Boys

I got to spend the last several days with these boys.



And it was fantastic.
Exhausting? Yes.
Loud? Yes.
A bit crazy at times? Yes.
But overall, just fantastic.

Robert and Jack LOVED on their new baby cousin Ben. They always wanted to hold him, put his paci in, give him a toy, etc.

Robert and Jack also did a great job playing with Carter. There was lots of tackle hugs. Lots of truck driving. Lots of lound laughing. And lots of quiet book reading in the lap of whatever grandparent happened to be there.

Speaking of which, on Thursday, Carter and Ben saw 5 of their 6 grandparents. (And he saw the 6th on Friday morning) Not too bad, huh? Especially considering they live in 4 different cities and it wasn't even someone's birthday! Many thanks to our wonderful grandparents who took off work and traveled to see these sweet boys.

The trip went better than I could have hoped. It started off a little rocky when Adam set off the security alarms at the airport. Then he tested positive for explosives. But they finally determined he wasn't a threat and let him board the plane. We enjoyed one plane ride with Dada and then said goodbye in Charlotte so he could go to a conference. I traveled the rest of the way solo. Well, not really solo. I still had Carter and Ben. Yikes. But they did great. Ben slept, Carter colored, and then watched a little video once we got high enough for approved electronic devices. Thank goodness DVD players are approved electronic devices.

The trip home went from great to not so great, but we made it. A wonderful security officer helped me through security. Susan packed us a lunch for the airport, which we enjoyed before boarding. Ben slept, Carter enjoyed the little surprises I packed for him in his back pack. Then, about 10 minutes before we landed, I hear "Mama, time to go tee-tee." I explain to him there is not a bathroom on the plane (or at least not one that mama was willing to attempt with a 5 month old and 2 year old) but that he could use his pull-ups and that they would keep him dry. This apparently was not an option for Carter. He kept telling me (and the rest of the plane) over and over again that it was time. Oh boy. Finally, we land, we rush off the plane. Adam is waiting for us at the gate and he takes Carter to the bathroom.

The next hurdle came as I waited for our stroller to come off of the plane. Turns out a cargo door is stuck and maintenance had to come to cut a hole into the cargo area to open from the inside. 45 minutes later we head to our gate. But there wasn't a huge rush because our flight was delayed over an hour. We make it to Richmond with two sleeping boys on the plane only to find out that Ben's carseat didn't arrive with us. Sigh. So we get a loaner. Adam gets it all situated in the car and we drive home. This is the second time we have come home without carseat. Does this happen to anyone else?

But, even though we had a few hiccups, overall the trip was a great success. More pictures and stories to come.