Spontaneous Trip

Yesterday afternoon Mark told me that he had to go to San Antonio today. He was planning to go over and back in one day which meant an early start and a long day. So, I suggested we all go and just head over for the night.

Appreciating the fact that his wife is indeed a genius, he was all for it and jumped online to book a hotel room. I went to pack and had the lovely realization that it is not a big deal to pack four children for one night away. It is especially helpful to be caught up on laundry. (Can you see my supermom cape flapping in the wind?)

We drove over and went straight to meet Grammy and Grampy. I have no idea what they thought they'd be doing last night, but when they found out we were coming they jumped at the chance to spend time with us. It made us feel very loved! We met at La Hacienda for some yummy Mexican food and enjoyed a couple of hours with them before heading to the hotel.

We were greeted by a very friendly hotel clerk who was quite enamored with our four little boys. She was especially fond of our littlest, thumb sucking cutie clinging to his sleeping buddies - two stuffed animals Monkey and Hippy. The hotel was one that we had not stayed in before and it was brand new. They decided to go with a retro look and I felt like I had stepped back in time. I don't actually remember the decor from the 70s, but I'm sure this was it. Everything was curvy and bright colors. It was nice even if not quite my taste.

This morning we got up and ate breakfast in the lobby area surrounded by...I kid you not...silver beads and teal blue curtains. The lobby was split into two big circles. One area was for eating and had tables and chairs. The other area was for sitting and had couches and coffee tables. Both sections had curtains and several strands of hanging silver beads all ceiling to floor. It was "groovy" or maybe it was "far out". Nonetheless, it was interesting. I sat there wondering how long it would be before some curious child decided to try to hang on those curtains or swing on the beads. My next thought was "dear God, let it not be one of my children who does it!!"

They made it through breakfast without breaking anything thankfully! After that we swam in the hotel pool for a little while and then loaded up to go to the movies. The Santikos theatre is doing free movies throughout the summer and today was "Horton Hears a Who". We love that movie and even own it, but since it was free and we needed to kill some time while Mark was in meetings we decided to go. We were disappointed to find out that the movie was sold out. Boo. The boys were so good though when I turned and said, "Gee, sorry guys, it's sold out." There was no whining, no complaining, no moaning or groaning. Instead, my sweet Seth said, "That's okay Mom. We have it with us, why don't we just watch it in the truck?" Be still my heart. Such a mature response! And since he was enthusiastic about it, the other boys followed suit. I was really proud of all of them.

My sister volunteered her dear husband to watch the boys so I could run to the mall for a quick shopping trip. After I picked them up we were off again to our next stop...a friend's house to go swimming. A good time was had by all.

We finally picked up Mark and despite some heavy traffic getting out of town we had a nice trip back. I'm glad we went. I'm tired after a busy day, but it was fun!