Wednesday, March 18, 2015

#Houston Day 4: Aquarium, Inflatable Hammers, Siri, Traffic, Tacos and a Goose-egg

Here is day #4 of our travel odyssey. Enjoy.

Weight Watchers to weigh in and gain. Decide I would rather be a winner at losing. Check.

Houston Downtown Aquarium. Check. Tons of pics here but more witty words below those. Don't forget to check out the post to come called GIFT SHOP HELL. Come back because I'll link to it or just look for it in your email inbox!









Make sure my kids all win huge, inflatable hammers and bats so they can beat each other in the van on the way home. Check.

Lost in Downtown Houston. Check.

Get punchy and now have Siri call me "Queen McLoughlin" instead of "Kerrie." Check.

Stuck in traffic on 45 South until Siri wanted to call the suicide hotline for me. Check.

Taco Cabana for one taco each for our maiden voyage pre-dinner snack because when I get stressed I taco. Check.

Swimming pool before dinner with sodas and appetizers by the pool. Check.

Burgers and chili tots I did not cook, by the pool with Daddy. Check.

Discover the awesomeness of iPhone dictation. Check.

Sam gets a goose-egg tripping over inflatable bat and hitting the nightstand. I consider tossing the nightstand out the window since the night before Eva backed into it and hit her head. Decide that won't work because the windows only open 6 inches. Check.

12 Reasons Why My Big Family Loves #StaybridgeSuites (NASA Clear Lake Houston Webster, Texas)

So here is where we are staying. And this is a post about it.


Okay, so we have been here all of like 2 days. But I am in love. I have never stayed anywhere like this. I mean, Embassy Suites hotels are swanky with plenty of room but this place? Let me count the ways I love her.

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

#Houston Day 3: Target, Swimming, Chilling

Day 3 of The Kerrie Show on the Road! WELCOME! Okay, so our first day in a new place we usually just chill so this won't be all that exciting. Excitement comes later so come back. Here is today in pictures anyway, peeps, and the Texas-shaped waffle was the highlight of my entire morning!

In case you have been living under a rock, here is where we are. Mr. Kerrie is working here for weeks and weeks so we had to stalk him to keep him on the straight path.

See that? I did not cook it. I put it on my plate and ate it and profusely thanked the people who DID make it.

No joke. Two waffle makers make these. We definitely don't have Kansas-shaped waffles unless we shape them into a simple rectangle.

See that? Well, do you? It's the menu, friends. It's what is FREE for dinner THREE NIGHTS A WEEK. More of me not cooking, which is really just better for everyone involved.
Cutest thing ever. Sam wanted to sleep with his sisters so all 5 kids were in one room and it is freaking me out that no children are in our bed!

Michael and Joel share a bed.

Time to go hunting for provisions like M&Ms and juice pouches and flip flops and forgotten toothbrushes.

And ended up with hats and jackets and T-shirts. Sam needed a rain jacket and a regular jacket, he informed me. I said, "Don't ever say all you got was hand-me-downs, kid."
Aren't they sweet, that Michael and Sam? Taking our groceries and goodies in on a luggage cart.

After a zillion-hour shopping trip and lunch we hit the pool. Pool was COLD so we hot tubbed some.

Joel got some shots of a couple of  lizards fighting!

Okay, fine. To be honest, I did not get in much. I tried to get my tan on.

Before Mr. Kerrie came home from work I snuck in 30 minutes on the treadmill.

After dinner, back to the pool. The guy's head you see? He and his 4 boys and wife are from Overland Park, right up the road. Do not say SMALL WORLD to me.
Click here for Day Four.

Monday, March 16, 2015

#TheKerrieShow in #Houston Day 2: Oklahoma to Houston to Outback

Here is our travel day #2 in pictures!

Callie and Mommy, just waking up.

Breakfast at the Embassy Suites in Norman, Oklahoma

Brekkers

The obligatory balcony shot like we did in like 2010 in Colorado! My, how things have changed!
A stop on the road at a rest stop/park
Getting there!
Houston skyline!
We are here! Mr. Kerrie lookin' fine as usual!

Arrival in Houston and dinner at Outback Steakhouse. Yes, that is a blue cheese wedge salad! Sam is in green.

Checkin' out the pool and hot tub at Staybridge Suites.

Click here for Day Three!

Sunday, March 15, 2015

#Houston Day 1: KC to Oklahoma

We went to church Saturday night so we could head out of town Sunday as early as possible, which turned out to be noon thirty. We were hoping to leave at noon, so leaving only 30 minutes behind schedule was a HUGE improvement for the McFamily. I think the kids sat in the van for an hour waiting for us to get all packed, me to run to QT for ice, etc.


My fancy camera is not doing its wireless download right now and I don't wanna search for the cable so I will post the pix I took with my new phone and grab the others later!

The McVan ... my friend Eva got me the I Love Aron sticker and the Beware magnet!

The night before leaving. The kids were so excited ... Sam slept with us like always but the other 4 kids were in the girls' room ... newly moved around at Callie's request

Sammiches for the trip ... 9 PBJs

Somewhere in Oklahoma

Five Guys Burgers and Fries in Norman, Oklahoma ($60 to feed 7 of us! EEEK!)

At Embassy Suites in Norman, Oklahoma for the night. SWANKY!
Look, we all know I am mostly blogging this for my parents and Mr. Kerrie's parents and also for Joel's friend Nathan! But I want to give a shout-out to Brooke, who I met at this hotel, and she showed me how to get my hip back into whack. Brooke is like my opposite: one kid, school principal and so on ... but we are also alike in that we both have a husband who likes a clean house and we are bad at keeping house. Instant friends.

Click here to check out Day Two.