I'm So Flippin' Glad to be HOME!

The past several days have been long, tiring, and hectic. I am sure glad they are over, and that I am back home. Here's what went down:

Friday, 4:00 pm--Pick up hubby from work in downtown Portland.
4:30 (or thereabouts)-- Get onto intersate with SLOW-going traffic. Drive ALL night long, with frequent stopping along the way (dinner, potty, switching drivers, etc...). During all of his waking hours Friday evening, Tyler did NOT want to be in his car seat. He was very cranky. Jasmine was a good girl. The only sleep I got was between Blackfoot and Rigby, and my hubby slept between Rigby and Rexburg... we were both awake the rest of the drive.
6:50-- Pull into the Teton Lakes golf course for like two minutes so my hubby can see one of his old friends.
7:00-- We get to his parents house. By this time, the kids have been awake for a little over an hour, but they have been quiet and happy. They are VERY happy when they get out of the car and run around at Grandma and Grandpa's house. We relax and visit for a brief time, then hurry up and get ready for my hubby's little brother Cameron's baptism. After the baptism, we go to the park with another one of his brothers (and wife and kids), then I go to a baby shower with my female in-laws while Hubby goes and plays golf with his brothers, uncles, and cousins. The next day, we go to church with my husband's family (their ward doesn't start till 1:30... YUCK!), then have a big family shindig at the house. This is a great time for us to see my husband's ailing grandparents. We get lots of pictures, a bunch of which I will post later. Tyler goes from happy to grumpy, back and forth, all weekend because of his screwed up schedule. He might have been a little unsure from all the strange people, too. ANYhoo...
Sunday night-- Jasmine spends the night at her cousins' house, and Monday morning, my husband goes golfing with his brothers one more time. After we say goodbye to everybody, we pack up the car and leave. It's shortly after noon by this time.
Around 1:00-- we make a surprise visit to my parents' house. We stay for a little over an hour, and are consciously aware of the hot, dry icky air as we visit with my mom in the backyard. I have gotten used to western Oregon's humid heat, and in my opion, it's better.
At around 2:30-- We leave. We stop by Fiesta Ole' to get some lunch. They don't have Fiesta Ole's here, so we are excited about getting some of their food. That was one of our favorite places to eat when we lived in Idaho. We then drive all the way to Ontario, which is about an hour west of Boise. Tyler, of course, has to scream a bunch of the way.
8:30-- We get a hotel with a cold indoor swimming pool. We had a quick, refreshing swim, then ordered pizza while we watched Madagascar on HBO.
The next morning, after a free contintental breakfast, we're out the door by 10:00. Well, make that 9:00, cuz just outside of Ontario, the time switches back an hour. YIPEE! We drive and drive and drive, abpt 375 miles. We make frequent stops to switch drivers and pull out our leftover pizza for lunch. Fortunately, tyler takes like a three and a half hour nap (after crying and screaming for just a little while). This makes travel much easier than the day before. Somewhere along the way, we pick up a voice mail message from my husband's sister. It turns out that she's about two months pregnant, but she didn't want to tell us till after her doctor appointment (which was Monday afternoon after we left Rexburg). Yay for her! We're all excited, and it looks like my hubby's side fo the family is going to be bombarded with grandbabies (one in August, one in December, and now one in February).
3:30-- We're FINALLY HOME!

I was so freakin' tired by the time we got home, that I didn't want to do anything. However, we did run a few more errands after unloading all of our junk. We picked up a stuffed penguin at the Zoo gift shop for Jasmine (for being such a good girl on the trip), then we went to the mall and got dinner in the food court. That meant NO COOKING for me, so I was pretty happy. Being the Fourth of July and all, Jasmine was pretty excited about seeing the fireworks. I bummed out, though, cuz I was so tired. Tyler was also pretty crabby. I put him to bed, then crashed myself, and Jasmine went with Daddy to the park up the hill to watch what little fireworks could be seen from that point.

I don't know when the next time will be that we can visit Idaho. There were lots of people there who I would have LOVED to see, but we just didn't have the time. We didn't spend too much time with my family, cuz they're all going to be driving out here in two weeks anyway for our big ol' family reunion. There are a few friends I would have loved to see, but time just didn't permit. This trip was even more tiring than our Thanksgiving trip, and with a new baby coming in five months, I KNOW we won't be making that drive again for a long while. I am very grateful that we got to see Cam get baptized. I am also grateful that my husband and I got to see his grandparents one last time. I know we won't be able to make it out for any funeral that may very well happen within the next year, and this will most likely be the last time we see either of them alive. I'm glad we made the trip, but I sure as heck don't wanna do it again for a LONG time. Whew. I'm still tired, and my house is now trashed. I really hate unpacking after a trip. I'd better go start cleaning up, as well as get dinner ready. Plus, I've got a cranky baby who just got three shots at the doctor's office today. He wants my attention. Adios for now.