Visiting Family

A few weeks ago we packed our bags, loaded the car and hit the road. It was time for a little vacation at Grandad and Maw’s house! Our first day there was pretty laid back. You see, it is a seven hour drive to get to their house, but with Bryce it is more like a 10 hour drive. We couldn’t leave home until pretty late in the day, so we didn’t arrive until 2 o’clock in the morning. Luckily for us, Bryce slept most of the way. Unfortunately, once we arrived he thought it was time to be awake and wouldn’t let us go to sleep for another hour or so. Needless to say, we were quite exhausted the rest of the day!

Maw, Carter, Peyton and Bryce

The next day was a bit more eventful. We started it off by walking up to Main Street to check out the Indian Summer Festival the town had going on. The festival consisted of different vendors lined up on Main Street and at the end was a HUGE community yard sale. Have I ever mentioned how much Jus and I LOVE yard sales? It’s one of our favorite things to do on weekends, especially when we find something awesome (like our tent)!

Great Grandma and Bryce

Later that night Maw hosted a very delicious dinner. Uncle James (my brother), Aunt Shelby, Carter, Peyton, Aunt Aubree (my sister), and Great Grandpa and Grandma all came over. Grandad and Maw made some yummy barbeque chicken and dutch oven potatoes (I don’t mean to brag, but Grandad makes THE BEST dutch oven taters EVER!). Great Grandma brought some fresh corn on the cob (my favorite) and some yummy peach crisp! Let’s be honest, nothing beats and evening of good food and family!

Great Grandpa and Bryce

The highlight of Sunday was when Bryce got to experience riding on a four wheeler for the first time! This is something I have been anxiously awaiting, for there is almost nothing I love more than being on a four-wheeler! Out of all the times we’ve been to Grandad and Maw’s house, for some reason we have never been able to get this ride to work out. Finally it happened! Grandad was the first to take Bryce (it’s kind of Grandad’s thing). I was a little worried to see how Bryce would respond, but he ended up loving it! In fact I don’t think he was ready to be done when we took him off 30 minutes later.

Grandad and Bryce

Monday brought Justin’s departure. He had to return home so he could go to work. Bryce and I were sad to see him go, but I am thankful he works hard so I am able to stay home and take care of our sweet boy. I’m not going to lie though, I have a hard time sleeping at night when Jus isn’t with me.

The rest of the week was pretty easy going. Maw and I got to hang out with Bryce, Carter and Peyton while everyone else went to work. Carter is the friendliest little boy I know! He absolutely LOVES Bryce, and seeing how he is with him just melts my heart. He taught Bryce how to play with his favorite toys (Ninja Turtles and cars, of course!). If Bryce was sleeping while he was playing, he would check on Bryce every couple of minutes to make sure he was okay, then kiss his cheek before he went back to the toys.

Carter giving Bryce a kiss

Peyton was also really well with Bryce. She had observed her brother kiss Bryce a few times, so when no one was paying attention (or at least when she thought no one was), she would sit down by him and give him a kiss as well. She was also very interested in his NG-Tube! We had to stop her from pulling it out a few times. She got to the point where she would reach for it while saying “no no no no”. Silly girl. She did have a few moments when she just didn’t like Bryce, but that was only because she was so tired and Maw was holding him, not her.

Peyton saying cheese!

Friday came a little too quickly. The plan was to have Aunt Aubree take Bryce and I back home, but first we had a few things we wanted to do. At noon, the high school was putting on a parade to celebrate Homecoming Week. How could we miss such an exciting event? We all walked to where Great Grandad and Grandma usually watch the parade, and waited for it to start.

Waiting for the parade to start

I was excited, for this would be the first parade Bryce would actually be awake for (at least I hoped so). Finally we heard it coming. As the boy scouts marched the flag past us, Bryce’s eyes were getting heavy. Then came the high school’s marching band. Bryce’s eyes popped open as the music captured his attention. He LOVED it! Sadly, after the band passed Bryce decided that he just didn’t want to be awake any more. At least he was able to see part of a parade. Maybe next time he’ll stay awake through the whole thing…but I’m not holding my breath.

Picnic in the park with Great Grandad and Grandma (Shh! Don't tell Grandad I took his picture)

After the parade, we walked to the park for a little picnic with Great Grandad and Grandma and my brother’s family. Carter and Peyton ate quickly for they were so excited to play! It was so much fun watching the kids playing! Peyton did her best to keep up with her big brother and do everything he did. Carter was having a blast going down the slide again and again. After going down a few times, he would run up to Bryce (who was sleeping in my arms) and give him a big kiss on the cheek. I think he really wanted Bryce to be awake so they could play together.

At one point a few foreign kids also came to play at the park. They communicated with each other using their native language (which I believe was French) and it worried Carter a little. Every time they would run past Peyton, he would protectively wrap his arms around her. He’s such a good big brother! After a while, when he realized they weren’t going to hurt Peyton he decided they were his friends. He wanted so desperately to play with them, but he just couldn’t understand what they were saying! So, not wanting to be left out any more he hollered at them, “Hey! Stop saying those funny sounds!” Silly boy cracks me up!

First time sliding on her own!

Unfortunately, our time at the park had to end. I still had to finish packing our stuff so we could hit the road and make it back home to Justin! Don’t get me wrong, I was pretty excited to see my hubby again, but it is always sad to leave. Our time with family was wonderful, and I can’t wait to see them again!