Family One day Adventure to Abilene

The morning started off earlier than most over spring break. With the change in time, we have become quite accustomed to sleeping in. Pam wanted to hit the road early so we can maximize our stay in Abilene. We had been planning to go to Abilene over spring break for several weeks. Pam's grandpa, BobBob lives their with his wife BJ. This trip turned a touch more urgent when we found out that he entered the hospital the day before. BobBob has had a rough year of hospital visits, and Pam felt that nothing would cheer him up more than a friendly visit from his family!

On early morning trips, we are accustomed to making a pit stop to feed the girls before we venture out. When our girls get hungry, they get grumpy, and when they get grumpy they can turn mean in the back seat and threaten a coop! Pam made the call to NOT feed the young-lings and risk a hostile takeover from the girls. At first I was against it knowing full well that a few granola bars and a small bag of Cheezits would not hold them off. Before I began my protest, I stopped my self and remembered that this was an opportune time to swing in as hero when they started to complain of hunger pains. After all, it is never to early to make a push for the coveted Parent of the Year award!

With the car loaded up with three granola bars, one bag of Cheezits, two adults, and two mildly hacked off kids who had to get up early on their spring break, we put the hurry-up offense into full swing. The drive was uneventful since we decided to let AK play DJ and determine what type of music we had to endure. AK loves her music so much that she will sing along to every song as if she is the lead singer in each band. Delaney decided that she was tired and fell asleep while Pam did her very best to hold it in and not have to make a pit stop. With everyone working as a team the hurry up offense worked without fail, and the car arrived in just under two hours. A new all time Desparrois family record to Abilene!

We arrived to see BobBob finishing up his favorite TV program The Price is Right. BobBob loves to buy and sell stuff for his trade. So a show like The Price is Right is straight up his alley! He was happy to see the girls and enjoyed hearing about all their accomplishments. Nothing makes BobBob smile more than seeing family. Since the girls had not eaten a full meal we decided to venture down to the cafeteria for a quick bite and leave Pam to spend some quality time with her grandpa.

The girls decided that since it was Lent we would go for the salad bar. We loaded up our plates full of vegetable delights and chowed down. Pam and I are very lucky with how our girls love vegetables and will eat salads at anytime. After we mowed through our food, we headed back up to hangout with BobBob some more. It wasn't long after that BobBob started to nap and the girls grew restless of hanging out in a hospital room. Pam asked if I would take the girls to the zoo while she stayed back with her grandpa. We sprang out of chairs in the pure excitement of getting to head outside on a beautiful spring day.







The Abilene Zoo was packed with people, and we had to wait in line for twenty minutes just to get in the door. With having no zoo in Midland and having family in Abilene, we have been to the Abilene Zoo many times since we have had kids. Zoo's are a way of life for our family! We have enjoyed visiting zoos in all the cities that we have visited.

As we walked into the zoo each person decided on the animal they wanted to see the most. I wanted to see the alligator. They have a great display that allows you to walk over the swamp area and look down and the dinosaur like creature. The girls even reenacted what it would be like to be eaten by one!

We were upset to learn that the giraffes were off exhibit. It turns out they are remodeling their area. The jury is still out on whether or not this will be a good thing. In the past, they had a huge bridge you could walkover and feed the giraffes crackers. I, like my girls, loved this part of the Abilene Zoo. My hope is that they are building a new bridge. Only time will tell to see what takes place.

AK brought up an important point that maybe they had gotten the much sought after liger. She decided that we needed to make it our mission to find one so we could report to cousin Garrett that we deed indeed find the mysterious creature. After looking high and low, we came a cross what we originally thought to be a liger. It turned out to just be a White Bengal!

After venturing through to see the bears and the reptile house, Delaney announced she was sad. When asked why she was sad, she told me that it bothered her that that animals seemed like they were not happy! Shocked that my little baby girl was not pleased with her trip to the zoo, I struck out to make her happy anyway that I could. We marched over to the otters to see them swim. If otters swimming wouldn't make her happy, then I don't know what would. She cracked a small smile and told me that she "was a little more happy." What does that mean? I questioned her and asked what would make her totally happy? She smiled and said, "Bringing a zoo friend home from the gift shop."

Well if my baby girl wanted a zoo animal and I had a shot of going ahead in the Parent of the Year poll, then I was all in. Like any little kid, Delaney had a hard time choosing between a monkey and a bear. I told her that it was time to make a decision so we could head back and see BobBob at the hospital. Delaney knew she had me up against the ropes and looked at me with her beautiful blue eyes, batted them twice and asked the dreaded question. "Can I take both zoo friends home?" She slightly hugged both of the zoo friends encouraging the thought that she would not be able to live without either! Like a chump, I agreed to let Delaney have both, only to be called "weak" by AK as she shook her head in disgust and walked away. Since I had to save a little face, I did tell Delaney not to mention to her mother that I bought her two zoo friends and only one. Delaney agreed as we loaded up and headed back to the hospital.

On the way back I realized how thirsty we were. Nothing quenches thirst as much as a good old fashioned Slurpee. We pulled into the store got us some Slurpee's and I allowed each girl a snack to munch on. I knew that even though it was only March, I was sewing up this Parent of the Year award early.












As we arrived back the girls told BobBob of our adventures at the zoo. BobBob loves the zoo and eagerly listen and asked the girls questions about the different animals we saw. We visited for a while longer until it became time to decide what we wanted to eat for dinner. BobBob perked up with the thought of getting to eat something other than hospital food. He suggested that we go to Little Italy and put in an order of baked tortellini to go for him.

We arrived at Little Italy and decided on our menu choices. Each person ordered something different, and we soon found ourselves stuffed with a carb filled meal of noodles, sauce, and the amazing bread they make. On a scale of 1-5, I give Little Italy a solid four bread sticks. If you find yourselves wandering around Abilene in search of some Italian food, I recommend stopping in for a bite to eat.

We brought BobBob and BJ their food back to the hospital. Poor BobBob got sick to his stomach and was not hungry for the food. He was tired and not feel very well. After visiting for a while longer it was time to give our hugs and say goodbye so we could venture home. Our hope is that BobBob can find his way out of the hospital soon and get to feeling better!

We loaded up the car in hopes that girls would be exhausted from a long day and fall asleep on the road. As soon as we got into the car, Pam realized that Delaney had another zoo friend. She asked Delaney how she got two zoo friends. Delaney, being the sellout that she is told Pam that "it was Daddy's idea!" As Pam gave me the look, she also realized that I outwitted her on the day for the Parent of the Year award!

The girls were loud and restless as we drove home. Several idle threats of taking their cell phones away and several miles down the road, Pam came up with the idea of stopping to get a milkshake for the rest of the ride home. We stopped in Sweetwater which proved to be a poor choice. The Rattle Snake Roundup was in full swing and McDonald's was packed. After a half hour wait we found ourselves back on the road.

The milkshakes only wound the girls up more. We fought through the last hour of trip to find that after four and half hours in the car, one visit to the zoo, two new zoo friends for Delaney, one trip to eat at Little Italy, and lots of hugs and kisses for BobBob and BJ, we had finally made it back home safe and sound!