Terrific time in Texas

On Thursday the kids and I packed up for a little road trip to Texas. We planned to make two stops: one in Atlanta (TX) to visit Holly & Heather and a second in Mt. Pleasant to visit Mary Katherine (and families). We truly had such a good time, and I was once again reminded of the blessing that these friendships are in my life.

First stop, Heather's parents' house in Atlanta. Heather drove up from Tyler to spend the night, and Holly lives in Atlanta, so it was a great meeting place. Heather's parents (being the wise people that they are) left for a peaceful, relaxing night at their place on the lake. They were very kind (and brave) to leave their house to such a wild crew! :) We enjoyed every minute of daylight of the (unusual) 70 degree January afternoon. Then we ordered pizza for dinner and the kids played. After the kids went to bed, Holly, Heather and I sat at the dining table for several hours working on our scrapbooks and catching up. We also enjoyed a yummy chocolate chip cookie dessert that Heather made. Friday morning we made breakfast and played inside for a while before going over to Holly's house to play and eat lunch. Holly's family has two horses, Murphy & Burt, that the kids enjoyed looking at (I didn't get a picture of that). They also have a great swing set and a fun toy closet that the kids liked. Holly's husband was so sweet to pick up a to-go order for us on his lunch break so that we didn't have to take four energetic kids to a restaurant...thanks, Ryon!

Here are a few pictures from the fun in Atlanta:

Alexee loved the dogs, as usual. She followed Cole and Jaxon (below) everywhere.
Heather's parents have a garden spot that Rhett found to dig in. He planted several acorns and watered them in hopes that the McCoys would have some new trees in the spring. Alexee tried to help.The cheese pizza was a big hit with all the kids!
Friday morning Brooks (Heather's little boy) and Rhett captured a big, blue monster, handcuffed him and put him in "jail" (the closet). But they decided he needed some breakfast, so R put him in the highchair and B went to the fridge and came back with a bag of carrots and some lettuce for him to eat.
Four cute and sweet kids at Holly's house on Friday:
Heather & Holly:
Me with Holly & Heather. Holly & I are due three weeks apart. She's expecting Lucy Kate in late April. I'm sure she and Crosby will be friends! :)
Thank you, Holly & Heather for a great visit--it was so good to see you guys and your sweet kids!

So after lunch we got back in the car for phase two of the trip...the hour drive to Mt. Pleasant. I didn't look at a map or get specific directions this time...I put all my trust in the handy GPS that my parents gave Lane for his birthday--it's a really fun (and helpful) gadget. I sent L a text that said, "I hope the GPS is right?" and he responded, "It is. Just stop before you get to New Mexico." So off we went, following the GPS's great directions, straight to Mary Katherine's driveway.
Again, we were thankful for a warm January day. We sat on the back porch while the kids played in the sandbox, jumped on the trampoline and rode the 4-wheelers. I'd only been there a few minutes when one of MK's friends showed up with two big plates of food--sausage balls and pull-apart monkey bread. I said, "That's really nice. Why's she bringing you food?" MK had to confess to me that she actually has a kidney stone and has been super sick/in pain all week but she didn't want to tell me because she knew I wouldn't come! Well, I felt horrible...but not bad enough to keep me from eating all the great food that her friend brought! I told her that if she needed to go to the Emergency Room, I'd be glad to watch her kids for her. Thankfully she said she felt fine during our visit--I hope she was being honest!?

Zachary and Rhett played so well together. Rhett had decided this morning that he should probably just move to Texas and live with Zachary. Life in the country--every little boy would be happy there.
Trent is a cutie pie. He's a great match for Alexee...they have no idea that they are smaller than Rhett and Zachary. They just try to do everything that the big kids do.

This is Luke, THE most kid-friendly dog on the face of the planet. Alexee put lots and lots of sand on him (notice her using the shovel here), but Luke seemed to enjoy it. His tail was constantly wagging and he never made any attempt to escape. Alexee loved him.

We then decided to make the short drive up the road to MK's Dad's & Kaye's house. Jackpaw & KK live on a beautiful farm with a wide variety of entertainment. How cool for a little boy to get to sit inside a REAL helicopter!? (Not quite so cool for Jackpaw...I think we made him a nervous wreck, but that was part of the entertainment! MK had told me that her Dad is somewhat of a "character", and he did not disappoint!).

Then we walked down the hill to see Jesse the Percheron. He's huge--similar in size to a Clydesdale. He did not want to come near the fence, but he was impressive to see from a distance.

Then we hopped into the truck (me, MK, the kids and Maddie the lab--chauffeured by Jackpaw) to go see the geese and the swan. After that, we went to KK's shop there where she makes these super neat tiles. I hope she's not upset when she sees this picture of the kids "at work" in her place of business. Z & R liked using the tape machine to tape up boxes for shipping. Alexee chased the shop cat through tight crawl spaces. Kaye, it was so nice to see you. Thank you for letting the kids look around.

R & Z hard at work on the boxes:
Back at the Milams' house, MK--kidney stone and all--cooked a great pasta dinner for us and chicken fingers for the kids. I think Trent felt very comfortable with us being there and decided to eat dinner between taking a bath and going to find his PJs--so funny! :)
One of the highlights of R's whole Texas trip was this: BUNK BEDS!!! He's mentioned at least 10 times today that he'd like to exchange his bed for bunk beds. He got to sleep on the top bunk last night, which was exactly what he'd been hoping for since I first told him that Trent had new bunk beds. They spent a lot of time playing on them last night before bed, Alexee & Trent included. I love this picture of T going up the ladder with his gun.
Here are the three boys hanging out in the bunk watching a Diego DVD and eating popcorn. How nice to be a kid! Seeing how much fun R had with these two made me think how much fun he'll have with a little brother. I know there will be a significant age difference while they're growing up, but I pray that they will always be best buddies anyway!
Thank you, MK and family for a wonderful time at your place--we're so thankful for your friendship. There's never a dull moment when we're with you guys, and it's so fun! Please thank your Dad and Kaye for allowing us to roam around their farm...your Dad is probably still recovering from that visit!

Sadly, the time came for us to leave. Rhett didn't want to go. We made one bathroom stop after leaving Mt. Pleasant--we stopped at Ouachita Baptist University, my college. We parked at the student center and went inside where I showed the kids my old mailbox. It was a strange experience to be on my college campus (a decade after graduation) with two kids and a third on the way. It's amazing how much life has changed in those 10 years. At the time I lived on this campus, I had no idea that God had planned for me to marry Lane and have these precious kids. I hoped and prayed back then that a family of my own would be part of my future, but it seemed so far away at that point. When I walked across campus today I was thankful for where God has brought me (us)--I'm so blessed.

R & A at the OBU mailboxes. No telling how many letters Mom sent me to that box--I almost always had mail because she was so faithful to send me things!
I wish this picture had turned out better. It was really cold so we were hurrying and the shadows covered the kids, but this is the OBU Tiger in the center of campus.
As we were walking over to the tiger, Rhett said, "This place seems fun. I think I'd like to go to Kindergarten here." I said, "Well, this is actually a college where you go when you're older. You could go here to start learning to be a doctor--I would love that." Then he said, "Well, actually, I've changed my mind about being a doctor...I think I want to be a mailman." I told him that would be fine--this college teaches that as well. He said he'd come home and visit us on weekends because he'd know how to get to our house and it would only be an hour away. Kindergarten registration begins next week, but I feel sure I'll blink and find myself dropping him off at college.

One last thing...some of the fun goodies we received from our sweet Texas friends: MK gave me a cute "J" notepad, books for the kids and a 1st year calendar (that I love--I did one for Alexee!) for Crosby. Heather gave me bag of Valentine goodies--hot cocoa mix, chocolates and a heart hand towel. Holly gave me this adorable burp cloth (I love how they did the initials on it!) and these white shoes with C's name on them--oh my goodness I love to look at them! I can't wait for him to arrive and use them. :) Not long now...only 10 weeks (or less).

As fun as the trip was, I'm glad to be back home-sweet-home with Lane and Bogart tonight! Lane and I popped popcorn for dinner and watched an episode of The Office before he started studying again--he has a test on Monday.