Texas and Oklahoma Trip Summer '09

This post is a little over due but, better late than never. With four of my five kiddos at school this morning I found a moment to fill you in on our trip down south.
(The house cleaning will have to wait,
I'm working on getting my priorities straight.)

The second and third week of summer we drove to Texas and Oklahoma to see friends and family we hadn't seen in two years! We spent the first night in Cheyenne, WY. Then we went to Brownfield, TX for a couple of days to see Brady's grandparents and his dad! (Sorry, no pics of this part of the trip because the camera battery was dead grrrrr.)

Next stop Abilene, TX to see Brady's sister and her husband and their two adorable girlies. I also got to see my sweet, beautiful cousin, Erika, who is about to get married and graduate from ACU. Contrary to popular belief, you don't get a husband included with your diploma! She showed us around the campus so our kids could see what it was like. It will be four short years of high school and then Riley will be "on campus."

With Abilene in our rear view mirror we headed to Ft. Worth to spend one night with our college friends Clay and Anita. We had too much fun! No really, we did! Thank goodness no one took any photos!

Dallas was our longest furlough. Three days and three nights of warm weather, swimming, great food, and even better company. My sweet aunt Penny from Houston drove up to see all of us for a couple of days.

Brady and Jean Ann had to head back to Montana for work so they dropped the kids and I off in Oklahoma. I got to meet my niece Bianca for the first time and we think she's going to be a lefty! My mom and Jim got to have all seven of their grand kids under one roof and in one swimming pool! And of course, we went out to my dad and Vickie's farm. So fun!

The last leg of our trip was me driving all five kids home (two ten-hour days of driving, much road construction in the summer). My philosophy for road-trips is expect the worst and hope for the best. So, I was pleasantly surprised by how much fun we had! We stayed the night in Denver...Starbucks for breakfast, Sonic for lunch, and Jim Gaffigan keeping us laughing. The Lord blessed us with safe travels and healthy kids. I only made one wrong turn (which Riley quickly pointed out)!