Thursday, October 31, 2013

That Time We Made A Surprise Visit Home! Part 3


 
Now that everyone knew we were home, we made it Facebook official! Ha! Cause you know it isn't "official" till it's on Facebook. After our early morning Saturday  and very little breakfast, we were HUNGRY! We also hadn't had any yummy fattening American food yet. Where did we go you ask??
 
Little Town & Country of course!
 
 I pulled this picture off of Google images and wouldn't ya know...I'm pretty sure that's my Dads truck there! HA! Probably there for coffee and talking with the window farmers! :o)
 
I got that turkey club I was wanting and it was soooooooooooo good! After we all got our bellies full the jet lag began kicking our butts bad. We were all heading down for the count.
 
We headed back to my mom's house to sleep...but before Cody could laid down the older girls talked him into going to get Morgan! She stayed with us until Tuesday. There's no doubt had we been at our own house she would have been there until we got on the plane  to come back. Olivia's friends Ethan also showed up a time or two!


Once Cody got back with Morgan, it was nap time for Mom and Dad!

 
We napped for like 4 hours...does that still count as a "nap" because there are times that was a good nights sleep!?!?
 
Once we did wake up we just hung out at my mom's for the evening.
 
 
 Chillin' out, trying to recover from all that travel time!

Sunday was another day of visiting, recovering, and NAPS!!!

That Time We Made A Surprise Visit Home! Part 2


Surprising the Family! 


We had arrived! After keeping quiet for months, not telling the kids or really anyone for that matter, we were HOME!!! It was so difficult trying to decide where to go first. We just decided to go where the road took us...Bedford to Milton to Madison.
 
The first stop was Cody's Dad and Mom's house.
 
I seriously can't help but laugh every time I see these pictures! LOOK at those faces! Priceless!
He walked in the back door and his mom and niece were in the kitchen. She turned around and looked up, then right back to what she was working on. I think it took a second for it to register WHO had just walked in the door. Once it did...this is what we saw!
 
Marilyn was so surprised she couldn't even form words! Cody quietly walked in, gave her a hug and told her he loved her and asked...where's Dad?
Dad was in the living room on the phone. Once Cody walked around that corner, the poor guy was stunned. Who ever he was talking to was a lost cause. That conversation was oooovvveeerrrr!

There was a little surprise for us there too! Miss Madi Gray was there for the night! We weren't expecting to see her till later that night, or even the next day. It was great to get our hands on that little munchkin! She's such a cutie pie!
 
We stayed and visited for awhile. Explained our surprise visit to his parents and even got his Dad in on the action. Cody had him text his sister to see what time she would be getting off work and if she was coming to pick up Little Gray (Madi) or not. Sneaky sneaky...we needed to know her where abouts for later! ;)
 
I think Little Gray was happy to see Claire!
 On the way to my mom's we told the kids...knock on the door and hide. We want her to have to open the door. My mom NEVER leaves her door unlocked and ALWAYS looks thru the curtains to see who is out there. The only way to surprise her was knock and hide. They knocked and then just ducked down. That wasn't hiding good enough...she saw them and then the water works started!
 
Opening the door and dragging kids into her arms.
 
Mawmaw Pumpkins arms aren't long enough to reach around all four kids at once. :o) She cried for a little while. When she was done squeezing the crap out of the kids, Cody and I got a hug...and a few choice words for making her worry! Haha!
 
Her worries were worth it though! We hung out for awhile and had to once again explain our surprise visit and that no one knew we were home. She did call my Grandma and a couple of other aunts, but they were threatened sworn to secrecy until we made it to all the parents and grandparents houses.
 
Cody and I left the kids there to go surprise his sister at work. Our plan was to just walk into the restaurant she worked at and sit down at the bar and order a drink. I was just hoping she wouldn't cry there! Unfortunately we were too late. As we drove past it we realized it was already closed, but thanks to his Dad, we knew she would be headed straight home.
 
April gets to ride her bike to work. Pretty cool, huh? As we were driving down main street, we spotted her on her bike. We pulled into the parking lot of her apartment right behind her. Cody and I both got out of the van at the same time. She looked right at us, but it was dark so she couldn't really tell who "those crazy people" where.
 
I said something to Cody about her not knowing who we were and walked further towards her into the light. When she could see us a little better she grabbed me and then Cody and hugged to tight...she may have cut off the air supply we all require. ;)
 
It was too dark for pictures there, but it was a great reunion. She took us over to her neighbors and introduced us and we sat and chatted for a little over an hour. We left giving her strict instructions not to put it on Facebook...yet! We still had my Dad and Step-Mom to see!
 
Once we left Aprils, we went back to my mom's house for the night. We were exhausted and ready to crash. Our plan for Saturday morning was to go to my Dad's.


Before we left Saturday morning this happened....
 
 
 
My cousin Jessi stopped by moms on her way home from Belterra. :) Love her to death! Just sorry we didn't get spend more time with her. Boo for being busy! 


Wanna see what major jet lag looks like? At least that's my excuse. I don't know what Jeremy's is! ;) haha!





 
Saturday morning we got up WAAAAAAY  to early. Thank you jet lag. We had coffee and whatever breakfast we could throw together. Mom obviously wasn't prepared for our visit! Hehe! We all got showered and ready and went to my dads.
 
We walked in and it was dead silence. Hello?? No answer. Anyone here?? Dad? Margie???
Silence. Silence. Silence.
Tatum said...I bet MawMaw is still asleep. Good thing she doesn't sleep naked because we all barged into her bedroom! She woke up looking at us STUNNED! I leaned over to hug her and Tatum said she kept touching me all over...like she was trying to make sure I was real and she wasn't dreaming! :o) Our sweet little niece happened to be there too! Bonus!
 
After we dragged them out of bed and found out that my Dad was up at his shop we got them dressed and in on the surprises! We all loaded up and went there. Margie and Chloe walked up first and we trailed behind. Of course Tucker can never do what he's told so Dad saw him earlier than planned so it kind of ruined the surprise. There's no doubt he was still happy and shocked to see all of us standing there in October! We weren't supposed to be home till March! Boo-yah! We pulled one over on everyone! 

Now everyone knew we were home! Best surprises ever! It was so fun to see the looks on everyone's faces and we all loved surprising everyone! 
 

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

That Time We Made A Surprise Visit Home! Part 1

We have officially been back in Malaysia for a week. Flying home to surprise everyone without anyone knowing was priceless. The looks of surprise were fantastic. It was without a doubt one of the most fun things I have ever done.
 
I seriously want to share every moment we were there and all the fun, so I'm going to have to break it up into a few posts. I promise, you'll get to see them all! :O)
 
 
Did I tell y'all that the kids didn't even know we were coming until about 8 hours before we left? THAT my friends, was great! It was also probably the closest to going crazy I've truly ever been.
I had to keep my excitement all to myself. Cleaning, trying to get things together, all the while bursting on the inside made me CRAZY! I deserve an academy award for that performance!


I'd like to start off by thanking God, my husband and children. Without you, this would have never been possible! Haha!
 
Anyway...lets get back to the fun stuff!
 
Telling the kids. I recorded it for y'all. Their reactions were priceless! They continued to get more and more excited..guess I stopped to early, but hey! We had packin' to do!
 
 
The packing came together remarkably better than I expected. I was a hot mess, worried we would forget something we need or would want. Hello toothbrush, deodorant, underwear?!?! We all did great though. Claire and Tucker must have came into our room 10 thousand times asking "Is this OK to take? How about this outfit?" NUTS! It was NUTS!
 
There was very little sleep to be had that night. We packed, ordered pizza for supper and all laughed and talked about how surprised our families would be! What would their reactions really be like? We couldn't wait to see! The 7 1/2 to 8 hours between telling the kids and getting picked up to go to the airport passed faster than the previous 24 had. Promise!
 
We loaded up at 2:30 am and off we went. 27+ hours of traveling by car and plane is a LOOOONG time. It's no joke! Ask Alicia. She'll tell ya. She'll also tell ya she knew we were coming home! LOL! This is what she had to deal with! That's why she's been my best friend FOREVER! Literally! 


My mom was freaking out because she hadn't heard from any of us. We hadn't been on Facebook or any form of social media. We were off the radar. But not really...we just weren't posting anything for fear of ruining our surprise! A BIG thanks to Alicia for covering for us and risking the wrath of Mawmaw's and Pawpaws and Moms and Dads all over TC! You rocked girl!

We boarded our plane at 6 am Friday morning in Singapore. That was 6 pm Thursday evening in Kentucky. We were set to arrive in Louisville around 6:30 pm Friday evening. Have I said how long the flights are???

Fortunately all the seats have TVs with movies and games in the back of the head rest! Thank you Delta! Plus the booze and wine was free! Bonus for Dad and Mom!
 
 
Someone is all "Tuckered" out! Hehe!

Tvs out, movies on, pillows and blankets in use. The excitement must have gotten to them...finally!
 
 Bulk head seats rule. They are THE BEST on long flights...unless your special and get to fly first class. Obviously we aren't, or our family is just too big. Either way, the bulk head seats made a world of difference. Especially for that tall man of mine. Being 6'2" means you need some extra leg room!
 
 
 
We arrived in Louisville right on time Friday evening. We were all tired, but excited and the adrenaline had kicked in at this point! We grabbed our luggage and car from Enterprise and were on our way!
 
There were some big surprises in the future for our family!
 
 

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Feelin' Loved

When someone will fly all the way around the world, 27+ hours of travel time with very little sleep in a cramped airplane seat...you feel really loved! 

This crazy girl, whose been my BFF since foreva' was willing to do just that! Yay for that first day of middle school when we met! 

We took her shopping at our best malls! Or at least the ones where they sell every name brand knock off you could ever dream of and some you haven't ever heard of! Purses, shoes, wallets, scarves, and more oh my! I found this killer head band! Maybe I should have dressed up as Minnie Mouse for Halloween this year! 
Tucker is NOT a good shopper. He was bored to death and begging for some man time! Where's dad??? Working as always! Boo! 
Tatum found this killer outfit...and put it on backwards! Oops! 
Beach day came next! Because what else do you do to your BFF who is still jet lagged and probably would rather nap or float around a nice clean pool!?!?!

Drag her butt to the beach! I mean seriously, you can't fly around the world without going to the beach and dipping your toes into the South China Sea! 

Some locals who were picnicking on the beach shared their lunch with us. Alicia swears it was Singapore Noodles. I have no idea what it really was...except hot and spicy! Altogether not bad though and very nice on the part of that family. 
We gave them the plate and silverware back! 

Nice butt Tatum...GET UP! lol
The kids found a huge hermit crab. They wanted to keep him, but we convinced them to let him go home and find his own family. 
He was a giant! 
Skinny Minnie there! Ugh....where was I when God said if you want to be tall and thin stand in this line!
Favorite Aunt right there! ;)


 
On the way home we stopped to feed her more local food at what I call the "Malaysian Little Town & Country!" There is almost always a bunch of older gentlemen siting around. Probably talking farm talk. See...Town & Country! Haha! 
Cold drinks in a bag...cause that's how they do it here. 




Awwwww, two of my favorite people ever! 
We spent a day in Singapore. Tatum and Olivia insisted on going for dumplings. Din Tai Fung was the place. It was delicious. I can NOT eat with chop sticks. I used my fingers. Country girl right here! ;o)

Marina Bay Sands. Crazy kids....what is Claire even doing!?!?
Almost time for her to head home. :( We decided we needed one day with just the two of us. Pedicures it was! Cody was left with the kiddos! Poor guy! I made it up to him with beer! Haha!
WHAT are they painting on my legs? Mud? Lotion? I still don't know, but they were super soft when they were done! 
Check out those nails! 


Dinner out that night at Permas Village! Terrible lighting for pictures, but it's the best we got. Womp womp!
This is such a great picture of Alicia...too bad Claire didn't get the straw out of the way before she took it! SMH!

 
We all had a blast and I'm sure she was more exhausted leaving than when she came! It was so great to get to share some of our experience here with someone from home! And have a little bit of home here with us! Knowing she was willing to use her personal vacation time, spend some money and fly waaaaaaaaaaaay over here definitely had us feeling the love! 

And I'm not gonna lie. I cried a little when I dropped her off at the airport. Tatum made fun of me. Brat!