Let me begin by saying that this trip was planned to celebrate my Papa's 85th birthday, and that we did do. However, there were a lot of things that made this family vacay memorable...thus why I've dubbed it "National Lampoon's Texas Vacation."
One. The numbers:
4: number of generations
20: number of family members
20: number of family members
85: oldest
7: youngest
8: number of toilets (thankfully)
3: nights we planned to stay
5: nights we actually stayed
1: number of winter storms that came through while we were there
8+: honestly I lost count, but at least 8 deer were killed
16: number of coyotes killed
Two. When you've got four generations under one roof, what's a better way to pass the time than cards and pool? Seeing my 85-year-old Papa play with his great-grandchildren was a great memory.
Three. Shooting predators (ahem, coyotes) from a helicopter. Yep. You read that correctly. I didn't do any shooting other than with my camera, but the ride and views were ahhh-mazing.
Four. I like big bucks and I cannot lie. The deer on our property are HUGE. I'm not a hunter myself but I love to watch these guys in their element. Though plenty of family members left with trophies, if you catch my drift.
Five. Nothing like a good, old-fashioned winter storm - named Frona, which I swear should have been a character in Frozen - to mess up your plans! We were supposed to fly home on the 31st and ring in the new year in Florida. But we ended up getting stuck in TX until the 2nd. And during those two extra times, a few critical things happened: we ran out of bottled water. Then we ran out of well water. No showers for a day until the well could replenish itself. (Twenty people with no showers trapped in a house...dangerous). Then we ran out of vodka (help!!). The closest grocery store was 40 MILES away and we couldn't get there because the roads were so bad. Luckily, the resident taxidermist (doesn't everyone have one of those??) brought us the essentials - bottled water, eggs, bread and vodka - when we stopped by. Gotta love that Texas hospitality!
It's truly amazing that no one killed anyone, we didn't run out of food, the kids never got super bored and we all managed to generally have a good time despite being stuck inside for a few days! We finally got home late on the 2nd (to Florida) and drove back home to South Carolina on the 4th. Even with the delays and bad weather, it was a family trip I'll treasure forever. I know time with my grandparents is fleeting, and to have four generations all together for six days? Priceless.
xo
KH
Two. When you've got four generations under one roof, what's a better way to pass the time than cards and pool? Seeing my 85-year-old Papa play with his great-grandchildren was a great memory.
Three. Shooting predators (ahem, coyotes) from a helicopter. Yep. You read that correctly. I didn't do any shooting other than with my camera, but the ride and views were ahhh-mazing.
Four. I like big bucks and I cannot lie. The deer on our property are HUGE. I'm not a hunter myself but I love to watch these guys in their element. Though plenty of family members left with trophies, if you catch my drift.
Five. Nothing like a good, old-fashioned winter storm - named Frona, which I swear should have been a character in Frozen - to mess up your plans! We were supposed to fly home on the 31st and ring in the new year in Florida. But we ended up getting stuck in TX until the 2nd. And during those two extra times, a few critical things happened: we ran out of bottled water. Then we ran out of well water. No showers for a day until the well could replenish itself. (Twenty people with no showers trapped in a house...dangerous). Then we ran out of vodka (help!!). The closest grocery store was 40 MILES away and we couldn't get there because the roads were so bad. Luckily, the resident taxidermist (doesn't everyone have one of those??) brought us the essentials - bottled water, eggs, bread and vodka - when we stopped by. Gotta love that Texas hospitality!
It's truly amazing that no one killed anyone, we didn't run out of food, the kids never got super bored and we all managed to generally have a good time despite being stuck inside for a few days! We finally got home late on the 2nd (to Florida) and drove back home to South Carolina on the 4th. Even with the delays and bad weather, it was a family trip I'll treasure forever. I know time with my grandparents is fleeting, and to have four generations all together for six days? Priceless.
xo
KH
