On Saturday October 3rd we started probably the biggest family tip that we will probably ever take until our kids are grown and can help pay for their own plane tickets. A couple months ago we were very surprised to get a check in the mail from Grandma Marilyn Horrocks. I called her thinking it was an error from the bank, only to find out that it was in fact sent to us on purpose. She told us that some of the money was for each of our kids, but that we could spend it however we wanted as long as I don’t tell her how we spent it. We thought about it and decided to take a trip out to Washington to visit her and the extended family. It is unreal how expensive it is to buy 6 plane tickets and rent a car!!! Luckily we were able to use the money we had saved up to go to the gulf shores on top of the money Grandma sent us, to make the trip possible. We did not tell Grandma that we were coming. We planned the trip with Aunt Leann and Aunt Susan in order to surprise Grandma. We left to come here the day after Covey’s birthday. We left the house around 8am and after 3 plane rides, and one three hour layover we made it to Washington. We called Grandma from the airport in Portland, not to tell her we were here, but to tell her that Covey wished on his birthday that he could have cake with her and that we would like to visit sometime. Her response was “You guys can come visit anytime”. We were hoping to show up on her doorstep within an hour, but due to some delays getting our rental car we got there a little over an hour later. Grandma had already gone to bed and was sound asleep, so Leann and Susan let us in and we went downstairs and went to sleep for the night. From the time we left to the time we got to Grandma’s we had traveled 18 hours with the kids in one day. To top it off Scarlet threw up all over herself and her car seat in Grandma’s driveway, so we had to clean her up before bed.
The next morning we got up and were sitting on the couch upstairs in our pajamas when Grandma got up in the morning. She was shocked, and a little speechless. It was so great seeing her! That night we had family come over and we all had cake and ice cream for Covey’s birthday after watching General Conference.
On Monday we were going to go see Mt. Saint Helen’s with the kids. However right as everyone was dressed and almost ready to go Scarlet threw up all over Brandt and the floor. She was acting very tired and a little under the weather all morning. We decided that since so many of us had colds and we didn’t know if Scarlet would keep throwing up or not, that we should stay home. Instead we spent the day at the house visiting with Grandma. On our trip we spent a lot of time visiting with her. I love seeing the kids interact with her. She enjoys joking around the kids and often is heard to say “I’m gonna slap you silly!” (With a big smile on her face) One afternoon Covey was playing around with Grandma, and was acting silly. At one point he said “Grandma, just say you’re gonna slap me”.
Another time Grandma was telling us a story about where she had poked the stake president in the chest with her finger one time when she was upset, and that the stake president was saying “ouch”. I guess the stake president leaned so far back in his chair that he hit his head on the window sill. I think it was Jerrica who looked at her and asked “Were you arrested Grandma?”
On Tuesday Phoenix decided to play with the toilet and flooded Grandma’s bathroom floor. I’m not sure what made it overflow, but the water spread from the toilet to the heat registers about 5 feet away. It ruined four rolls of toilet paper that she had sitting on the floor, and soaked all of her bath mats. The next day he peed on carpet in her bedroom. We seemed to always find a way for me to stay busy cleaning up after my kids. Why is it that things like this always seem to happen when we are away from home?
We found out that Jerrica has a fear while on this trip… I moved my suitcase from one bedroom into another one. In the process I found that there was some tar on the bottom of my suitcase. It must have gotten on there While being moved though baggage handling. It wouldn’t have been a big deal except since I rolled the suitcase on the floor, it put a small 6 inch long black streak of tar on the carpet. Jerrica was terrified of the tar. I don’t know if it was just because of the word or what, but she was scared to death to leave the bedroom because she would have to walk past the TAR. She even prayed two nights in a row to ask Heavenly Father to help her not be afraid of the tar. I can not get over how big of a deal it was to her- she was even in tears… It was so hard to talk to her and not burst into laughter as she cried over tar.
While we were there Brandt’s Aunt made it possible for us to visit the beach. She has a timeshare and reserved us a room for a condo for a couple days. It was a great condo. We were up on the 5th floor, and our condo had 3 separate bedrooms so we were able to sleep without any kids in our room. We were staying at Seaside beach. The kids loved walking out along the beach. It was a different experience for them from the beach at Gulf Shores. In the Gulf the shoreline is shorter and drops down into the ocean quickly. On the Pacific the shoreline is a much more gradual drop, so they were able to walk in it quite a bit. It is a very different kind of beautiful. The only downside is that the water is frigid! We would roll the kids pants up and let them get their feet and ankles wet. One morning we were out there and one wave came in a little more forcefully and knocked Phoenix right off of his feet. He fell backwards, and for a moment was floating in the cold water before Brandt fished him out. He was covered in sand (He even had it in his ears) and very cold. I took his shirt off and wrapped him up in my sweater. He was the most upset over the fact that his robot shirt was wet and dirty. (His robot shirt is his favorite shirt)
On our second day there we went visited Canon Beach to see Haystack rock and the tidepools with the kids. It was absolutely gorgeous outside! I loved seeing the kids excited and enjoying themselves.
