Two Flies and a Whistle

And we are back....Sorry I am slow in posting, but we get back from Florida and had the busiest week of our summer. Now that it is over, you have my full attention.
We took our first family roadtrip to Florida and it was not flawless, nor was it flyless (hence the title). Let me back up. Jarrett was invited to speak at Istrouma (Baton Rouge) and Heights (Richardson)'s student camp in Panama City, Florida. We jumped on the chance. And knowing we were bringing the girls we began to pray for a nanny/manny to take with us. That following weekend, Jarrett's sister Michelle came to Dallas to see newborn Kelsey - we knew we had our nanny and her husband Ryan (our manny) was coming too. We were so excited. We reserved a Suburban (Ryan is waaaay tall) and packed up.
The day we were to leave, the rental company's largest available vehicle was a Dodge Caravan minivan. My goal and strongest prayer for this trip was not to panic and stress about things. Thanks for the test up front, Lord. I wondered (my term for a mild panic) where all our gear would go and where my sweet brother-in-law would sit - he is 6' lots". The Caravan has cool stow and go storage under all the seats and a ton of stuff fit in there. Luggage fit in the back. So off we went.
We had Jarrett behind the wheel (yikes), Riley all the way in the back and Kelsey and I in the middle row. We were set!
Departure: Saturday 1pm.
First stop, Bossier City. We wanted to start our trip seeing Gammy and Papa. 10 miles into the trip and this awful whistling noise was coming from the windshield/dashboard area. It wasn't shrill, but was loud enough to be annoying. It was like when you were a kid and held a piece of grass between your palms and blew on it - whistling.... It eventually subsided, but we thought it would be the catalyst for insanity. Then we realized we had 2 huge, uninvited guests buzzing around the car. Flies. Everytime we opened a window to shoo them out on the highway, more bugs would come in or paper would fly around. Eventually we got them, but it was a tense first 30 minutes. Made it to Bossier and spent the night.
Sunday, 10am.
We left Bossier and headed towards Prentiss, Mississippi. Jarrett's Mawmaw and Pawpaw live there. And his Uncle Bigshot. We havent seen those 3 since after right after Riley was born. We couldnt get there fast enough. I was very, very close to my grandparents and miss them dearly. I love that generation. It is bittersweet for me. I am grateful I married into two sweet grandparents. A must on this leg of the trip is boiled peanuts. Don't knock them until you try them, but know in advance what you are getting yourself into. Jarrett is obsessed with them and inhaled probably over a pound! Here he is at the roadside market making his selection. Don't worry, the pics get better as the trip goes along.