_______The Trip that Wasn't

Our bags were packed, the car was loaded with necessities for a long weekend trip with the kids.  Emails had been exchanged, phone calls made. In the morning we were leaving for Lubbock. Lindsay and I and our five kids would be packed into Dad's truck.  Bethany and Carly and their four kids would be carpooling too, all converging on Matt and Robin's house by evening the next day.  At least that was the plan.

Then we learned that our hostess, Robin, had landed a fever. With flu scares abounding and Dad undergoing chemo, we decided to play it safe and postpone the trip.  In the meantime, we needed a backup plan, and fast, for the kids who were all revved up for the big weekend ahead.  So, we headed to Old MacDonald's Farm.

There we rode the train around the grounds (this is the kids watching the train pull in)...

Pretended to be chickens...

Fed and pet deer...

Played on the giant hill of sand (I want one in my backyard)...

Took turns on the rope swing...

And rode the ponies...

The kids even got to pick out a pumpkin to take home:

That night, we went to Lupe Tortillas where the kids played in more sand.  The next day we took a trip to Galveston and let the kids play in, you guessed it, even more sand.


Spending two days driving around with five kids in the car for just an hour or so at a time, really gave us something to think about for the real Lubbock trip.  It was noisy on all kinds of levels.  Abby cried inconsolably for a good ten minutes because Aubrey kept shushing her when she was trying to sing "rock-a-bye baby."  As I was buckling the kids in one of the dozens of times, this was one of my favorite exchanges I overheard:

Isaac: Lily, let's pretend I'm a baby and you're the momma.
Lily: Okay.
Isaac (in a baby voice): Momma...
Lily: What?
Isaac: Momma...
Lily: What?
Isaac: Momma...
Lily: What?

Yeah, that's a pretty accurate exchange.

We are especially thankful to Aunt Teri and Uncle Bill and my mom and dad who helped us enjoy this "make up" mini vacation without our usual cutting corners and pinching pennies.

And Robin, we're still coming!  New plans for "Lubbock or Bust" are in the works...