On Wednesday the 15th, the four of us loaded up and drove to Shawnee Mission, Kansas (a suburb of Kansas City) to see Jerad graduate high school!! The drive there was pure torture. Both boys were overly exhausted and didn't fall asleep until after 10 pm. We got to the Carsons' house at 12:30. Both boys were hyper. Charlie's hair was caked from sweating and rubbing into it whatever car snacks I had given him. So Kelley let Jack eat ice cream while I washed Charlie's hair. At 1 o'clock in the morning. She declared that those boys could do whatever they wanted at her house. We all finally fell asleep around 1:30.
Thursday was graduation day! We slept in after our late night. Then we ate breakfast, got showered, and got ready for the day. Before we headed out, Jack decided to run off into a neighbor's yard and scare the mess out of us. I absolutely hate that feeling of not knowing where my child is and being frantic and sick at my stomach until he is in my sight. Once he was found, we went to lunch at Fritz's. This is the burger place we went to on our last visit, the one that Jack LOVES because there are trains everywhere. The train drops off your food. It's really fun. I got a BLT. Jack got a burger. Can't remember what Trav got... typical because he eats soooo fast I don't see his plate. And I eat so incredibly slowly and am distracted by the children. Anyway, the kids had a good time looking at the trains and eating burgers and fries. We ran by Hobby Lobby and CVS on the way back to the house to get some senior party supplies, diapers, and melatonin. Even with enough luggage to get us through a week's stay, I forgot night-time diapers and melatonin for Jack. Not cool.
That afternoon, we took long naps. We needed to catch up. When we woke up, we went downstairs and met Terry's brothers and their families. I asked Travis where Jack was, and he thought he had gotten in bed with me and Charlie. Nope. Again, the feeling of fear. We searched the house and couldn't find him. We were hollering his name. We searched outside and didn't find him. Terry's brother Chris kept saying he thought he saw him in the rabbit room (a bedroom with tons of rabbits in it). We went in there, didn't see him. After more searching, Chris went in the rabbit room, looked under the bed, reached way under, and felt little Jack's arm. Jack was wedged underneath a king size bed, square in the middle, without any headroom whatsoever. My brother Grant did that when he was little, and I now know the terror my mother described. I kept trying to get Jack to wake up, but he was snoring. After another hour, Travis drug him out from under the bed and woke him.
We had homemade sloppy joe's for dinner before heading to the commencement. The graduation was held outside, and there were so many people there. It was hard to find parking, so Kelley and Terry jumped out of the cars and took Jack with them to get seats before everything got started. Jerad had 400-something people in his senior class. Charlie started going ballistic at about 4 minutes into the ceremony, so he and I left the stands (yes, I was the one carrying the SCREAMING toddler down from the top of the bleachers). He and I played in the grass, and I did my best to keep him from taking off across the football field and joining the senior class. As soon as Jerad crossed the stage and got back to his seat, Charlie and I started heading for the car. Travis met me with Jack, so he came with me, too. The boys and I watched Peter Pan until the ceremony ended. We headed back to the house and had more time with Terry's brothers and their families celebrating Jerad.
Jerad is an awesome guy. He's going to major in accounting at Pittsburg State University (Go Gorillas!), and he's going pot-luck on a roommate. He is more than an accounting major. He's a family guy. He has the most amazing work ethic. Really. He is patient and selfless. Being around him is just fun. And if any Pitt State girls are reading, he's really handsome, too. Travis and I placed bets for when he would have a girlfriend at college. It won't take long. I have loved being a part of his life, albeit from a distance, for the last 7 years. I just love him. We're so excited for this next part of his life, and we're praying he sees Jesus in every nook and cranny along the way. We LOVE you, Bubba #2!
So, Jerad went to his Grad Night while the rest of us relaxed and visited some more. The babies and I were in bed at 10:30-ish. I knew when we were going to Kansas that our routine was going to be off and that it was just temporary. The boys did just fine and bounced back in no time. We slept hard Thursday night.
Friday was Jerad's graduation party with three of his friends, Reed, Connor, and Chase. Most of the morning was spent out at the lake getting ready for the party. Jack and I went with Jerad to Wal-mart on our way to Lack Quivira to get a life-jacket for Charlie and some worms for Jack to go fishing. Charlie and Travis stayed back at the house because Charlie was napping. All the moms and dads and the 4 guys set up for the party while Jack and I played in the sand. Then Terry took a break and taught Jack how to fish. Right off the bat, Jack caught three fish! Two of them were big! He was so excited. He kept telling Terry that the fish needed to get back in the water because he wanted to swim. He was pretty concerned about the hook hurting the fish's lip, too. He had gotten snagged by a hook earlier, and he was really upset about that boo boo. So he was a little distracted by the fish being hurt, but he finally overlooked it and had so much fun.
Around lunch time, Kelley drove Terry, Jack, and me over to a boat, and Terry took Jack and me for a ride around the lake. Jack helped drive and, my goodness, that boy was so happy! This time 3 years ago, we were out on the lake with them for the first time, and some of my favorite memories of Jack as a baby are from that day. Jack was standing on Terry's lap with the biggest smile on his face. It was awesome. We went to get Jerad to swap off with Terry, but Travis had called Kelley saying Charlie was up, so we all headed back to the house for lunch. By the time we left the lake, the final details were coming together, and that party was going to be so much fun. We found out the next day that it most definitely was a blast.
After lunch at the house, we gathered our things and packed the car. We hated to leave early and miss the party, but we had a 9 hour trip ahead of us. We said hard goodbyes. We hate leaving them. It's hard to describe how much Jack and Kelley love each other. We love Kansas City, we love our family there, and we always have the best time when we're there. Even though, without fail, one of my children has some serious bowel disfunction while we're there... Kelley pretends to not be grossed out, and we go on as if nothing happened. We all get along so well and have such a great visit. I remember when Travis and I were engaged and we drove to meet all of his family. When we finally got to Shawnee, I felt so relaxed and welcomed and at home. They are the best people you could find. So that's why it's tough to pull out of the driveway. We just love them so much!
The boys were awesome the entire way home to Chicago. Both of them fell asleep around 8 or 8:30. We finally got to the apartment around 11:30, and there was a party bumping in the next building. We got all our stuff in and our boys went back to sleep without a problem.
Kelley, Terry, and Jerad, thank you for having us during such a special time in your lives. We wouldn't have missed it and are so glad we got to see you. Can't wait for the next visit!
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