What We Did on our Ya Ya Vacation

So, yes, it was a vacation, and we had a great time! The car ride to Port Neches is OH SO LONG, but that's what God gave us dvd players and iPod's for -- I'm pretty sure that was the 6th day. (I'll double check with my VBS colleaugues tomorrow.)



My Honey turned 78 on Saturday, and she could not take her eyes off of Jax. I think she was only really with him 1 or 2 times before she really went downhill. He was a little apprehensive, glued to the wall, with a furrowed brow and a sharp scream anytime we tried to pry him away, but we did manage to get him to give her a kiss right before he went running down the hall of the nursing home, screaming like a banshee, and jetted straight to the big administration desk-area, where he hid under the counter and made me get on my hands and knees to dig him out. You wouldn't believe how fast those employees appeared to watch the spectacle.



Then we graced some of the residents by hanging out with 'em during their smoke break. One man was literally half a body -- he literally sits on his ribs. But my kids were awesome. I was worried Ryan would let some innocent question slip, but she didn't, she talked with them and laughed with them, and Jax put on a show, giving high-fives and hugs all around. Of course, Pappy is there all the time, plays regularly there with his band and is the most genial person you will ever meet, so being his great-grandchildren certainly helped.



The rest of the visit was spent eating and playing, with Jaxson rousing everyone everywhere we went with shouts and yells. I really hate when other people laugh at this. Don't you know you're making it worse? Then again, I think I do prefer it to people like the woman who glared at him, then at me, and then turned her back to us. That wasn't nice.



At one point, I overheard Pappy describing Jax as "A Holy Terror". Coming from the man who won his wife by knocking out her high school boyfriend (it was self-defense) and later, after several other boys claimed to be the one who did it, simply told her, "I'm the Real McCoy" , that's saying a lot. (Don't you just love that story?)



Anyway, We headed on to Galveston on Saturday, but not before we stopped and bought the last Harry Potter book. (Which Pappy bought for Ryan, who couldn't get her hands on it until this morning, seeing as how I was glued to it until 11:30 last night. I told you I'm a nerd. Btw -- Well Done, JK!!)



The kids were thrilled to ride the ferry, and even more excited to feed the seagulls. We took a 3hr nap, went swimming at the hotel pool and met a whole family from Louisiana who is likely related to us, based on how similar Ryan and the little girl behaved -- think Disney on Ice, the Late July Outdoor Edition , ate lobster and cheesecake at Landry's (where Jax persisted in his way, throwing his napkin onto the patio's surrounding hedges. Repeatedly.), and we watch the Rainforest Cafe's Volcano explode. It was the best night.

The next morning we actually let the kids eat INSIDE the Rainforest Cafe (as opposed to the peering-in-like-beggars route we took the previous night), and they ate it up. Ryan couldn't get enough of the automated jungle animals, and though Jax was extremely apprehensive (staying glued to his seat, brows furrowed, shouting should you attempt to move him -- much like Nursing Home Jax), but did eat A LOT of food.

At one point, Ryan was sitting on a ledge, posing for a picture in front of the elephants when the Baby Elephant's trunk moved and nudged her backside.

She quickly looked at Menana wielding the camera and commanded, "Hurry."

So anyway, now we're home and while I've been writing this, Ryan has been having a long conversation with the plumber about God and Rahab and the soldiers and Jericho and Joshua and who only knows what, and Jax has emerged from his nap, exited his room, and has proceeded to hug the guy.

I'm not sure what that means, but the plumber was floored.

I'll have photos once Menana sends them. *guilt, guilt, guilt -- very Ya Ya**