We decided to make the trip over on Thursday evening and just let the kids sleep in the car. Ummm. That would have been a good idea had we been traveling in 1978 and could have made sleeping pallets on the floor of the backseat like we used to do as kids. Instead, they were strapped bolt upright in their carseats for 5 1/2 hours. Oh yeah, and it was their bedtime and they were exhausted. It will not go down in the kids' memories as their favorite roadtrip. Shawn and I were good, though. ;)
We started our escapades with a trip to the Fort Worth zoo. Shawn's cousin's wife Anna was kind enough to join us with their baby daughter, Cora. It's an amazing place. Very well done. But, someone needs to talk to the elephants about proper behavior in public. I was not prepared to view elephant porn with my 6-year-old asking, "Is that his penis?!" Well, yes, son. I had no idea myself, but indeed it is.
We also saw three women with a child in a stroller singing "Old McDonald" loudly. Anna and I agreed that when we go to the zoo drunk, we do it much more tastefully.
Visiting the Flamingos
(Thoughtful of them to match Spence's shirt.
I mean this zoo goes all out!)
I mean this zoo goes all out!)
On Saturday we went to the rodeo. We went with my stepdad and had seats so close to the floor of the arena, they gave warnings about flying dirt clods and standing too close to the barrier walls during the competitions because the animals might crash into them. 4/5ths of us thought this was awesome. Elizabeth didn't really care - she was just glad there was cotton candy.
Greeting the Rodeo Grand Entrance
By the time we got back to the hotel, Shawn and I were reaching the point where the "vacation" was starting to wear us out. And, by the time Sunday rolled around, we were ready to get our amped up munchkins home and back to the regular routine.
We're not nearly as dumb as we look. So, we learned our lesson and traveled home during the kids' normal waking hours. This time we just let them fry their brains on 5 1/2 hours of movies. But, at least that way they were oblivious to the fact that they were strapped bolt upright to their seats.
All in all, a few more wonderful memories were made. And, I'll take all of those I can get.
P.S. One of Shawn's proudest moments of the weekend was teaching Spence to say, "Welcome to the Gun Show" while flexing his biceps. Nice.
