We were lucky enough to be able to take a trip to Sacramento and visit Justin's Step dad Bobby and his wife Alisa (bonus mom)! This is the first trip we've taken on a plane since bringing home the twins 2 years ago. So, needless to say the trip on the plane was of some concern but I didn't think much of it until that morning. We had an early flight leaving at 7:15am so we got the kids up at 5:30am and made our way down to the airport for an early check-in. It flowed like clock work. You'd think we were flying pro's! The kids were great, check-in and security was smooth and the flight actually went really well. They got a little antsy but not loud which is the only real concern I had. The baby fussed a little but fell asleep for most of the trip. Smooth flying. We got to Bobby and Alisa's house at about 10:30am and unloaded everything into the Casita. The kids were ready to play. Emilie is Bobby and Alisa's 4 year old daughter. She is 6 months older than Cole. For the most part they are buddies. An occassional argument arises but they play well. They played on the play structure they have in their backyard and were eyeballing the pool from the start! The rest of our trip they spent many hours in the pool/jacuzzi. The weather was amazing our whole trip and being outside was really nice.
We had made plans to have dinner guests at the Bell's house on Friday, Saturday and Brunch on Sunday for Father's Day. So the weekend seemed to fly by as we saw friends (Justin's friend Ryan and Randi) & family (Aunt Kim and Uncle Gary, Casey and Kaity). The kids enjoyed the get together's too because they got to stay up later than usual and hang out in the movie room!
Our children behaved amazingly the entire time. There were few arguments and naughty behavior. They took the schedule like champs. I was so happy to see them having fun and enjoying the trip. They were completely comfortable in Bobby and Alisa's home which was great! My kids are far from perfect and we often work on appropriate behavior at home but I must say they made me proud while we were away!
On Monday we drove down to Vallejo to go to Six Flags Discovery Land (which is like a zoo and an amusement park in one). We took the motorhome down, ate lunch on the way, and arrived at about 12 noon. It was really a fun time. The kids got to ride rides, see fun animals like the Walrus, Seal and Sea Lions, the Sea Lion Show, Dolphins, Sharks, Camels, Giraffes, Reptiles, and by the time we got around to the Large Cats and African animals that part of the park had closed. It was a bummer because the kids wanted to see the lions, tigers, elephants, and hippos. But, they had done so many other wonderful things. They enjoyed eating popcorn drinking blue slushes and riding the rides. We left at 8:00pm and drove home. They had such a fun time. It was a real treat to be able to do that with Bobby and Alisa. We left on Tuesday and the flight home was "special". Our kids did great but Southwest Airlines made me very angry! Nothing a complaint to their corporate won't fix!
All in all our trip was great, it was more than wonderful to spend time with Bobby and Alisa and their children, to see friends and family, and relax! Although I did feel like I needed a vacation after getting back from vacation. It is a lot of work--but all worth it!
It was also so great to see things in my children I'm often moving too quickly to enjoy. They really loved playing outside with each other. How blessed are we that we have children that love one another. Brody and Trace are best buddies and it is so wonderful to watch them care for each other, walk together, hug when the other is sad or hurt. Cole was so precious to me as he snuggled into bed with me saying "I love you mom, so much". That warms my heart and makes all the hard work worth it. I caught glimpses of all my boys singing songs to Jesus under their breath as they played. So precious. I loved watching them live in the moment. They took staying at a new place so easily. It was as if they had lived there all their lives. The took each moment and new event with ease. If we went on a walk they were excited. If we were playing outside they were discovering new things. If we were driving somewhere they were finding things they'd never seen and telling me all about it. God has truly blessed us.
No comments:
Post a Comment