We visited my brother Mike and his family in Houston last weekend, but before I get too carried away, let me just explain who, exactly "we" is, and is not. "We" is not Randy. He stayed home to work. "We" is all four children, plus Holly and Big Much and Middle Miss. We filled Big Red, her suburban, and off we went. Like Thelma and Louise, but with 6 extra people who are not self sufficient.
The weekend was about M, my 8 year old niece getting baptized. M is truly a wonderful girl. She is a human version of monkey bread, a sometimes overlooked but never disappointing dessert. M is warm and soft with a generous coating of sugar and a touch of cinnamon for spice, and her giggle makes you always want to go back for more. Providing comfort and snuggles to the troubled hearts of her cousins, she is the last to require attention or praise. And her stories, if you listen carefully, make hilarity out of the mundane of everyday life. One day ask her about the GPS who the family refers to as "Lady Bugs" as M says, "because she's a lady and she bugs us".
Other things that made this trip priceless -
panic attack as two claustrophobic sisters are trapped on a 20 mile stretch of HOV lane surrounded by cement barriers and NO WAY OUT!!
"what's that smell" (Stevie asks) all the way through stinky Louisiana where refineries provide the only view from the freeway
post-church popcorn Holly shared with us from her tub of boy scout chocolate covered caramel corn - apropos considering it is truly DIVINE
Wally and Stevie singing "Little GTO" from RV, the movie each of them chooses when it's his turn
Big Much imitating Auntie Mel as the roller coaster announcer when we go over big hills
Watching the cousins play High School Musical Wii - Mel scored a solid C as Sharpay in some boppy song
Auntie Holly doing a sit bounce trick on the trampoline
"I'm S and I just turned 4" my nephew's constant introduction
Being left by the side of the road for Randy to pick up when we hit our freeway exit (it was at my request, but still funny to all the Best Buy customers who watched us unload)
8 comments:
It seems that we missed quite an eventful weekend! Wish we could have shared it with you.
Sounds like a real "trip!"
Weird- now my verifications says "foxyes." Am I receiving revalation through blogger???? If so, what is that referring to?
I would say I am the fox and yes I am a cool friend :)
I didn't know you were driving!?!?! :-) It looks like you all survived, and had a great weekend. Yea! By the way, exactly how long were the kids by the side of the road ...
Claire told me about your blog, so due to the magic of the internet, I hope you don't mind if I check once and a while and see what you guys are up to. Sounds like a fun trip!
My children will be forever scarred with the last memory of the trip: WE LEFT YOU AND YOUR FOUR HELPLESS CHILDREN AT THE SIDE OF THE ROAD! What were we thinking?
Mel I think you perfectly captured M completely. What a beautiful writer you are! I loved hearing her described in just the perfect light. I am now dreading the long drive but excited to have the end result. You all!!!
My name is Doug Peterson - I'm looking for Mike Selcho from Sandy Ut / Silver Mesa / The Starfires. If you know him please pass on my email address - doug@cityskylinerealty.com
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