ROAD TRIP!

Wow, what a weekend! Is it okay to say that I was actually looking forward to Monday? 
This weekend, we traveled over 500 miles. Let that sink in for a minute... it feels like ROAD was all we saw...

500 miles. Now do you understand why I wanted so badly for Monday to roll around? I just want normal back! Is that too much to ask for? I think not! But, I do admit that we really had a great time with so much family and friends! 
Friday, we hit the road at 2:00pm to head south. Wayyyy south. Like, Port Lavaca south. 

When we left for the 3 hour drive, it was 78 degrees and sunshine! Seriously perfect weather for a road trip! We visited with Colten's friend, who we hadn't seen in months, and ate delicious ribs. What more could you ask for, really? Oh wait, there was vomiting involved - on Colten's part. Someone got a bit drunk and mixed just a few too many alcoholic beverages - variety is not your friend, sir. He really should know better. Serves him right, as I slept right through it all! 

Saturday, we woke up early-ish (early for someone with a hangover anyway...haha) and said our goodbyes to head even further south to Ingleside for Colten's niece's 6th birthday! I guess she's my niece too, but that just sounds crazy! Technically, my step-niece-in-law. Got it? Good. We usually have to miss out on such events because Colten is working, but he was fortunate enough to have the weekend off, so it was perfect! And it was much needed, too. It was so good to see him interacting with his family and enjoying some time away from the stresses of house chores, work, and school. A break is always a good thing! Colten's mom definitely enjoyed having all the kids together, which doesn't happen very often! It's hard to get everyone together with work schedules and other things going on, so we made sure to capture this moment for eternity, much to their dismay ;).

Colten & his siblings.

It was definitely a good time. And his sister & brother-in-law's house is gorgeous! I'm so, so glad that we were able to be there to celebrate a birthday and some family time. 

This guy pretty much stole the show!

Bestill my heart! 

Saturday night, we said our goodbyes to his family and got back on the road for another 2 1/2 hour drive to my parents' house. See? Isn't this fun? Living out of a car for the weekend? Blech. No thank you! I didn't enjoy being in the car for that long, as I'm not one to like confined spaces for such long periods of time, but I truly did enjoy the time with family and friends, so it was definitely worth it. It helps that we don't do it too often, so I really shouldn't complain...but this is my blog, and I wouldn't be true to it if there was zero complaining :). 

Now, where were we? Oh yes. On the road. Again. It was about 8:30pm when we headed out, and Colten so very sweetly volunteered to drive. Y'all, he drove for the entire trip this weekend! I'm so blessed (because I got to sleep)! Once we entered Rockport, the flashing lights blinded us. Yep, we got stopped by the county sheriff. One of the headlights on my car went out and we hadn't had a chance to fix it. Thankfully, he only gave us a warning and told us to fix it as soon as possible. Yes sir! So, we went on our merry way and continued our trek to the 'burg. I fell asleep and Colten did great just driving along. Until the flashing lights blinded us. Again. Y'all, we got stopped twice for the same reason in two different towns on the same drive! Halletsville PD pulled us over for our broken headlight and thankfully also only gave us a warning - and told us to get it fixed. By this second stop, it was 11:00pm. There was absolutely no way to get it fixed at this time of night. Therefore, we accepted the warning and went about our merry way for the 20 more minutes to my parents' house. 

Colten is not good with directions. He remembers roads and routes and things pretty well, but he just doesn't do directions. However, he followed them pretty well for being so late at night and being tired! We were on one of the backroads and oh so close to 'home' for the night when I saw them: 6 wild hogs running across the road, right in front of us. My heart caught in my throat and I was filled with dread. We were going too fast to stop in time to miss them. There were so many of them. It was late. We were tired. Please, God, place your guiding hand upon us and give us a miracle to not total our car by hitting a wild hog. Please. I begged and pleaded in those few seconds that I had. 

And a miracle we got! Thank God that we did not hit them. I don't know how Colten managed to miss every single one of them, but he did! I started crying - I don't know if it was from exhaustion or from the adrenaline that had been pumping through my body each and every time a cop pulled us over that night, but I was a mess! It wasn't like full-on ugly crying, but I was just ready to be home for the night and to sleep. We arrived at my parents' house around 11:30pm, and I went straight to bed. And I slept. 

Church was at 9:30 on Sunday morning and was in remembrance of my grandparents, so we went. Josh also showed up that morning to attend mass in honor of them. It was a great mass and it felt good to be back where I grew up. We had a delicious lunch and great entertainment...especially with these two dressed to the nines in their neon! 

They couldn't have planned this if they tried!

A cheeto and a lemon walk into a bar... Haha! It was too, too funny. And I'm so glad they obliged when I requested a picture - thanks guys! :) It's never a dull moment in my family, that's for sure! 

Colten worked on some homework with my dad's help, and mom and I enjoyed a few rounds of Skip-Bo, which made for a leisurely afternoon! And thank goodness, because it was COLD. The weather dropped to below 40 degrees, and the wind was torturous! I went from wearing shorts and flip flops for two days to bundling up in a blanket and a hoodie on Sunday! Thanks, Texas! 

We stayed at my parents' house for the Super Bowl game - which honestly wasn't much of a 'game'. I'm not an avid football follower, but for some reason, I was inclined to watch the game. Now, I have sort of an issue, here. Following Facebook statuses, so many people were accusing not only me, but others as well as jumping on the Seahawks bandwagon. I want to clear that up, mostly for my own sake to justify my position. It's the SUPER BOWL. There are only two teams playing. Whether or not I am a fan of a specific team, one must root for one team or the other. There are only two teams playing. What other option is there?! Yes, I was rooting for the Seahawks from the beginning, because they were the underdog and it was their first time to the 'big game'. Ever. Was I jumping on the Seahawks bandwagon? I don't think so. I was simply rooting for one of the teams I was currently watching that day. Simple as that. Got it? Kay, thanks! It's not my fault the Broncos decided to stay in bed and not participate! :) 

My favorite commercials were the Budweiser commercials. The puppy and the Clydesdale just melted my heart - like, my heart was shattered when the puppy was being taken away...see for yourself! 

Y'all. My heart!! Love, love, love this commercial! And the welcome home commercial was absolutely breathtaking! Check out the documentary on that, even if you saw the commercial already...

After Seattle blew Denver out of the water, we packed up and made the two hour drive home, arriving at 11:00pm. Exhausted is an understatement this morning... 

Overall, I'm so excited to have had such a wonderful weekend with my husband and our families. It was worth all the time on the road! But, I was honestly so happy to be home and to see Ace after being gone for the weekend! I missed him so much. I think he missed us too. :) And a huge thanks to my sister for checking in on him while we were gone! It truly means a lot - thanks sis! Love you!!