a "little" road trip . . .

the kids and i packed up the truck and headed north to missouri . . . all by ourselves! yep . . . just me and the 4 kids took on a 670 mile road trip (1340 miles round trip . . . not that i was counting or anything)!! sean was busy with work and couldn't break away . . . and we didn't want to cancel the trip. i nearly had a nervous breakdown thinking about how long the drive was going to be with just me and 4 little people . . . but i sucked it up and hit the highway! and i'm so glad i did!

we made it just in time on the 27th to change our clothes and try to make ourselves look presentable and make it to my nephew's soccer indoor soccer game. according to my sister-in-law . . . i smelled a little funny. and after being in the car for an entire day . . . sleeping a few hours at a hotel . . . and hopping back in the car for another 3 hours never changing my clothes . . . i completely agreed with her!

we made it to the game before it was over . . . and the kids had a great time watching mr. floppy (the new nickname they gave my newphew, bailey, because of his long hair)!

well, they were excited to watch for a few minutes. then they had better things to do . . .

. . . like chewing on baby dolls!

and chasing each other around!

i love watching this little (or i guess big) guy play soccer! this is my 12 year old nephew, bailey, who is taller than me now!!! so not right!

after the game we went back to nana and pops' (my parents) house and got cleaned up for real. boy did that shower feel good! we had to get ready for our "dinner" plans at garbo's . . . at least that's what my mom thought we were doing!

while the big people finished getting cleaned up . . .

the little people got to work . . . and made some beautiful crafts!

and when we got to garbo's . . .

my mom realized that it wasn't just dinner plans!

but it was a surprise birthday party with the whole family for her big 6-0!

my uncle (who was once stationed in new orleans when he was in the coast guard) showed up with his new hat . . . and of course i had to get a picture of him in it!

little miss got to put the candles on the cake . . .

pops' gave a great toast to nana . . . letting her know how much everyone appreciates everything she does for EVERYONE! and then we sang happy birthday . . .

and this little chicky grabbed the candle so quick to lick the icing . . . i don't know how she didn't get burned from the melted wax!

it was so nice to get to see my family . . .

and of course . . . nana had lots of help opening all of her special gifts!

on sunday little brown eyes got her hair did . . .

we got a new picture of all SEVEN {great}grandkids with my 94 year old grandpa! the last picture we took of him and the grands . . . was when brown eyes and my nephew, nicholas, were teeny tiny babies! my grandpa's mind isn't quite as sharp as it used to be . . . so he may or may not have a clue who these 7 little people sitting on the couch with him are!

little buddy man finally pooped out and crashed in the big comfy chair . . .

seriously . . . it takes everything i have to not just eat up those chunky cheekies!

monday we took the littles to jump mania to try and wear them out . . .

the girls played a lot . . .

and little buddy man ate . . .

and ate . . .

and ate . . .

and ate some more!

after we got home i found little man in the kids room . . .

trying to get into 1 of nana and pops' 200 boxes of girl scout cookies!

and that wasn't the last time he tried either . . .

but this time . . .

he had much better luck!

wednesday night before we left . . . the littles got to get their easter baskets from nana and pops! and they got to come home with a new kid sized table just like the one at nana's! if you noticed in the pics above . . . the table and chairs were all recovered in super cute gingham oilcloth . . .

and i'm going to do the same thing to their new table!

we made it home safely . . . it took FOREVER to get home! the trip is usually 10.5-11 hours with kids. it took me TWELVE hours to get home! we did it all in one day . . . it was a very long day! all 4 of the little people did surprisingly well though. i'm so glad i sucked it up and took the trip . . . it was worth every hour we spent in the car!