walking with human puppies

After a very tense weekend of R2 pointing angrily at a photo of himself on a trampoline, the school bus came back. He knows we're going to Texas, to his Bedste's house, where the trampoline is. What he doesn't get is why aren't we going, right now, immediately. So I was happy to send him to a day of school prior to the trip, just to distract him.

The remainder of the children and I took the minivan to the carwash, in our semi-annual cleansing of the vehicle prior to the 12-hour devastation of driving to Texas. It's kind of like washing your hands directly before mud wrestling. After eyeing our carpet, which is mostly Cracker Jacks, the guy told us it would be over an hour to get it clean. I signed things and considered hanging out in the lobby with the 3 little ones, snacking on Skittles and catching up on my People's Court. That lasted 90 seconds. We decided to hit the road and walk the miles and miles to McDonald's. (it is probably less than a mile, but I don't go outdoors)

Spirits were high as we headed down the sidewalk. It is gorgeous gorgeous today. It took a while. We had to stop and pick a flower, and look at the sewer manhole thingy, and discuss the sewer, and talk about water treatment plants. The Western Sizzlin sign has fallen over, and there was a LOT of talk about that. "It might FALL on us!" they squealed, standing as close to the Caution tape as possible. Brynn wanted to walk alone, then she wanted to ride on top of the stroller, then she fell over a couple of times and had an emotional breakdown.

By the time we reached the crosswalk, I was pushing the stroller, carrying Brynn and threatening Toby with things like, "If you get hit by a car, I will KILL you." (that statement is for humor purposes only) I actually had very mild Woodlands-mommy threats like, "let's be careful and wait for our turn, precious." (that statement is understated)

Finally we reached the promised land, where we feasted on a smoothie and waited it out. All too soon, it was time to walk back. The walk back was much quicker, although we had to stop to discuss railroads, and then we almost lost it all when a small dog walked by.

My van looks awesome. I expect the MOG to ban all eating and drinking until 15 minutes into the trip when he realizes the only time they are quiet is when they are chewing.