Hello faithful readers!! Everett and I survived our excursion to west Texas and have lived to blog about it. It was a wonderful trip and Everett traveled extremely well. I was super impressed, since I was prepared for the worst. He finally did melt down - yesterday about 20 minutes from home. Hurray for good babies!
But a great time was had by all. Everett got to meet his bisabuela, Lola, along with his great aunts Esther and Elena and great uncles Albert and Fernando. Everyone thought he was very cute, very chubby and very white.
And now for a day-by-day account...
FRIDAY:
We had been in the car driving for about an hour or so, when we stopped for some food (I know, it doesn't make much sense, but that's what we did). We were eating in the car when I noticed Everett being especially quiet. You'd think I'd be hip to his game by now, but no. I was SHOCKED when I went to unbuckle Everett from his carseat to find an explosion all over his onsie. As you can see, Everett was quite amused by his little activity.
A close-up of the mess
And the grinning boy who created it.
SUNDAY:
Saturday was spent driving - we arrived at Grandma's after 9 pm. On Sunday, we had dinner at Esther and Albert's house. Enchiladas - yum!!
The perfect pose by the (almost) perfect baby.
Playing around in Grandma's living room:
Everett had a love/hate relationship with this table.
He loved to play around it, but hated it when he kept hitting his head on it.
MONDAY:
We drove 45 miles north to the looming metropolis of San Angelo to do a couple of things: 1) Get Grandma's meds, 2) Go to Wal-Mart, and 3) Buy yummy tortillas! It was an arduous schedule to keep to be sure, but we felt we were up for the challenge. On the other hand, somebody wimped out on us within minutes of beginning the drive.
Random shots of San Angelo:
So we got a hankering for a steak while in San Angelo. Following the advice of a random old man in a gas station, we made our way over to a rundown part of San Angelo to this spot. For some reason, we weren't quite sure we had found the right location. Ha! Like it wouldn't be OBVIOUS to anyone that this was definitely the place:
TUESDAY:
There was a cute little girl selling snowcones by the courthouse in Eldorado. She even had a sign and everything: "Snokones, $2". Ahh, love that education at work. Anyway, since I love snowcones, I just had to get one. I decided to throw caution to the wind and gave Everett some bites too.
Grandma and Everett sharing a glance:
YUM!!
Grandma's cute little casa
She had this sign on her front window. Apparently, she's Catholic. Who knew?
We're grateful she let us Mormons stay with her!
My grandfather, Francisco.
As you can tell by the picture, he was obviously a super nice, very friendly kind of guy.
My mom when she was in high school. She was so cute!!
THURSDAY:
We took another trip to San Angelo on Thursday. We had lunch at another steakhouse - Zettner's. Zettner's been there for who knows how long, but judging from their highchairs, I'd guess sometime in the 1970s.
After lunch, we ran into the missionaries. The one of the right is from Stockbridge, Georgia - just south of Atlanta.
This is a picture of the house my parents lived in right after they got married. (By the way, happy 34th anniversary - it was on July 1st)
Everett's make-shift crib, or shrib. Yeah, he fell off the bed while we were there. I felt like a crappy mom, but he wouldn't sleep in his pack-n-play, so this was the best alternative.
Birthday dinner at my Aunt Elena and Uncle Fernando's. It was my mom's 55th birthday on the 29th.
My grandfather's headstone.
Everett being as cute as ever!
The gate to the FLDS property in Eldorado. They fled Colorado City, AZ and went to Eldorado, TX, naturally.
If you look really closely, you can see their temple.
My mom with her mom and two sisters.
And Everett and his bisabuela!
Thanks again Mom and Dad for a wonderful trip. Everett and I enjoyed it!!!!
8 comments:
what a lovely excursion. it is so nice to finally see where kurt gets the francisco from. one of my all time favorite names!
i love the flds site. brought a smile to my face.
wow, what a trip! you packed quite the punch with this one. i'm glad you got back safe and sound. and i love the picture of everett in his polo romper in the swing. haha. i'm glad it fits him.
Great pictures! Everett's first road trip! Glad to see he started off with a BANG! haha Olivia did that in 2004 when we drove to Utah. What a big boy car seat too! I'm sure Will is happy to have his family home and safe! Congratulations Natalie - you made it:) You put everything very softly, but I know road trips aren't easy to pull off with a baby.
Wow! I can't believe you are back and already have your blogsite up-way impressive! I'm so glad though, so happy to see the big roadtrip adventure. It looked wonderful. What a wonderful time to see so much family. I'm so glad you could all go and had such a nice time.
It looks like there were lots of fun new adventures to experience! I really love that sly little expression on Everett's face after his blowout-how did you get that shot? So hilirious :] I love it.
I'm so glad you survivied your Major roadtrip and hope you can get settled and unpacked back at home! Good luck!
Oh your Mom does look beautiful and really looks like you and Paula-so great! And we were just thinking about our 'first' 4th of July with all of you back in the Mansion Days! Darn, we sure miss ya-all! Hope you have a very happy Indepdence Day! Enjoy!
Love, Chelsea
It sounds like such a great and eventful trip. You and Everett are on the top of my "cool" list for making that drive. Seriously, how'd you do it?
I laughed so hard about the restaurant sign and your commentary about your Grandpa's picture. And, of course, the "somos catolicos" sticker. Good thing those are an empty threat or you would have been lost searching for a faded hotel sign!
I'm glad that Everett got to meet his Grandma. And I'm glad you're back.
Natalie;
Glad to see that all of you guys made it back home safe and sound. I was so happy to see you again, I think the last time I saw you you were still in pampers, looking a little like Everett! I should have dug up those pics for you! I hope that the next time we visit won't be so long in the waiting...
Say Hello to all the family, Your mom is probably still trying to remember the names of all the people who she went to school with,you remember the girl with the long black hair and the short mexican guy!Funny how your dad almost knew the same people as she did. Scary that my boyfriend knew them too! Generation Gap or what?
Anyways, Glad to have met Everett, and who knows maybe we'll be planning a trip to Georgia in the next couple of years, or sooner!
take care and keep in touch, I'll be looking for that article for submission in the magazine. Tell all I said hello and I love ya'll!
(that's texan talk for "you guys")
take care ......Jo Ann
gross!!! poopy pants!! hahaha.
looks like everett had one heck of a time. pleased as pie. yummy!
Hey Nat, and Will, and BIG BOY EVERETT - what a great blog spot you guys have. I just spent the last 45 minutes looking at this while on the phone with your Mom. You guys are so happy, it shows in every single picture. Hope to see you all soon - probably at Ty's reception in a few weeks.
Much love to you ALL,
Kathy ( you other Mother )
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