Nanie's Easter Eggstravaganza

Well, we are all excited about today's event - it's Nanie's annual Easter Eggstravaganza! We've decided that we would just spend another night in Houston and wake up Sunday morning, meet Matt in Giddings and head to Round Rock for the much anticipated event!

It's a pretty uneventful morning of hustling and bustling to get everything re-packed to head home! I put the kids in the tub as I continue to get things together and decide that I'd better check on them to make sure that they haven't drowned one another. I walk into Grandma's bathroom and what should I see but a bathtub that is just on the verge of overflowing! GOOD GRIEF! Have you any brains? I'm not sure if I'm talking to myself or the kids....we get everyone bathed and dressed and the car packed and I suddenly realize that I was supposed to leave the house at 10:00 - NOT 10:45!! Ah man, we're gonna be late to Nanie's....oh how I dread to call and tell her!

We have a safe and speedy trip to Giddings where we met Matt! Hi Dad, nice to see ya!! We continue West on 290 and by some miracle make it to Nanie's only 15 minutes late! From Houston to Round Rock in 2 1/2 hours - I'll let you do the math! Oh and by the way - we called Nanie to tell her we were running about 45 minutes late and she said "okay, drive safe..." Hey lady? What did you do with my real mother? Just joking, Mom! For the record, my baby brother, Dustin, and his family did show up 45 minutes late - he does have two extra kids so better late than never, right?!!!!

So everyone arrives and we eat a great meal! Brisket, sausage, Mom's baked beans, deviled eggs, potato salad, more baked beans, more deviled eggs....you see where I'm going with this? Needless to say it was a long, stinky ride home! (no names mentioned - but there were 4 of us in the car!!!)

After eating we did our Resurrection Eggs and then the kids got to decorate their Easter eggs. Me, Nanie and Papaw helped decorate while the boys hung out in the living room. It was great having both Mom and Dad there helping and getting to enjoy the Grandkids!

Soon after all the decorating the Easter Bunny showed up and traded each kid a flower for their basket of eggs. He then went and hid all of the eggs in the backyard and the kids had to go find them! It was awesome seeing my kids run around with their cousins hunting eggs! It was even more awesome being with my whole family and their friends and family! Looks like we even snagged my little brother and his family for Easter....me and the kids are going to pick up the older girls, Ryli and Lexi on Thursday - if my kids ask one more time when Thursday will be here I think I'm gonna rip my ears off! My brother and his wife and the two small kids are going to come in on Saturday and do Easter/Easter Bunny with us on Sunday! EXCITING! The club has an Easter egg hunt Friday morning I think I'm going to take them to! SHHHH!

As the saying goes....all good things must come to an end. Nanie gave each Grand kid their Easter basket filled with goodies and Papaw brought a bag of candy for them each to pick from. Thanks, Dad! We said our goodbyes, loaded up and headed home!

Not much planned for Spring Break - I'm working in Houston on Tuesday and Wednesday - we have a play date planned for Thursday morning and then we'll get the girls that evening! Easter at the Arthur's on Sunday for anyone who wants to come out!!

What a Weekend!

Man, what a weekend we've had! It officially started on Friday with an Easter Program at the kids school! Caleb had an outstanding "lead" reciting John 3:16 and he did a terrific job....do you think I got it on video? UH, No - I didn't know that he had a "lead" part until he had already started and I was fumbling around on the church floor trying to get Ms. Deb's camera off my wrist so that I could put my camera in "video mode" while some kid was screaming his head off during the whole thing....come on people ever heard of the "cry room" ? While I'm fumbling around on the church floor I'm trying my best not to expose my crack to the whole church! These darn LOW RISE pants they make these days - what gives? Besides the waistband?! Anyways, I apologize to anyone reading this that had to witness the crack exposure if, in fact, there was one....I'll do my best to wear something less revealing next time!!!

Okay! So off we go! We are headed to Houston....a short stop a Grandma's for a quick nap and then it's RODEO time! Yeah! So the challenge here is for me to actually get the kids to take a nap and then find Grandma (who's working the Llama show) at the show arena as quick as possible because I will be toting my 3 and 5 year old from the parking lot to the show arena BY MYSELF! (Matt's STILL in Vegas) After a successful nap at Grandma's house we head to Reliant. I've decided that the best way for me to get from here (the parking lot) to there (the exhibit hall/show arena) is to put Caleb in the stroller and throw Berkleigh in the "hip hammock" - keep in mind that it is 90 degrees outside and I'm wearing BLACK pretty much head to toe. Berkleigh is attached to me like a monkey on it's mamas back and I'm pushing the stroller with one hand across parking lot, through the very crowded carnival area (either all of these people take off of work for this carnival thing or they are all jobless - not sure which is worse - taking off of work to spend your hard earned cash at the carnival or spending cash that you don't have at the carnival....) okay, anyway - I've made it through the carnival and I'm literally speed walking toward the exhibit hall/show arena. You should have seen the looks! I even heard one guy say "man that some strength right there" which of course made me forge ahead as if my left arm wasn't about to break off and my right wrist wasn't about to snap from navigating that 50 pound of stroller and boy! Did I forget to mention that at this point I am sweating as if I did, in fact, just finish running a 5K in the Mojave Desert! We make it in indoors....AHHHH! A/C - I love A/C it is such a refreshing thing and very seems to be very temporary (still sweating) as I continue my voyage to Grandma - she of course is in a whole different area than the one we thought she was at. After all of this lugging and the horrid smell of cow poop I decide to break down and call Grandma....lucky for me has just finished up and says she'll come to us....THANK YOU GOD!

We soon find the perfect spot to wait - the Rainbow Play scape exhibit! The kids are running around playing on the tire swing when Grandma find us. I hurriedly get her moving along because if we stay there too long she will then purchase this huge play thing that the kids are enjoying....she's like that ya know! Very generous in every way! Thanks Grandma!

So we make it free and clear of the Rainbow play scape and decide that we must get something to eat before heading in to watch Clay! Pappasitos (at the rodeo) 2 chicken tacos, a chicken quesadilla and an order of nachos to go with our $12.00 worth of sweet tea (with no lids) - $4.00/tea? You'd think they'd have lids....anyways - I asked Grandma who she was feeding because it was the four of us....and you know my guys don't eat anything unless it's J-U-N-K - well, the nachos were too spicy, the this was that and the that was this...I give up....eat all the junk you want, let your teeth rot 'cause I know exactly where I can find you a job!

We finally make it to the stadium for the rodeo and the concert....countdown to Clay....THANKS RANDY! Speaking of Randy, guess who shows up? It's Randy....and what does Randy have with him....cotton candy! Great! More J-U-N-K! Darn this rodeo is long! When do I get to see Clay...the kids are doing great and have actually been sitting a while....Caleb (who's been mentioning all of these things that he wants....popcorn, glow in the dark light sabre, snow cone, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.) suddenly needs to go to the bathroom. Grandma volunteers and of course, Berkleigh (who's already gone once) has to go too.....time passes and I'm really enjoying my "alone time" though it's with 13, 0000 other people and I turn to look up the stairs to the top of the landing and what do I see???I see my troops heading down the stairs with popcorn, a glow in the dark light sabre another glow in the dark thingy and a water! DAMN! Where was Grandma when I wanted those Michael Kors pumps at Neiman's and even then how do you get her to give in so easily? Teach me your tricks children, please!!!!

Well, the time has come and they finally announce that Clay is coming on! Seems like I've been waiting forever! I missed him last year because Berkleigh was sick....so I really have been waiting a long time! Needless to say Clay puts on a great show and we stay until the very end! We make it home safely and head straight to bed as we have yet another adventure for the next day.......The Easter Eggstravaganza and Nanie's!