We headed out bright and early on Friday morning. Our goal was to be on the road by 9:00 am and we beat the clock and was out the door by 8:45. We were trying to get to Lafayette, LA by noon with no stops. The boys did pretty well for the most part between movies and me singing (the favorite -- Luke Luke Bo Buke Banana Fana Fo Fuke Fe Fi Fo Fuke LUKE!). Ben started to get a little fussy and tried to fall asleep, so I had to work hard to keep him awake.
We actually managed to get there on schedule without Ben falling asleep or driving us nuts and pulled into a Chick-Fil-A a little bit before noon. We ate and let the boys get their wiggles out at the little play area there. Chat left and went and got gas and the boys played hard. It is so cute, Luke finds friends wherever he goes now. He is one friendly little guy and never seems to meet a stranger!
That blur is Luke running around like crazy at Chick-Fil-A!
We were back on the road by 12:45. Ben fell asleep by about 1:15 (yay!!!!!!!!) and Luke fell asleep closer to 2:00. They slept the rest of the drive! Talk about a huge relief. Chat and I were able to relax a bit more and also talk a bit which is always nice. Luke is great in the car because he really watches the DVD player, but Ben is a crap shoot. Sometimes he watches, but he usually needs more entertainment...usually from me which can be pretty exhausting for a long road trip. We pulled into Jackson right around 4:00 pm and headed to the hotel to check in.
Oh, so happy to see this!
We stayed at the Cabot Lodge, a local hotel right near campus. It took us only about 30 minutes to check-in, get all the luggage up to our room and freshen up before Chat was ready to head to the baseball field. We got there about 4:30 pm for a game that started at 6:00 pm. We said hello to a few people at the field then Chat walked the boys and I around the Millsaps campus. Although very small compared to the campus I am used to (Go Texas!), it was beautiful. It was hilly with lots of green grass and beautiful buildings. The boys loved running around...especially after a 7 hour car ride.
Checking out the Conference Champion trophy Chat helped win!
Running around the fountain on campus.
Picking up sticks
Running in "The Bowl"
Monkey see...
Monkey do.
After we walked around for awhiel, we headed back to the field. The game that night was a lot of fun for all of us. The boys ran around while Millsaps beat their opponent which made Chat soooo happy. Luke met two little friends -- one a little 3-year-old girl and they played hide-and-seek and the other a little 2.5-year-old boy named Cobb and they played trains. Both Ben and Luke met a friend together -- a 12-week-old puppy named Charlie. They were in heaven playing with that little guy!
Luke sitting in the bleachers at the game.
Luke and his new friend Cobb (and Thomas and James of course!)
Luke and Charlie the puppy
After the game, there was a check presentation for alumni who have given to the baseball program for Grand Stands. Chat was able to go up there and it was a nice little ceremony. Afterwards, there were hotdogs and hamburgers for everyone and we all just stood around or found a curb to sit and eat dinner. We were starving since it was close to 9:00 pm. After that we headed back to the hotel and got everyone ready for bed. I put Ben down around 9:45 and the rest of us fell asleep about 45 minutes later. It had been a loooooong day for all of us, but great memories for us all.
Luke watching Daddy during presentation
While Ben played with the bats on the field!
The night didn't go so well for Ben. He had a bad cough and it kept waking him and I up. We booked two adjoining rooms, so he and I were in one room. He also didn't sleep so hot in the pack n play, so he would cry out a bit. Let's just say I was thankful when the sun rose. I was ready for that night to be over! We went downstairs and ate breakfast and then all took showers and got ready for the day. We spent a couple hours driving around Jackson and Chat showed us different parts of towns and his old favorite places, like the local watering hole. Jackson was a very pretty town. It is unbelievable that it is the largest city in Mississippi because it is still so small and so spread out. We also went and took a picture of Chat and the boys next to the Millsaps sign. I think he was one happy dad at this moment.
During the drive Ben took a nap since he was so tired from going to bed so late and then not sleeping well. He woke up in time for all of us to meet an old fraternity friend of Chat's for lunch.
After lunch we headed back to the baseball field for a 1:00 pm game. We all stayed for a while, but the sun was pretty bright and I didn't bring hats or sunscreen for the boys and I started to worry they were going to get burned. So I brough them back for naptime at the hotel while Chat stayed at the game. Well, they didn't sleep at all...
Acting sleepy?
Nope!
Still not!
The boys looooooved the hotel phone. They played with it every second of being in that room.
Ha ha! Still horsing around...no sleeping here!
One more that shows proof that I was on the trip!
But it was nice to relax, snack and let them hang out for a bit. We had an hour or so of just horsing around in the room and then we headed back to meet Chat at the field. Millsaps won the game again so it was a great end to the afternoon. We drove back to the hotel around 4:45 and Luke fell asleep in the car. We went to the lobby for their popcorn and happy hour where Luke slept on my lap and the rest of us ate and drank. That was one nice glass of Chardonnay after a hot day outside. We also talked to other parents of players and other guests in the hotel. Luke finally woke up and the boys ran around with other kids there and we enjoyed some down time and spirits while chatting with everyone. Everyone was so friendly and they quickly became friends.
Luke passed out on my lap at happy hour.
I noticed we were very popular among everyone at the hotel and at the game. Men and women would flock to us and want to talk to the boys and say hello to Chat and meI. At breakfast one morning, a man next to me at the bagel toaster said, "Oh you are the woman with the two baby boys!". I then realized what was happening. All these parents were 15 to 20 years from where we are today. They are back at their son's college watching him play baseball. They watched us with nostalgic eyes and remembered the times we were in -- us chasing the boys up and down the halls of the hotel, the chubby legs on Ben, Luke wanting to push the elevator buttons, the giggles that came out of them. They looked at us and saw their past. They made constant remarks such as "I remember those wonderful times" and "I know it is hard with two so young, but it gets easier" and "I miss that time when my son was that age". It was sweet really and at times I felt lucky to be at the stage we are at -- even though I probably only got 4 or 5 hours of sleep. It really put things in perspective.
About 7:00 pm we headed to a local pizza and ice cream restaurant where we scarfed down delicious pepperoni pizza and had some yummy treats. As you can see, Chat got a banana split...
One happy boy with that dessert!
Ben was happy with his treat too!
We got back to the hotel by 9:00 and all of us were in bed and asleep by 9:45. We all slept great that night and got a much better nights rest -- shows you what exhaustion will do to you! It started to storm real bad around 4:00 in the morning and the thunder was very loud. But I still slept great. We woke up kinda late around 7:45 and got packed up and then headed down for breakfast. We got on the road shortly after around 9:00 and started out for our rainy ride home.
The drive home was a bit harder than the drive up. Ben was fussy and tired of being in the car and let us know about it. We had to make two stops instead of one due to this. Ben only slept 1 hour of the 7 hour trip and, well, it was tough. Even Luke seemed to get a bit restless. Considering what we were asking of them at this young age, I still think they did pretty darn well. We made it home a little after 4:00 pm and we were all happy to be home.
This pretty much sums up Ben on the way home.
All in all, it was a great first roadtrip. I think Ben will improve in the car as he gets older and has more of an interest in watching shows. But we made some wonderful memories and I know how much this meant to Chat. So I was happy we were able to do this with him. I am one lucky lady to have my three boys.
