Traverse...

We had plans to head to Traverse City over break with both the Bolles and Rake families. Due to circumstances beyond their control, both had to back out. We still wanted and needed to go. So we did.

Kyle stayed home last year but we decided to bring him along this time. you know, for our family weekend. Knowing it would be so great to get away, we planned to fill our time with fun and food. Lots of fun {according to all the boys} and lots of food according to me.

We got the normal "are we there yet" most of the way. Once there, Kyle got so upset because he wanted to go in Traverse City. I told him we were, but he kept at it. He thought TC was a place, a fun zone. He wasn't nearly impressed.

Our first stop in town was Old Navy. I couldn't figure out for the life of me what I last packed Keith's trunks for and we couldn't find them. {Detroit} Swim trunks. Check. Next we headed to Payless to nab a super cute pair of tennies for Kyle. The stock was not super cute. We purchased a redo from Kyle's past. Oh well. 'Liked 'em once, like 'em again. Our next stop was the Children's Museum. Everyone is $6 for the day. We made it...what, an hour and 43 minutes?? The boys had fun but K and I were bored out of our minds. Hey, I missed those pictures...where'd they go?

After all the fun, we went to bd's for dinner. {I was so smart about the weekend. Since it revolved around my birthday , I received a free meal at bd's. I also had coupons for Cold Stone, Aunt Annie's Pretzels, Red Lobster, shopping and more}

We chose to eat early to avoid the dinner rush. It worked perfect Friday. Not so perfect Saturday. After dinner, we headed to the hotel to unpack and unwind before swimming. I'm realizing right now that my pictures aren't in any particular order, so pay no attention. There was a bit of snoozing going on by the adults and TV watching by the youngsters. Kyle also threw in a little bed jumping for posterity. The boys all swam for awhile before cleaning up for ice cream. YUM. I don't really like ice cream but I love the stuff that goes on it! We were all {blah} afterward. Keith picked up beer and we called it a night. This is too much of a story for you to care about but there is a reason for telling it. Oh, I'd say at about 1am I was awaken by Kyle crying. First, our sleeping arrangements were as follows...Keith and Caleb in one bed and Andrew, Kyle and I in the other. Kyle wanted to sleep with Keith, but I kept telling him to lie down. Dumb. Okay, so Kyle is crying, almost like a bad dream, and he was calling Caleb's name. Then it happened. {hurl} {hurl, hurl} That blasted thing puked. All. Over. Me. It was hot and wet and hot. And it was the worst smelling vomit I've ever encountered! I think the best part was, right as it was happening, Keith says, "I knew it." I asked, "What?" He replied, "I knew he was going to throw up." OH. Great. I peeled off my top shirt, told Andrew to get in bed with Caleb, peeled off the rest of my clothes, jumped in the shower, clumped all the bedding together and had Keith call the front desk. I had no other jammies so I made Keith give me his pants and I wore Caleb's dirty sweatshirt. Luckily, Kyle had two sets of jammies packed. I stayed in the bathroom while the desk boy brought up sheets. No bedspread or blanket. He didn't know what to do with the soiled linens. He had no intention of taking them. Keith told him he'd leave them outside our door. The boy was okay with that. Gross.

Kyle wasn't sick. He was just full of junk. Really full of junk. And it didn't help that he did so much swimming and jumping. Poor little belly. Not poor Kyle, though. He never remembered any of it. In fact, he got really mad at us for telling him that he threw up. He got all growl-ey and yelled at us in his gruff voice that, "I did NOT Frow up!"

We made Saturday a day of shopping. Caleb was a riot to shop with. He got great deals on two hoodies, a hooded tee, another tee, a video game and...cologne. He even brought money home with him. he is growing up way too fast. Yes, he wears cologne now. Why? Because he is eleven. {duh}

The boys went to see the Pink Panther 2 while I shopped solo. Kyle fell asleep as the movie started and woke up during the credits. Bingo for Keith. We left the mall only to head across the street to the next shopping destination. We were crazy fools. We shopped til we almost dropped. Andrew bought a video game and Kyle bought a remote controlled truck. He also talked me into the Cat in the Hat stuffed doll at Kohls. Why? Because "Joje needs a fwend." Curious George also resides in our home and apparently he is lonely and Kyle was playing match maker. Too cute.

Is it any wonder how I get any work done when my posts are this long??? We chose Red Lobster for dinner because Andrew enjoys their food and because we had free money. {thanks, Peewees} We again chose to eat early because it was Valentine's Day and we wanted to beat the mad rush. Ha! I walked into mass chaos at 4:15. I guess everyone else in town had the same smart idea! It was a 45 minute wait but we got a table within 20. Superb. Dinner was fab. Andrew is still content with the kid's menu but Caleb...he ordered crab legs! Alas, with my scamming ways, I was able to save a few bucks by having him order off the kid's menu while I added crab legs to my dinner. Solved. We decided against ice cream. No more vomit. We went back to the hotel, lounged once again and headed to the pool. Then it was jammie time. Nothing much else happened after that.

We totally missed Mike, Kirsten, Don, Kris and the kids. We can't wait until next year! Our hands were forced so we made the best out of a bad situation. {did that sound pathetic enough, Kirsten?} We definitely muttled through. :)

{I really wish Keith hadn't taken this picture of me and, without me knowing, cut a hole where my face was and popped Kyle in there. I'm a bit embarrassed that my body is being taken that much advantage of.}