The 2 week Roadtrip

Here are some things I learned and realized during our two week hurricane holiday:

1. We are so blessed to have a wonderful extended family. In the course of two weeks we managed to stay with all six parents of ours and to see three of our brothers, three sister-in-laws, one nephew, one niece, two aunts, two uncles, one set of grandparents, and four cousins. No matter what house we were at, we felt at home and at ease. I don't think everyone can say they appreciate and LIKE their in-laws as much as Ty and I do.

2. God's timing is the best. I had been worried I wouldn't get to go home to visit my parents this fall until Thanksgiving and was pretty homesick for Oklahoma. Little did I know that we would get to stay for over a week in Yukon since our power was out for an extended time period. It was so refreshing to be back in my hometown where it literally takes 5 minutes to go anywhere in town. My mom was in a car wreck the day before we got there but is doing great. Her car was totalled, but she just has some muscular pain. I was so glad to actually see her the next day after it happened and make sure she was OK in person.

3. I love reunions with old friends! I got to see two of my best friends, Amber and JoDee while I was in town. Also, I saw my friend Priya for the first time since we graduated from high school (over 13 years ago!). We met at the park and let our kids play together and get to know one another.

4. Jake is definitely every bit of his 19 months. My sweet little boy was not so sweet the whole trip. I know it was so difficult for him to be out of his routine for so long, but he threw his share of tantrums on our trip. One evening he didn't want to share with Hendrix and shoved him down (keep in mind Hendrix is a good foot taller than Jake). Then, the same evening, he got mad at the dog, Penny Lane, and kicked her out of his way. I put him in "time out"--which means he had to sit in my lap, kicking and screaming while I tried to reason with him. I'm realizing that although this age is so much fun, its also pretty difficult because there are still communication breakdowns and though I know Jake understands what I'm saying, I can't exactly reason with him yet. Although he had several less than stellar moments, he still entertained his grandparents quite well. He's developed a new laugh and laughs as loud as he possibly can until he has everyone's attention. He is one funny kid who loves to make others smile. I just realized I also need to work on the best ways to discipline this funny kid of mine!

5. I love being back home as well. Our power came back on Thursday evening just in time for us to watch our favorite show "The Office" (which by the way was WONDERFUL since Jim proposed to Pam--so romantic!). It was very nice to sleep in our own bed again and for it just to be the three (or four) of us. Jake also slept well in his crib again. We are working on cleaning our yard and house...

And now some pictures from our trip...(Somehow I didn't take any pictures in Marshall or Conroe...I still love that part of our family too! I just tend to be forgetful in always taking pictures.)

Jake and Hendrix playing at the park together and feeding the ducks.

One night at Ryan and Crystina's house Jake decided to wear one of Hendrix's shoes. Hendrix put on the other and for a good two hours they shared the pair of shoes.

Here are Finn (my friend Amber's son), Hendrix, and Jake at Braum's. I love this picture of the boys!

Georgia, Jake, Philip, and Marissa at the park while JoDee, Priya, and I had our "reunion." Its hard to believe we all have kids and are grown up!

Jake and his sweet cousin London who was born just 5 days after him.

Jake's many looks...Someday he will be very mad at me for this picture, but he loved wearing my mom's high heels around the house. He even could climb this step in them. To make Ty feel better, we gave him these boots to wear too (thanks to Hendrix). He also really loved the boots which he will wear with his PJs or shorts or just a diaper...

On the way home we stopped at Steak-n-Shake for lunch. I miss this place from my Harding days and it turns out Ty absolutely loves their shakes. I made Jake wear this hat for a picture (he wasn't happy) and got a picture with him under my favorite sign. Good ol' Steak-n-Shake!