story about Jay offering to take us back to the mall to do some shopping after he had driven all night and not slept. And the part where Hunter had a horrible diaper rash due to his Augmentin (finishing up an ear infection) and pooped while Daddy had him in the stroller. And the part where I was trying on an enormous pile of clothes in Forever 21 and heard them come into the store because I recognized the screams to be those of my baby. And the part about the super long line to check out and Daddy's temper tantrum, and my subsequent temper tantrum. And the part where we got back to the hotel room fuming at each other because we were so tired and crabby and realized Hunter had pooped AGAIN and all the diapers were back down in the van. Yeah, I'll just skip all that. LOL!

After an all night drive, and a full first day in TX, it was time to hit the sack! Jay, Holden, and I shared a king-sized bed. This is how much space was left for me after my shower.

HA! Bed hogs!

Sweet sleeping baby boy in his pack n' play.


Stay tuned for Part 2!