Road Trip to Alton

Jackson's Great Grandpa Wayne with all of us

Brian really wanted to go see his family in Kansas, so I agreed. Remember that Alton has a population of um, maybe 50 people and 1 paved road! Brian was going to work a half day on Friday and we were going to leave around lunch time and come home on Monday since he had off for the 4th. Well, that was what we had planned but didn't happen at all! He ended up not having to work on Friday so we decided to leave Thursday night and drive through the night. This way Jackson could just sleep the whole way. Brian drove until 4:30 in the morning and then I drove for 2 hours to let him take a short nap. We left around 9 o'clock that night and arrived in Alton at 10 o'clock Friday morning.

We headed over to the one restaurant in town for lunch. It is only open 3 days a week and just for lunch.

I wanted a picture with Jackson with our stars and stripes. But he was not having his picture taken! Alton has great backdrops for pictures.

A bunch of Brian's cousins arrived that night. brian went into town and played golf while Jackson and I took a walk with his Kristy and Leanne. We stayed up late to play Rook with everyone and catch up.

Saturday morning I got up early to go fishing with Brian. I think this might have been the reason he really wanted to go to Alton.

We drove 20 minutes to get to this pond. It is on some farmer's land and there were about 10 old cars in the pond. I guess they make a good place to sit and fish.

Two peas in a pod!

Fishing with my love:)

I caught 9 bass, that would be 3 more than Brian caught that morning. I finally beat him at something, ha! I think the reason I caught more was because he had to stop fishing each time to take my fish off the line. We weren't keeping them so I had to throw all of them back.

After fishing we went into town with Jackson for something to do.

He read books with Grandma at the library,

Played with blocks,

and trains with Piper and Chole.

Then we headed out to the park to run and play.

Family time on the teeter totter.

This slide was actually right by the house in Alton. Jackson loved it and went down no less than 50 times in the weekend.

While in town we stopped at Family Dollar to pick up a few things. I was having a ball shopping here. That's what happens when you have no where else to go. Grandpa bought Jackson a swimming pool and some fireworks.

We set it up as soon as we got back. Jackson played in there for a long time. Grandpa and Grandma even got in and splashed with him!

Around Alton are a bunch of animals so we took many walks by them so Jackson could look at them. He was so excited to see them and when we would get close he got scared.

Feeding the baby goats with daddy. After they would baaaa, Jackson would make the sound back at them. So cute! He did not want to leave the goats. We again stayed up to late playing Rook.

Sunday morning Brian got up early to go fishing again with his dad and his uncle. I stayed to sleep in a little bit. He said he caught 15-20 fish this time. I'm not sure I believe him, ha!
Then we got ready for church. Brian, his dad, and 2 of his uncles sang Battle Hymn of the Republic during sevice. They did a great job and I think Brian's Grandpa really enjoyed it.

They don't have a nursery at the church and Jackson barely made it through the song. We took him outside and let him run around. We took a family picture in front of the pastor's house by the flag. I dressed myself and Jackson in our red, white, and blue ALL weekend.

Four Generations of Hartzler men after church. Brian's Grandpa Wayne is 93 and still can make a joke or two! I see where Mel gets it from.

Jackson's favorite thing to do in Alton was run wild outside. There are hardly any cars or people so he was free to go where he pleased.

We had to shoot off fireworks before it got dark on the 4th because we were going to drive to OKC and spend the night so we wouldn't have such a long drive on Monday.

Jackson, Brian, and Great Grandpa Wayne watching the fireworks. Jackson liked them and would clap when they were done. It was hard to see all the different colors in the daylight. He wanted to get up real close while they were going off.

Using a sparkler with daddy, not so sure about this though.

My hair was a diaster most of the weekend because of the wind. I couldn't even believe how strong it was. I guess since there are no trees or anything blocking it for miles.

The view really is beautiful from their house.

Here are a few pictures of our family in Alton.

We stopped to have dinner at Pizza Hut with Brian's parents before we headed out. It is the most modern thing in town. Everywhere doesn't take credit cards and was built way before I was born. When I say in town, I mean you have to drive 20 minutes to get to Osburne. This is still a very small town however they have a few more things than Alton.

Regardless of the size of Alton we had a great time with Brian's family. It is always fun to get together with a bunch of them. We saw some of his cousins who we have seen since we went to college with them. I always get the chance to read a lot while I am there and finished 2 books this time.

We said our good byes and made our way to spend the night in OKC. Sharon booked us a really nice hotel which came in very handy the next day. At some point in the night Brian told me he wasn't feeling well. I didn't think much of it and went back to sleep. At around 7 o'clock he was throwing up and not feeling good at all. I knew we were not heading home today. I walked down to the front desk and asked if we could stay another night and where the closest Wal-Mart was for liquids for Brian and food for us. The great part of where we stayed was that there was a mall across the street and a Wal-Mart and Super Target within 5 minutes. Jackson and I tried to stay busy and out of the hotel room so Brian could rest and we wouldn't catch it.

Jackson and I headed over to the mall where he played for a while and we walked around some stores.

Jackson was able to watch a little TV while I shopped. We then went swimming in the pool at the hotel. The water was freezing but I was tough for Jackson. He also ran up and down the halls of the hotel and played in puddles in the parking lot. At some point in the day we made our way to the Super Target. Man, I wish we had one close to us. I didn't even get through the whole store and we were there for an hour and a half. I found some great deals like a really cute pink ruffle tank top for $3.70.

Jackson and I had dinner in the hotel breakfast area and by this time Brian was feeling a little better so he ventured out of the room for about 10 minutes to sit by us. Jackson did extremely well for not fully understanding what was going on. At the beginning of the day he would just scream and cry when I wouldn't let him go by Brian and we left the room with out him. But I kept telling him daddy was sick but loved him lots. At bedtime he wanted Brian so bad and I couldn't do anything to calm him down. Finally, Brian had to rub his back and he was out within 5 minutes. Brian being sick was exhausting for me, I can't imagine how he felt in a hotel room of all places.

But God was with us all the way, even in the little details. The staff at the hotel were so kind, the location of the hotel couldn't have been better, the ammentities in our room met all of our needs, and he spoke to me over and over about letting go. Thank you to everyone who prayed for Brian and us this day. We felt your prayers.

Brian felt well enough to drive home on Tuesday. I started the drive so he could rest a little bit more and Jackon loved having his daddy right next to him.

This was the way Jackson rode to and from Kansas. He watched Old MacDonald's Farm over and over. We kept it on repeat play the whole way!

Home never felt better to all of us. Jackson slept until 9:30 this morning! We are vacationed out and I would say we are not going anywhere for a while but I can't. We leave for California in exactly 2 weeks. Oh boy!