Travel Tuesday

Not us traveling this time. 

A week ago last Saturday, Mindy was telling us that Justin's brother, Corey, his wife, Emily, and two kids, Leo and Selena were coming to visit them. One thing led to another and we offered to have them come here along with Mindy and Justin. Their condo downtown is just too small to take on a family of 4. Plus, we have the pool AND an extra car. That turned out to be a godsend since it can hold 6 people. We've always said that we kept the Enclave as a loaner. It has come in handy dozens of times.

So, Mindy and Justin moved in on Wednesday evening after a stop at the grocery store. They came stocked with all kinds of kid-friendly food: fruit, Lunchables, donuts, M&M ice cream cups, uncrustables, chocolate milk, apple juice, and mini Cokes. 

The plane was delayed---no surprise to anyone after our fiasco a couple weeks ago!! Anyway, by the time Justin left to pick them up--10:30 or so, Mindy stayed behind to go to bed. She was working the next day. They got back here around 11:30 pm. 

The next morning, I was up and out walking by 6 am. When I got back, everyone was still sleeping. Turns out they--including the kids are night owls. Corey and Emily work for Disney and have late hours.

The plan for Thursday was that while Mindy worked, Justin took the family around town and wound up at the Science Center. They got back in the afternoon and had some time in the pool before leaving to drop Mindy and Emily off for "The Chicks"---formerly known as the Dixie Chicks---concert. The plan was that while they were at the concert at Bridgestone---a very short walk from their condo--- Justin and Corey would hang out at their place. 

No sooner had they gotten down there than Emily got a text from Ticketmaster that the concert was canceled. One of the "chicks" was sick. Bummer!! Unfortunately, Butch heard it on the news shortly after they left. Soooo, they all came back here and hung out.

The next day, both Justin and Mindy had to work. So Corey and family went to the zoo for a good part of the day. Oh, did I mention that it's been really HOT here? I don't think it's as hot as Italy but very close!! Of course, being from Florida---and working at Disney---they are used to it.

That night, Emily and Corey had tickets for the George Strait concert. Justin drove them down---driving through McDonald's for the kids. Of course, besides rush hour traffic, they got caught up in the concert traffic---which is a nightmare. It took 2 hours! On the way home, the kids convinced Uncle Justin to drive them back through Mcdonald's for another happy meal! Oh, and then there was a bathroom accident somewhere along the way; with one of the kids. Turns out, that was contained in the car seat! I know Butch was feeling bad for his car! He's fanatical about his cars. 

They got back and spent the rest of the evening with Justin and Mindy chasing the kids all around the house. I just laughed! I told Justin about how our grands ran around the house all the time and my comment to Butch that I didn't remember our kids running around like that. He said, "Well, Barb, our hallway was only 6 ft. long!" Yeah, we have a lot of room to run around in this house! 

Justin and Mindy got them to settle down with a movie. They were still awake when Justin left to pick up his brother at the end of the concert. 

But, the funniest part of this too-long story is that Leo--the 6-year-old thought our house was Mindy's house and the "hotel" (condo) was Justin's house! I don't think he grasped what was really going on. And then, since Mindy was using my office for work, he thought that was Mindy's office--at one point asking her, "Aunt Mindy, can I talk to you in your office?" 

Kids! So darn funny! 

Oh, and the food--reminded me of Camp Aunt Barb. Seems like each year, I have a meltdown about the food and how picky kids are nowadays. Well, one morning, Mindy pulled out the uncrustables at breakfast. Leo turned up his nose and said, "No! It's supposed to be a purple box!" Meaning, she bought strawberry--hence a red box rather than grape in a purple box. Then, we both nearly lost it when she handed him the juice box, he took one look at it and said, "No, the hole for the straw is supposed to be on the edge, not in the middle!" But, luckily, he decided that it was okay if the straw wasn't going to be in the place he was used to!!

Justin and Mindy really got a workout chasing the kids around for a few days. And, they get to do it all over again in September. "The Chicks" concert has been re-scheduled. At least it should be cooler then!

On the way home from taking them to the airport, Justin stopped at Starbucks and brought me this:

OMGosh! I didn't know this was a "thing." I thought I was the only one that said, "Aaahhh!" after my first sip. But apparently, I'm not the only one. Justin is a sweetheart.

And that's why he's my favorite son-in-law!