Michelle and I were watching the Food Network show Unwrapped. The entire show was about Disney World food. This got me thinking about our Disney World trip back in 2008. It was our first family road trip. What an experience and we can’t wait to do it again. We are hoping to take the family back next year. Until then here are some more photos from 2008.

On day 2 of the road trip we finished up a 26 hour drive from Houston to Orlando. Normally what would be a 19 hour drive took us a little longer be cause we made many stops along the way for food, gasoline, rest, and of course potty breaks. We did discover two very interesting facts about road trips. One, contrary to all the advice we received..NO, we did not ‘need’ a DVD player to keep the kids occupied and stimulated. It’s amazing that simple family conversation still works. Two, pancakes are a sedative! On two occasions we ate at The Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Both times the twins ate a pancake each and 30 minutes later after getting back on the road they were both asleep for the next 4-5 hours.

I clearly remember the moment when Sadee and Joshua saw the Disney World entrance sign they both let out a huge scream of excitement. To tell you the truth, I did too.

On Wednesday, July 15, 2009, Michelle and I celebrated our nine year anniversary.  We traveled to Marco Island, FL.  Our friends Lee and Alicia let us stay at their vacation home.  Our first no kids vacation since having no kids.  Needless to say, we had the most amazing time!

We arrived on Sunday, went swimming and relaxed on Monday, toured Everglades National Park on Tuesday, ate at Pazzo Italian Cafe in Naples on Wednesday night, took the catamaran tour on Thursday afternoon (saw dolphins, a rare sighting of  300-400 lbs female sea turtle, and a manatee) and headed home to our sweet kids on Friday.  Yes, we missed them a lot (they are great travelers), but we really needed this time away as a couple.  It was so relaxing and fun.

Why would two adults lock themselves in a motor vehicle with 3 young children for over 1200 miles?  Because we love them and, more important, they love us.  They count on Sonny and I to give them a ton of great childhood memories.  This road trip should make the short list. We will keep these stories and photos to help remind 5 and 2 year old minds of all the fun details.  For the rest of you guys that missed the first hand experience, it went something like this…

Houston to Bayside to visit Sonny’s grandparents. Bayside to San Antonio to see Michelle’s cousin and his family.  San Antonio to Brownwood to visit Sonny’s photographer friend.  Brownwood to Coppell to visit Michelle’s childhood friend and her family.  Coppell to Houston to watch the recorded final show of American Idol. (We went the whole trip without hearing who won.)

Now, here’s a little more detail of what we did and the names to match faces in photos below.  Silvia (Nana) and Richardo (Popo) Elizalde are Sonny’s mother’s parents. They do not drive to Houston too often so they were VERY excited to see their great grand kids. We rode the ferry to Port Aransas on Wednesday afternoon and drove on the beaches. Popo got the kids chocolate milk shakes from Whataburger (yummy), but Little Mo decided to wear some on her dress at the playground. Then, we drove to Corpus Christi on Thursday morning, stopped to look at the Nina replica, and visit a bigger playground at Cole Park.  It was a multilevel maze with swings and slides. The kids would probably love a Tour of Texas Playgrounds next year!

We said goodbye and headed to San Antonio to visit and eat dinner at Michelle’s cousin’s home. Curtis, Sara and Grant welcomed us with pizza, fruits and veges, kiddo play time and birthday gifts for the kids.  We were sad to leave so soon, but they had work the next day and we had another stretch of highway to cover before calling it a night.

We checked into our Brownwood hotel just before midnight. Only one person we talked to before or during the trip knew this good-size town exists. Are you looking it up on Yahoo Maps now? Heather Nix is a children/senior/family photographer that Sonny met through the Texas Photo Forum. She invited us to visit at her studio and let the kids play with all the props. Why do other people find our hyper kids so amusing?

Our longest stop was in Coppell (just north of Dallas.)  We arrived at our Irving hotel on Friday afternoon.  Josh gives this North DFW Courtyard by Marriott 2 arms up.  He climbed into our king size bed, laid back on the fluffy pillows with his hands tucked under his head and said, “Awww. This is the life.”  We met the Loomis Family for dinner at Chili’s. What a crowd we made all weekend.  Dawn, one of my best friends form grade school through Texas A&M days and Maid of Honor in our wedding, now has 4 kids (Bailey, Wesley, Jamie, Nathan), a husband (Don), a dog (Sasha), a cat (Smudge), fish (not dead yet), and a brother (Brent) that loves to hang out with the “Brady Bunch” family. So we became “a table for 12 a couple times.

The kids swam their little hearts out in the backyard on Saturday afternoon.  We were supposed to barbecue that evening, but the grill was not quite in working order. So we packed up the group and went to Cantina Laredo to eat made-table-side guacamole. The guys had more drinks and Dawn a margarita. Somehow the party got louder and the kids took over entertainment. This is how a 2 year old smashes chips, drinks soda, and takes her own photos. The other 6 kids run around and under the table. The 2 oldest have a double-jointed tricks throwdown. Everyone laughs more than usual at everything without any of the kids getting in much trouble.  That’s how you really know you’re on vacation with Sonny.

Sunday was reserved for the museum.  The IMAX show about coral and marine life in the South Pacific was beautiful. It’s worth the crick in your neck from looking up the whole time to watch huge fish swim over your head and hear the funny sound effects they added to the animals.  Then, we walked through the feature exhibit about how to be a spy and the kids played in the Children’s Museum. We went back to the Loomis home for more swimming and BBQ on the new grill.  The kids were worn out and Monday morning creeps up.  It was time to play and eat lunch with Dawn, Bailey, and Wesley one more time at Chick-Fil-A before hitting the road.

The final stretch toward home was kind of sad.  We had so much fun that our vacation seems to end too soon.  The kids survived carseats for several hours on end with no DVD.  They watched the scenery, sang, played with toys, and talked with us.  We have creative and smart kids.  There is just one last story to share.  Being Memorial Day, there’s some traffic on 45 S.  It slowed down in Huntsville.  At one point, Sonny had to hit the brakes kinda hard.  From the backseat came Sadee’s calm 5 year old voice, “What the hell?”  Sonny and I laughed for several minutes before Daddy could pull together a not-so-stern correction.  We still laugh every time we think about it.

Are we there yet? Yes… Home Sweet Home!

(The photos are not ready yet. Sonny will add some soon.)

“We’re going on a trip.  We’re going on a trip.”  Anyone else recognize these words from Noggins?  This was our family theme song for the week leading up to the big log cabin adventure.  Grandpa Earl and Grandma Kathy loaded up the truck and boat.  We packed half of our house into the minivan and off we headed to Canyon Lake in the Texas Hill Country.  That’s near New Braunfels and the Gaudalupe River.

The first day… The drive was nice.  A lot shorter than Florida so the kids did fine.  Arriving in New Braunfels, we found a surprisingly good restaurant called Oma’s Haus.  Sound German enough for ya?  It’s on TX-46, a block south of I-35.  Try it out the next time you are in the area.  After reaching the Log Cabins at Jacobs Creek, we spent the remaining part of the evening unpacking and setting up what will be home for the next few days.  We got an upstairs, two-bedroom space with two queen beds and full bathroom in each room, a full kitchen, living room and best-view-in-the-region balcony.  We overlook a valley and the lake.  This place is very clean and stocked with kitchen supplies.  There is no maid service (unless you pay extra) and bring your personal items like shampoo, soap and towels.  That’s not a problem since this is more of a country getaway than hotel in the city experience. This place is a great value and ideal floor plan for multiple families. And the deal sealer for Sonny is FREE Wi-Fi!!

Grandpa and Grandma couldn’t wait to see the lake by boat.  Sadee and Uncle Eric joined them for the first outing of the week.  We ate pizzas for dinner since it was getting late.  Sonny will be our chef for the week.  The kitchen is a great idea for families since you can cook, have a fridge and microwave, and not spend time taking kids out to eat every night.

Enjoy the photos below of our cabin and the balcony view. Click HERE to see a slideshow with more photos from the first day. We’ll try to post each day while “we’re going on a trip!”