A visit with the boys

The boys ran us ragged while we were visiting. We really enjoyed getting to spend some time with my family.

Great Grannie and Granddaddy

My mom and I.

Grannie and Connor

Great Grannie with the boys

Great Granddaddy and Ryan

Roadtrip

Easter Day we got up bright and early (earlier even than our two alarm clocks normally wake us up) to get ready and finish up the packing so we could head out as soon as the kids ate breakfast. Murphy had other plans, but we managed to make it out the door shortly after 9am. Just as we passed Hempstead we drove into a line of thunderstorms leaving the road pitch black, and even with the wiper blades going full blast and the headlights on, the road pretty much invisible. It was a shame, because as we came out of the backside of the line of storms and the rain eased and visibility improved beyond the hood of the car the bluebonnets were absolutely spectacular. There were acres of fields that were totally covered.

Luckily by the time we turned off on Highway 21 and headed towards Austin the storms were behind us, the sun shining bright and the rest of the trip covered in only high and sparsely scattered wispy clouds.

The boys were amazingly content strapped into their carseats for the long road trip. They made the most of their reprieves from their confines and ran around amusing other patrons everywhere we stopped. In the car they alternately napped and played. At one point they were throwing balls around in the backseat. They each started with one, but periodically I would see one fly to middle or the other side and be swiped up by the other one. Before long one or both would return to the other side of the car amid much babble and laughter.

Ryan enjoying some carrot sticks for snacks and signing daddy "MORE!"

We made great time, and even managed to make it to West Texas in time for dinner with my family.

Another run in with the law...

Are you sensing a trend here? I am pretty sure I should never leave town again...

On the way back from Jasper coming down 59 a policeman and a trooper had a car pulled over on the side of the road. I was in the right hand lane as we approached. I looked to see if I could get over, but to no avail – the left hand lane was bumper to bumper so I slowed down a little but continued on. Just after I passed the police car pulled out behind us. A couple of miles down the road I saw my exit and as I was slowing down and turning my blinker on to exit on came the lights. He pulled me over to give me a warning that by law you should change lanes or slow down at least 20 MPH when passing a stopped vehicle. And did I know my taillight was out? After looking frantically I couldn’t find my drivers license, and it took us several minutes to locate the right insurance paper amid the piles of expired ones in the glove box recently disturbed in the search for a map.

Luckily I knew my drivers’ license number and vs. having me running around outside the car opening doors looking for the misplaced license amid all the potential hiding places (console, wallet, diaper bag, diaper changer, etc.) he took the number. He also noted that my inspection was expired, and my registration as well. The registration had actually been renewed – and on time even! – but wasn’t in the car.

When it was all said he done he wrote me a ticket for the inspection and just a verbal warning for the flurry of other issues (slowing down when passing, tail light out, missing drivers’ license, and missing registration). Thank you Mr. Nice Policeman.

Jeff Gordon and hotdogs?

Talk about short term memory. I had forgotten all about the Nascar race Kevin went to until I was downloading his pics and stumbled across them.

Here is what he had to say about the race:

April 5 was the big race at Texas Motor Speedway. We actually made it in time for a tailgate lunch of hotdogs and chips. Surprising given we were stuck at a gas station for an hour on the way to the race because Scott’s SUV decided to lock its doors on its own when we were getting gas. Unfortunately, Scott’s keys were in the vehicle when it decided to lock itself. Good thing Scott had AAA or I don’t know how we would have gotten back into the car on a Sunday morning. This turned out to be a great race. It was windy and a little cold, but the sun was shining. #24 Jeff Gordon, my favorite driver, won the race. Gordon has had a great season but hadn’t won a race in something like 47 races. This was also Gordon’s first win in Texas (surprising given he has won more races than any active driver and had won everywhere except Texas and one other track). Hopefully Gordon will still be in first place in points when NASCAR comes back to Texas Motor Speedway in the Fall.

Bluebonnets

The bluebonnets have apparently been out in full force this year. We had planned to go several times to take pictures of the boys in the bluebonnets, but something kept coming up. We thought we had waited too long and missed the opportunity entirely. So imagine our surprise as we were driving down a country road just outside of Conroe and stumbled across a hillside still covered in blooms.

Since the boys have gotten mobile they haven't been the most cooperative subjects. Connor tried a couple of times to decapitate the stalks or crawl off. Ryan kept trying to stand up and on the uneven and somewhat steep hillside managed to do a head over heals somersault. Luckily no one was injured in the taking of these pictures other than Kevin who put his knee down on a particularly thorny weed.

And then there were cops

Because no family day trip would be complete without a chat with a deputy from the Fort Bend Sheriff's Department, right? I wouldn't be surprised to see my name pop up on the Terrorist Watch List. I may never be able to fly again.

We decided to go down to Bellaire for lunch today. To our favorite dim sum place called Golden Palace. The boys were so well behaved. They played happily with my chopsticks. We fed them before we left home because it would have been well past their typical lunch time by the time we got down there. Despite stuffing them before we left the house they weren't the list bit deterred from eating and happily polished off half of some sort of vegetable we think. Kevin calls it potatoe like stuff. They also helped me polish off two servings of pork buns. They ate from chopsticks for the first time today. Granted I was the one operating them, but it was still cute none the less. They seemed to really like the food. We will definitely have to go again.

Before we left Bellaire I pulled out the map to see if there was a park, or other destination nearby that might be fun to visit. Just a short trip down 59 lay a lake called Smithers Lake. Neither of us had ever heard of it, much less been so we decided to check it out. As we drove down the familiar path that we had traveled a few times before on the way to A Day in the Country at the George Ranch, and Brazos Bend State Park the lack of signage about the lake didn't go unnoticed, but we continued on anyways. As it turns out we would get our only look at the "lake" as we crossed the small bridge near the George Ranch.

Off in the distance we could see the power plant. As we got closer that was all you could see. The smoke stacks puffing away, and the biggest mountain of coal I have ever seen. Along with a truly impressive array of railroad cars brimming with coal lining the entire outer perimeter. As we joked about what a dud the lake had turned out to be I decided we should stop and get a picture to show you guys. So we pulled over at the very edge of the main entrance to the power plant and hopped out to take a few pictures. We hadn't been there for more than a minute or two, and were actually getting back in the car to leave when a Fort Bend Sheriff's Deputy pulled up lights flashing. The deputy was very nice and after running my drivers' license let us go on our way. So, you guys had better appreciate the beautiful view of "Smithers Lake" we took for you, as it is apparently TOP SECRET! :)