Texas trip!

We are back! We had a great trip to the lone star state and enjoyed our time with family.  I took a bazzilion pictures, obviously.  We were out there for a full week, so I was debating doing a different post for each day, but I am just going to do one long post.  Enjoy...

Monday

Our flight out of RDU was pretty early.  The alarm went off at 5:30, my dad picked us up at 6:45 and we headed to the airport!

We got some bagels and had some breakfast while the boys worked out their wiggles before getting on the plane.

 Overall, they were okay travelers.  Cal was fantastic.  He has his own seat now, so he sat there with the iPad and didn't move much.

Andy, on the other hand, is an active kid.  Cal is active too, but Cal is a rule follower and a pleaser.  Honey Badger just don't care. I even gave him a full dose of Benadryl and he didn't bat an eye. We were in regular seats, so he quickly discovered the joy of opening and closing the tray table in front of us.  I held him on my lap in the seat closest to the window in the hopes of containing him.  He also discovered the joy of opening and slamming the window shades.  Then he decided that he did not want to be in my lap for another minute.  He wanted DOWN.  So, I let him stand at my feet.  In case you haven't seen me ever or haven't traveled very much, I am 5'10'' and the leg room on airplanes is anything but abundant.  My knees already touch the seat in front.  Translation: not a whole lotta room for nugget.  I tried singing and swaying and gave him about every treat I had in my bag.  He wasn't fussing, he just wanted DOWN!

We made it to Texas on time around 10:45 and Mimi (Eddie's mom) was waiting for us in the terminal.  After claiming our bags, we loaded up in the car and headed to TCU to visit Poppy (Eddie's dad).

After interrupting an offense meeting (whoops!), and loving on Poppy, we headed home for some lunch and naps.  I quickly got the kids' beds set up while they ate and then we attempted to put them down.  Cal was sleeping on an air mattress on the floor of the study and it was the perfect size for jump parties-- and that is just what he did!

Andy discovered a picture of Eddie's sister, Carrie, on a shelf in the kitchen.  He would not leave the picture alone.  He carried it around, kissed it, pointed to her, etc... it was the sweetest thing!

Andy went down hard and Eddie headed to Monday night football where a client of his was playing and Mimi had to run to her office for a bit.  During "nap time" I could hear Cal in his room making alllll kinds of noise.  He finally peeked his head out while I was unpacking and I told him he could get up.  He had gotten into Poppy's closet in the study and pulled down blankets and all kinds of other things to entertain himself.

Since he was tired, but not napping, I put on Nick Jr. so he could have a little bit of down time.

Mimi came home from work, and Cal was ready to go! They played a fabulous game of inside baseball where Cal insisted on standing on the ottoman. 

Then they played some playdough...

 Then they headed out back to play with Moose...

 Patty and I were on our own for dinner Monday night since Big Ed was working and my Ed was at MNF, so we planned on taking the boys to Chuck-E-Cheese!  But first, we had to get Andy up... after a 4 1/2 hour nap, I had to WAKE him up to go to dinner.... bless his heart-- it is not easy being so active on an airplane!!!

We had a great time at Chuck-E-Cheese:

this was the favorite of the night-- these two never wanted to stop playing.  Patty and I were crying we were laughing so hard.  Cal was throwing it as hard as he could and it was banging off of the glass and hitting me/him/other people and he would scream "OH MAN!" and then chase the ball down.

this picture makes me laugh...always with the fingers.

 After dinner, we went out for some frozen yogurt then had baths and then BED!

Even though I had to wake Andy from a 4.5 hr nap, he still slept almost 14 hours that night.  Think he was tired??

Tuesday

We woke up on Tuesday and had some breakfast, played some piano, then headed over to the miniature train.

They have this little train that runs on a pretty good sized track that is so much fun.  The boys LOVED it! It was a bit chillier than we thought it was going to be, but no one seemed to mind.  It has a little midway spot you can stop and get popcorn so we had a little snack as we chugged along.

 Eddie had the pleasure of sitting with Andy on the train ride...

 Screaming under bridges...

Then, Andy decided he would much rather stand and hang his body out the side of the train... because that's not terrifying at all... I swear, y'all... this kid....

After the train ride (which was actually pretty long! The ride lasted about 45 minutes), we headed over to the stock yards.  Every day around 11:30, they do the cattle drive down the streets.  I was holding Andy (because Honey Badger was trying to run out in the road to catch a cow), so I didn't get any pictures of this-- but it was really neat! They are led down the road by cowboys and cowgirls on horses.  Both of the boys thought it was pretty neat!

I tried to get some pictures of them after the cows passed by, but didn't have much luck.  I just love them holding hands. 

 Run, nugget, run!

 Our attempt at a shot with momma... fail.

After lunch in the stock yards, we came home to get ready for nap time.  Andy and Cal both loved playing in Poppy's chair and jumping off of the ottoman-- again, giving me a heart attack.

After nap time, we headed over to TCU to catch the end of practice and to get to see Poppy.  Football coaches work some LONG hours.  We had to go over there to see him whenever we could...and also, the boys REALLLLY liked going over there for practice!

waiting patiently to run on the practice field

Andy sees the players!

Cal was so excited to run run run!

self portrait

DOWN, SET....hike hike...

 See this guy??  This is Casey.  The starting QB for the Frogs.  He is number 4...the same number as the jerseys my boys would be wearing to the game...

 See this guy, ladies and gentleman (let's be honest- no guys read this thing), the one my son is looking up to below??

Well, THAT guy, went out and got himself a DWI Thursday morning.  Sweet, huh? Way to set an example, you tool box.   He was suspended from the game on Saturday and made me fire hot mad.  But that's a different story.... let me stick with our week before I go off on how incredibly selfish and IN SANE that guy is....

Soooo, we were at practice and all the players left the field and Cal ran out to greet Poppy.  Cal's most favorite game right now is "Down, Set, Hike Hike." We play it ALL the time.  He likes to take people by the hand, line them up on the field and then make them play.  When he says hike, he takes off running and you are supposed to catch him and take the ball away...

Calvin Edwin Williamson 2, 3, and 4

the Williamson boys

 After practice, we decided to just pick up dinner from Qdoba to eat at the house.  On the way home, their neighborhood was having a "get out" night.  There were fire trucks and police cars and police on horses! We stopped by quickly and I took a picture of Cal in the fire truck.... fun times!

Wednesday

We decided to meet up on Wednesday with a friend who lives in FW.  She has two little boys too, and they all got along really well.  She was friends with Eddie's sister, Tricia, in college, and she married an O-lineman, and we became friends on facebook...long story short, we felt like we've known each other for ever! We were going to meet them at a park in the morning, but Patty had to run a few quick errands first, so she took Cal with her.  While I was getting ready, Andy had a field day learning how to climb on the bed!

 (and dive off of it)

After we were both dressed, he got some time to just sit and play, without having to fight off his big brother...

loving the crossed feet

 The boys had the most fun in Moose's crate.  They would climb in there 100 times a day to sit and play.  The poor dog didn't know what to think of his new roommates. 

 They even took their riding toys into the crate...

After playing at the park with Jackson and Cole, we headed over for lunch and frozen yogurt.  The boys had a ball and loved the chalk board too!

 Cal and Andy both took naps and when Cal woke up, he was not quite ready to face the world yet... he needed a little snuggle time to help him wake up...

 Again, Andy spotting another CB picture...

After naps we went back over to practice.  I left the camera in the car this time though... but I did get one shot of Cal and Mimi getting ready for the game....a few days early...

Thursday

We woke up Thursday morning to the news of Casey's arrest, so we weren't too happy.  We had plans to go over to TCU to tour parts of the new stadium.  There are founders suites for the people who paid $15 million for the construction of the stadium.  They were given a suite in return for their donation.  The suites are pretty, well...sweet! It was fun going there to see them and see other sides of the stadium.

a fire place in the stadium...why not?

Andy preferred the leather seats.

 After touring those, we met Poppy over on the practice fields.  Of course, I took a bunch of pictures...

After visiting TCU, we went home for lunch and to put Andy down for a nap.  We decided to take Cal to see Finding Nemo in 3D.  Eddie stayed home with Andy so we could go.

Leaving the theater, Cal Williamson had one of the biggest meltdowns I have ever seen in the history of Cal Williamson.  It was awful.  I know he was just exhausted.  We had been keeping the boys up too late every night, in hopes of getting to see Poppy and it was just catching up with them.  I had to carry him out of the theater to the car under my arm while he kicked and flailed his arms SCREAMING as loud as he could.  Once in the car, he started kicking Mimi's seat as hard as he could while screaming and thrashing his arms.  It was impressive.

I carried him in to the house and straight to my bed where he fell asleep immediately.  Exhausted.

We went out to dinner with Poppy Thursday night to Uncle Julios-- a favorite Mexican place.  The boys were both very well behaved, thankfully!


Friday

the boys doing their best impersonation of Casey...

 On the way to the ZOO!

 The Fort Worth Zoo

Cal helped us read maps...

You know Andy loves some giraffes!

After the zoo and naps, we played out in the driveway a bit... the boys had a blast playing with the stomp rocket.  Best invention ever.  If you have a kid, get one.  If you don't have a kid, they are still fun.  Promise. 

After playing outside, we took baths and got into our gameday jammies....

see what I mean about scaring me???

 Friday night, Eddie and I had a date night to Texas de Brazil.  It was wonderful to get some alone time...

Saturday: Game Day
We had a lazy start to the day to rest up for the game. 

Game Day pic

 We headed over about 2 hours before the game started to visit in Poppy's office.

 Before each home game, they do a thing called "Bleacher Creatures."  They let all of the little frogs run across the field.  It is adorable to watch and this year, we got to participate!

walking to the start of the run

 So, the temps were a LOT cooler than originally thought.  We had to go out and buy the boys jeans since we weren't planning on it being below 80, we didn't bring any pants!

Nugget with CB, who flew in that morning

attempt at a family shot-- there was way too much to look at though

Singing the school song...

love this one...

Annnnd, we are off!!!!!

I put Andy down to run, and he was loving it...and then he got overwhelmed and his lip started sticking out...

 I picked him up and carried him the rest of the way...

 Andy looooves to kiss his brother!

 It was COLD during the game.  And where our seats are, it felt like a wind tunnel.  I spent the second half of the game with Andy up on the patio, out of the wind.  Cal stayed with CB and Mimi for the rest of the game.  He loves watching some football...even games that are as ugly as that one. :(

It was definitely NOT the outcome we were hoping for, but that's okay.  Young teams have to get better, and we will.  We are still pulling for the Frogs. 

Sunday
 We traveled home Sunday morning! Cal had a rough night sleeping Saturday night, so I slept with him on the air mattress... there wasn't a whole lot of sleeping going on! We tossed and turned and coughed a LOT that night, so we were worn out on Sunday morning.

The flight home was MUCH better because we lucked out and got bulk head.  That is the way to fly if you are going with a busy one.  Lots more leg room and no seat back in front of us for him to beat on.  We got to our house around 4 and both boys went straight to bed.  I woke them up at 5:30 for dinner and then they were in bed, asleep by 6:45.  I think we wore them out!

So, what do you think? Longest post ever??  Sorry-- just had to knock it all out!  I spent the entire nap time today doing this.... now I have sooooo much other stuff to do!!! Both kids are awake and wanting to climb on me!!

xoxoxo,