Why is it that every time I plan to get away and relax and enjoy myself, those turn out to be the most stressful times? Ok, I did enjoy myself and relax a little, but it was a very long, stressful weekend. I came home exhausted.
In January, I started planning a dinner out with my mother. One of my favorite restaurants just opened a store near her. My sister-n-law, Kristi, was dying to try it. So, we planned a night out. The plan was to leave all of our husbands with all of the kids, and go out for dinner. It seemed like a simple enough plan. The guys even decided to get together for a relaxing morning of golf before hand.
Everything seemed to be going pretty well. I should have known better when we actually got into bed before midnight Thursday night, packed, and ready to go. Hmmm. Friday morning we got off without much difficulty and only an hour behind schedule. But, we were in no rush Friday as Mom and Dad would not be home from the Florida vacation until afternoon. It was slow going, because we were towing our RV behind us -- through the mountains. No speeding on this trip. Although slow, it was an uneventful trip to Ohio. We did pass two other vehicles on the side of the road from overheating while trying to tow something through the mountains. I thanked God many times that day that we were not on the side of the road. Throughout the day we kept getting updates from my parents. They were flying Standby since my mother is a retired US Air employee. They DID NOT get on the first flight. SO they weren't going to be there at the scheduled meeting time of 5pm. That's ok because we are running a bit slower than scheduled and wont be there until closer to 7. Then, they didn't get on the next flight or the next flight and the fourth and last flight CANCELLED. (I'm pretty sure that was how it went) Needless to say, they were not going to make it to Ohio Friday night. I was very disappointed. I was hoping to hang out with mom and the kids while Chris and my brothers played golf. Now mom wouldn't be getting home until a couple hours before the dinner. We got to the church around 7 and met Dallas there. He is a very nice man from Dad's church, and he helped us get everything set up and the RV detached from the truck. Then we went out for a nice family dinner at La Rosas. We didn't get to mom and dad's house,which was another 45 minutes away, until late. The kids were exhausted and we all fell asleep rather quickly. Chris was up and out the door he next morning by 0715 to make a 0845 Tee time at my brothers.
All morning Saturday I waited to hear from Mom and Dad, but heard nothing. I took it as a good sign since I knew they were hoping to get on a 0800 flight. Finally I decided to get out of the house because the kids were climbing the walls. We went to Steak and Shake for lunch -- there wasn't much in Mom's house since they had been on vacation the whole week prior. She was planning on getting groceries when she got home Friday afternoon. While I was out I got a phone call that they did indeed make it on the flight but were now stuck in NC. What? It seems the flight from their connection to Dayton which was originally wide open, was now full. So, after talking it over (remember the guys are all out enjoying a relaxing morning of golf), they decide to catch an alternate flight to Cincinnati and I would pick them up. The only problem there car was still at the Dayton Airport. Luckily I was already 45 minutes in the direction of the Cincinnati airport, half way to my brother's house anyway. I would need to leave immediately to get there in time to pick them up. Unfortunately it meant that I would be going to dinner with what I had on -- Not exactly what I had in mind to wear. Since I didn't have room in my Mom's car, which I was driving because Chris had the truck, I had to swing my my brother's house and drop the kids off with Chris and my brothers, and then keep going to the airport. Did I mention I was still tired from 10 hours on the road the day before. I was not having the day I had planned and was trying not to be upset about it. The men came home from golf and took all 8 kids to the ballpark for my nephew's ball game. Off I went to the airport. Mom and Dad successfully made it into the Cincinnati airport, and we sped back to Stephen and Kristi's house so Mom and I could freshen up for dinner. We left My Dad, Chris, and my brothers Joel and Stephen with all 8 kids again and left for dinner, while they headed back to the ballpark for another game. Even though we Mom and I were both exhausted, we enjoyed an awesome dinner of fondue, and conversation. It was a very pleasant few hours. We got back to Mom's house late and went to bed to get ready for Sunday. Mother's day was a very nice service and afterward mom and I ate lunch packed clothes for us and the two little ones, and left for Great Grandma's house in Bowling Green KY. Yes, I was still tired. . .as a matter of fact it is making me tired just thinking about it as I write it. LOL
We arrived in the Bowling Green area late, and got the kids in bed pretty quickly. I feel asleep instantly. The next morning we picked up Great Grandma and Ashley(my cousin) and took them to breakfast at Cracker Barrel. It was sort of a combined Mother's Day/Happy Birthday for my Grandmother -- She turned 80 years old this month. We had a good time eating, then went to the mall to hang out. Great Grandma picked out a Bible board game at the Christian bookstore with Caden, and bought Olivia an outfit at the Old Navy store. We were going to stay a little later but the kids were getting tired, and quite frankly -- so were we. So, we packed up and headed back to Ohio. It was a great -- but exhausting -- trip. While we were gone, Dad and Chris took the older boys to see the new Star Trek movie, and did A LOT of LAWN work.
Somewhere in all this we managed to make it home around bedtime Tuesday night. Zeke missed Karate because we just couldn't get motivated to push it to get home -- We spent 3 hours hanging out at Cabela's etc. . . Also, I failed to mention that during all the business of the week we were also toting around our new puppy (8weeks old). Whew. Maybe next year I just won't get out of bed on Mother's Day.
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