Day 16: Typical trip...for us at least

This past weekend we were out of town. The trip had been planned for a week or two. As I mentioned in my post on Saturday it was a surprise we were going to be at the party. Our sleeping arrangements changed last minute when my awesome s-i-l Erika was still down with a nasty flu-ish bug, so we ended up staying with my parents on the other side of town. So sorry to all our Crosby peeps who we did not see (or even let know we were there, you'll understand why if you keep reading). My Mom was thrilled to have us though and they were going to the party as well, so that would work out nicely.
I did a great job having everything ready to go on time. We had planned to get the boys from school around 2 and start down. We actually did leave the house at 1:59. I was so proud of myself. We picked up the boys and after a quick stop for road trip snacks we were on our way. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE my Suburban?? This 4 hour drive is usually a big headache. In our truck, the boys are fighting with each other and the dog is squished on the floor and there's no room for any of our stuff and...you get the idea. In the Suburban, we put the boys on the 3rd row seat, folded part of the back seat down for the dog and rolled! It was very nice. So much room. Anyhoo...
Since I had brought snacks, we did not stop anywhere to eat, but we did stop at a nice new rest area on the way. Jayme said he would take the boys and I said I would take Pattie and change her diaper and we would meet back at the Burban. I grabbed a diaper and got Pattie out. I squished around on her to see how badly she needed a change, and it wasn't too full so I decided to go use the facilities myself first since the changing area was by the sinks. Between getting her out of the truck and the 30 seconds it took me to relieve my bladder pressure and get out to the changing area, she had sprung a leak that sent rivers of pee running down her legs and all the way into her shoes!! Un.effing.believable! New diaper on, pants and socks rinsed out in sink and placed at back of cargo area along with stinky-pee-shoes and we were on our way again.
We got to my parents house and Mom made us a wonderful dinner and then Jayme says, "Does Clay feel warm to you?" 102.6!!!!! Dad and I go to town and get some Motrin and give it to him. Poor little guy is FREAKING out thinking he won't get to go to the party and play with his cousins. I told him if he rested all day and had no other symptoms he could still go. So before we left for the party I dosed him again and took my sick child to a family gathering. I was THAT mother. The one who knowingly sends her sick kid to school. In my defense, I did it because he would have been so heartbroken he may never have recovered. And I did tell everyone he was sick so they wouldn't kiss him. If I had it to do over again I would not change a thing. He had a great time and was the life of the party. There was even a teenage boy there (a friend of my niece's) who was helping Clay get some water and said, "He is so cute!"
We arrived just behind the guests of honor, pulling up as they were unloading things from the Jeep. Papa knew we were coming so he wasn't surprised to see us, but Nana was SHOCKED! It was great. She hadn't bothered to ask Jayme if we were coming because she just assumed we couldn't. I love a good surprise like that.
While we were there, Jayme's brother Baron was letting Jayme and their other brother Rex take rides on his motorcycle. Rex also took Zak, his son for a ride. Raley went with Jayme, but Clay didn't want to. Pattie and I happened to be near the street when Jayme and Raley came back. We were laughing at the car alarms going off down the street. Pattie walked toward the motorcycle with her arms up. I told her, "No, baby, HOT!" Then Clay called my name and I turned around.
Someday babies will come with warning labels and one of them will say, "Now that you are a mother you may NEVER TURN AROUND!" While my back was turned Jayme reached down and picked Pattie up and put her on the seat in front of him. She immediately started to cry and want down. He thought she was scared. She wasn't. Have you ever noticed the "fins" on the cylinder heads of a motorcycle engine? Their purpose is to help the engine radiate heat, thus they themselves get very hot. Pattie has three lines burned into her right leg as testimony to this. It is a very ugly burn that happened from about 1/2 a second of contact.
I want to be very clear that I don't think Jayme did anything wrong. It just didn't occur to him that she would get burned. He is a wonderful father and his remorse over what happened is almost painful to watch. The burn on the other hand, doesn't seem to be all that painful to Pattie. In fact, that night she slept all night and those of you who come here often know that isn't the norm.
Clay's fever was a thing of the past by Sunday morning. After a wonderful breakfast (cooked by Pop) of pancakes, eggs and bacon (Grannie made the bacon), we packed up and headed back home. We made a stop in Huntsville to visit our old college stomping grounds and take some pictures. We also went to the brand new Target there which was actually Jayme's idea and the main reason we went. We were nearly home when it started to rain and we remarked again how much we love our Suburban. If we had been in the truck all of our things would have been wrapped in plastic trash bags, or thoroughly soaked.
All in all it was a typical trip for us. Something bad (we call them mini-catastrophes) seem to happen to us when we leave home, but there are always enough goods to outweigh them. One of the goods this time was a trip for me to HEB (!!!) where I found the seasonal brew from Shiner beer that we had heard about when Jayme and I toured the brewery this summer. It's called Holiday Cheer and it is very good. If you like beer and you can find this one, give it a try.