The plane rides there were pretty much what you would expect. The kids were VERY excited and thought it was pretty cool. The girls were easy. Some coloring books, go fish and an ipad and they were good to go. The girls on the plane
The boy on the other hand was slightly wild. He didn't want to be contained and was not interested in quiet activities. J sat with him and did a GREAT job of handling him. Airplane cookies and apple juice helped somewhat. We got to Austin right around dinner time and Matt and Jeff met us at an outdoor place to eat. It was yummy and the kids had fun playing with some cornhole boards. Then off to a hotel room for the night. The kids LOVE hotel rooms. Jumping between the 2 beds and running around a new space is great for them. We all settled in and slept great.
Sunday we got up and had breakfast at the hotel and then went to a park. There was a balloon guy there. The girls asked and asked for one. We held out as long as we could. Finally gave in but we told Av that she had to go ask the guy how much they were first before we agreed. She tried and tried but could not make herself go and ask him herself. I was waiting the whole time for her to figure out that her little sis would do it. Finally it dawned on her and she said, "I will get Camille to do it!" hehehe I laughed and told her that was a great idea. The 2 of them went and asked and then came back and got money and then went and did it all by their selves. They were soooo excited and loved their balloons.
Matt and Andrea met us there. Then off to Tourchy's for breakfast tacos. We miss breakfast tacos sooooo much. Anything you can get here just doesn't come close to the real thing they have in Austin. Tourchy's is like a food truck eatery. Picnic tables outside. Really really good. Then we left for SA. J gave the kids several of luggage cart rides.
That afternoon for dinner we were meeting the doctor that started the research for this abnormality 20 years ago. We didn't want to take C and E to this dinner. Someone I knew in high school lives in SA. We were not really friends but I always knew she was an awesome person. She has 3 kids (all girls) now and agreed to watch C and E for me. I can't thank her enough for this and Jessie, Dave, Lela, Carly and Ella will forever hold a special place in my heart. C and E had a great time at her house. She has the COOLEST house. We had a nice time at dinner with the doctor.
Monday it was time for the testing to begin. J dropped Av and I off. The first day was full of neurospsych testing. It was supposed to last all day and even into the next but she blew right through it in 2.5 hours. Not even sure what any of it was as I was not in there with her. She went in by herself and worked with the research assistant all by herself!!!!! She is truely amazing, first time of many this week she showed us that again. Since we were out of there so early we let the kids pick what they wanted to do. It was beautiful out but they picked the indoor pool they wanted to swim. So swim we did. We spent hours and hours in that pool over the whole week. The kids LOVED it and loved playing with Daddy in the pool. J was jimmy and kept having his color changed and had to go to the principal bc he was throwing the kids. He was naughty. E is starting to swim on his own already!!! After that we went to a park by the riverwalk and to a BBQ place that had a playground. Best idea ever -restaurants that have playgrounds. We swam again after dinner that night!!!
Tuesday was an ENT visit, an interview for me, lunch and then an ABR and audiologist exam. All hearing stuff. Her hearing is normal but she does have a cyst in one ear that will require surgery. Not the best news. I was also told in my parent interview how well she was doing. Amazing, so that is awesome but amazing for the kids with the abnormality, just below average for "normal" kids. Which we knew but always hard to hear. Tuesday was a very hard day. Getting to all these appointments with all these kids in tow was no fun. We were a little sleep deprived and living in one little space was taking it's toll. After the day we decided to head to the river walk. We had ice cream, chips and salsa and margaritas for dinner. Made us all much happier. C found a rainbow teddy bear in a souvenir shop that she had to have. Daddy bought each girl one. They were happy. After that we went back for more swimming.
Wednesday was the day I had been dreading. Growth hormone testing. They put in an IV and drew blood at 30 minuter intervals. After 3 of those they give her a med that made her sleepy and sick to her stomach and we had to do it 3 more times. Long morning. She hung in there like a trooper but trying to explain to your kid why they need to put a needle in their arm and sit in a chair for almost 4 hours is horrible. After that they took an X-ray of her hand and then we met J and the kids in the park. Had a quick lunch at Subway durning which Av threw up from the meds and then back to the clinic for 2 different MD visits. J handled those with her while I tried to entertain the other 2. Av did fall asleep in there somewhere again and when she woke she was feeling a lot better. It was a long day. We swam for a little bit and then we met Jessie and her fam at a Mexican restaurant with a playground. We were there for almost 3 hours! Between the margs and the playground everyone was happy. Again thank you so much Jessie!!!! You made part of our trip really awesome. So glad we got to know you all. You have a beautiful family!!!!
Thursday was an MRI and then we were DONE!!! I sent J bc I knew I could not watch/talk her into being in that tube for an hour. She did it though. No meds or anything. She laid there for 50 minutes still as could be wo talking and let them do their thing. Not sure how she did it, I couldn't have. Or how J was strong enough to watch his kid do it. I can handle the needles and he can handle that part. We make a good team. After that we swam one last time and then hit the road for Austin. I was soooooooooo excited to see my girlfriends. We got to Trena's house about 430. It was soooo good to see her and her girls. We played and played and played and picked up mess after mess. With 6 kids it was wild but we did great!!! Keith came home and brought us mexican and it was a party!! We had such a nice time just hanging with them. They have such a cute, sweet, wonderful little family!!!
Friday morning my girls and I helped Trena get her 2 oldest to school and then we went shopping for a bit. Needed to grocery shop and then hit the outlets. We had such fun at the Gap it was the only store we made it too. My girls were awesome shopping. I let them each pick out an outfit and they loved it. John and E had went to see Matt at his work, have a tour and then lunch. E ate his whole plate of rice and beans. They said he sat there for almost an hour working on them. Yes he had great diapers after that. heheheh. After all that we all went back to Trena's and hung for a bit longer. Then it was time to get ready to head to Matt's house to hang for a bit and then to dinner for his Bday. They were having a party for him at the Salt Lick. It is a BBQ place way out in the middle of no where in the country. It is yummy. We had a big room to ourselves and had picnic table after picnic table of yummy food. There were about 35 of us. The kids were WILD. Showing off big time. It was some what annoying. We got to see sooooo many friends we had not seen in a long time and all their kids. It was a blast. After that we went back to Matt and Andrea's to stay the nice. So nice of them to have the Hoekstra crew. We are a lot. The did great putting up with us though. We put the kids to bed and hung with them for a while. In the am Andrea introduced C to waffles. She is a big fan!!! It was a fun time.
Saturday we woke at Matt and Andrea's and hung for a bit until the kids got restless and then it was time to leave. We went back to Trena's to play and get ready for a BBQ she was having. Marci, Jason, Stella, Kristina, Lauren, Rob, Renee, Jeff, Weston, Trena, Keith, Kinsley, Trinity, Teegan, Matt and Andrea. We had a great time. We are so lucky to have such good friends take the time to come see us!!!
Sunday it was time to go back home. The plane rides were more of the same. E was really difficult. I am not sure how J managed to manage him the whole time. We made it home though and were glad to be home!!
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