Granbury or Bust, Day One

We ventured a couple hours west for our family vacation/10 year anniversary celebration. Some people plan elaborate 10 year anniversary trips to white sandy beaches, where they enjoy quiet couples massages, fruity beverages and snorkeling among the dolphins and sparkly fish. Sans kids, of course. And, also, tar balls and oil slicks, BP willing. We wait til the 100 degree weather arrives, load up our Tribute with our offspring and all the noise and mess they come with and head toward water that smells of fish when the wind catches it just right. But, that is what you do when you're planning to pay for a c-section, about to become swaggerin' mini van owners and you've got an A/C unit on its last leg, which is living on the edge in Texas in the summer. So, it was gritty sand in our crevices and fishy wind at our backs for us.

We went to Granbury nearly four years ago to the day for our sixth anniversary. Tyler's due date was July 30th and Anniston's is July 29th, so I was about as far along in pregnancy with Tyler as I am with Anniston.

But, things were different back then. Back then, this was our family...

I loved my Noah so much, I was a little sentimental about no longer being a family of three and wanted to make special memories before our family forever changed.

How could I have guessed how very incredible that change would be? ;)

Back then, Noah preferred the sandy beach to the fishy lake water.

One thing's for sure, he was ornery then as he is now.And, here's another thing that hasn't changed. This family loves dinosaurs!We even stayed in a cabin that had a dinosaur theme. There was a hiking path with life-sized dino figures and a playground, too.

We loved that vacation and decided we'd make it back there again someday. Granbury really is a cute town with lots of adventures for a weekend trip and it's not too far from our home base.

So, four years later...

Granbury 2010 started out with a fun ride on the luggage cart at America's Best Value Inn.

I'm sure we made a memorable impression with the hotel staff.And they made a memorable impression with us when we got to our room and discovered leftovers in the fridge.Noah about made a memorable impression on his spinal cord when he jumped off the bed and landed on the back of his neck. This is him resting after learning life lesson #402...don't jump off the bed because you might land on the back of your neck. Life lesson #401 is don't jump on the bed even when something seizes your body and you feel you just must. Tyler has yet to learn either lesson.After we unloaded at the hotel, we headed over to the Square where, bless my soul, they were having an outdoor market in celebration of Memorial Day weekend.

And, God bless our soldiers for giving us the freedom to worship as we please, vote as we please and enjoy a refreshing sno-cone in 100 degree weather. After browsing around the tents in 1000 degree weather, we headed over to the boys' first drive-in movie experience to watch Shrek 4. Noah thought it was a #1 idea.

We picnicked in the back of the car and dined on the fine cuisine they offered. I think some of our bowels later regretted that decision, but that is part of the drive-in experience, after all.

There was a little clearing in front of our car, so the boys kicked a ball around to kill time until the movie began...or until the ball ended up going over the barbed wire fence. Then, all there was to do to kill time was eat more popcorn. Which could've explained the stomach problems later on. But, good to know someone beyond that barbed wire fence is now the proud owner of a Little Einsteins kick ball.

Have I mentioned it was 100,000 degrees? And, yet, T still loves to cuddle.

But, that's okay, we love a good cuddle.

Have I mentioned this guy is as ornery as he ever was?Shrek was a hoot and the boys did a great job making it through the whole movie. It was late when we got to the hotel, but Tyler decided he wanted to create his very own Home Alone moment and dry his hair. All that was missing was the after shave and the scream, but that was okay because, again, it was late. And, we'd already made enough memorable impressions at the hotel for one day.

Four years ago, this is the little boy that was being knit together in my tummy on our last Granbury trip. A hand towel fits around his waist, which is well and good because I like the size of squeezable him. And, delightfully, he has been more blessing than I could've ever imagined back then, when we were a family of three.So, four years later, this is us.

And, even though I'm again feeling a bit sentimental that this part of our life is coming to an end and things are about to change, this time I know how very incredible that change will be. I am loving the memories we're making these final weeks before we become a family a five, but also fully embracing and excitedly anticipating the idea of having another little one to share life with.

Life lesson #2...families are a #1 idea.