Anyhow, when we got to Texas the girls ran in to see my mom and dad, and hugs and kisses were freely given. Except Ereland, who was just waking up from a nap....and was rather moody. Go figure! We took some time to unload, and then slept.
We spent some time with David's twin sister, Melinda and her family. The kids played well together and before this, I honestly couldn't remember when the last time I had seen them was. I left early one year from the reunion, and so it had been quite a while. CJ was just a baby then, and now she is three! We went to the dollar theater to watch Percy Jackson and The Lightening Thief. I hadn't read the books and thought it was a good movie. But the Stucki's all read the series and thought that it was a great disappointment from how the books read. My poor girls didn't know what to expect, and there were a few parts that were a little advanced for them, and they spent the remainder of the show on my lap, but by the end of the show Anastasia had her arms behind her head, reclining back in her seat saying, "Mom, I'm not scared anymore, I can handle this!"
Then in a flash we were off to Mardi Gras in Galveston. My parents joined us, and we had sooo much fun catching all the beads, stuffed animals and cups! The local neighborhood reminded me of our most prized piece of property in Toledo. Before the parade began, Melinda went to take some of her kids to the bathroom, and on the way back a intoxicated local started to follow her and so she hustled to catch up with the only other white family she could see....(trying to blend into their group) but she stepped into a pot hole and sprained her ankle!
Brandon went to rescue her and after a run to CVS for an ice pack and ace bandages she had some relief. The rest of the night we watched Adam mimic the high school dancers with his interesting dance moves.
Steve had a strategic approach to getting beads. He sat on the porch of one of the houses and as the people on the float would try to throw beads up to the balcony of the house, they would inevitably hit the siding and Steve made out good! I think his total was 70 strings of beads. It must weigh at least 8 lbs. Ereland sat on my shoulders and we danced and bopped up and down to the street music. Anastasia and Grandma did well too. There is enough costume jewelry now to last for quite some time! Let the good times roll!
David, Brandon and Grandpa took some of their collection to work and teased that she wouldn't take any beads that she didn't earn! Haha! I am sure there were places where that was true, but we thankfully stayed safe and clean!
It was a good break to take some time off and see some family that we hadn't seen in a while. We played hard this weekend, but now it's time to get back to work! Ugh! How many more days until spring break?
