The last 28 hours in 500 words or less (not really even close!)

And if you count the number of words, you really need to find something else to do with your time...

Yesterday we decided to tag along with Derek to Dallas for a quick overnight business trip. I must preface this whole thing with that fact since Derek booked the trip thinking it would be only him.

Sam's Shower
So, we thought we'd be smart and take Derek's Accord coupe to get better gas mileage. Yes, he does receive a per diem per mile, but I thought it was a good idea too. So after about 20 minutes we realized that it probably wasn't the best idea to have the kids sitting quite so close to each other. It's been a while since we've stuffed both of them in that car together and we had a lot of name calling, touching and fighting over toys and books. But we survived! They calmed down a bit by the time we reached Huntsville. Not because of anything we said or did, but because there is a HUGE statue of Sam Houston
that the kids love to see as we drive by. Well, apparently yesterday was the quarterly, bi-yearly, yearly? pressure washing of the statue and the kids got a kick out of that. Katie said, "Sam's taking a shower!" And as I just added that photo, she said, "Sam had a good shower yesterday!" It was definitely a highlight of the trip.

La Quinta no longer means "Next to Denny's"
So, we arrive in Dallas with no major incidents - hooray! Derek booked a room at the La Quinta in Lewisville. I've never really been to Lewisville, but I know a few people that used to live there (or may still). I remind you, he booked this hotel thinking it was just going to be him. Nothing fancy, just somewhere to sleep that was close to the place he was going for his meeting. I didn't have a problem with it. I was planning to go out to dinner with my friend Trish while Derek and the kids went swimming. The place had a pool, and the room was fine for one night. As long as it's clean, I'm not that picky. So we got there and the first thing I noticed was that the "Denny's" had closed down. So there was an abandoned restaurant right next door. This also ended up being one of the sad La Quintas that did not go through the renovations or was rebuilt a few years back. This was an old La Quinta. Still not a problem. However, just down the freeway about a mile were decent shopping centers. The only red flag was the empty restaurant. I even said to Derek as we drove by it - well, this one doesn't mean "next to Denny's".

We got settled in and Derek realized that his co-workers wanted to meet for dinner. So I changed my plans and decided to take the kids with me to dinner. Derek went with us since we were going so early and he set his meeting for 7:30. Trish and I had a great time. We caught up and unfortunately didn't get to visit longer. I was sad to say goodbye. Derek, the kids and I headed back to the motel (why even bother calling it a hotel when it really wasn't). He left for dinner and the kids and I went swimming. They were doing great. Katie was actually swimming half the pool without goggles which is a milestone for her. Last week she wouldn't even get her hair wet if she didn't have goggles on. Kyle was in his little tube but kept going under on the steps. If I hadn't watched him do this over and over a few days ago I would have been really paranoid, but he was fine.

There was another lady there with her two sons. One was a teenager and the other was probably 9 or 10. Apparently Kyle was giving her a mild panic attack because he kept going under. So we started talking a little - how old are they, etc. She got on her cell phone and her kids had come back to sit by her out of the pool.
About that time, a guy runs down the sidewalk, pauses for a second and then takes off running toward the back of the property. I heard something drop near the pool, but hadn't really put together that he had thrown something near the pool. I saw the teenage son look down, I glanced over there but didn't think anything about it. I was too far away to see what it was. About a minute later, the lady is off her phone and they are quickly gathering their things. She looks at me and says, "get your kids and get back in your room - someone just threw a bag of drugs in here." What?!?!?! All I could think was get the hell out of here now. I grabbed the towels, told the kids to get their shoes on and all the while, Katie is asking me "why do we have to go Mommy?" and Kyle is screaming because he doesn't want to get out of the water. I am shaking by the time we get back to the room. I know I was overreacting and I don't think I would have freaked out quite so much had my kids not been there. I locked everything I possibly could on that door and put the kids in the bathtub. Katie all the while keeps asking me "Mommy why did we have to leave?" I started calling Derek who took the car otherwise I would have just jumped in the car and left. He didn't answer the first 4 times I called. I texted him and called again and he finally answered. He thought the phone at the table next to him was ringing the entire time. He stayed and finished his meal while the kids and I packed up everything and watched tv. At 9pm he got back and I had calmed down, but I still didn't think I would be able to sleep there. We ended up checking out (and getting our money back) and moving to a very nice little Residence Inn about 2 miles down the road. I realize that La Quinta is not responsible for what happened but I did not feel safe there and I didn't want my kids staying there. I hope to never be in that type of situation again, especially with my kids two feet away from a bag of whatever that was.

It's a Robot
As Derek went to check in at the Residence Inn, the kids and I waited in the car. It was about 9:20pm, so it was obviously past their bedtime and dark outside. Kyle announces to Katie and I,
"I see a robot!"
"You do? Where?"
"I see a robot and it's flying."
"Oh, is it an airplane?"
"No, it's a robot and it's orange. Oh, now it's a duck."
I love two year old's and their imaginations! I'm guessing the robot comment came from his seeing Wall-E a few weeks ago.

I guess I didn't really have anything interesting to write about today. We ate, went shopping, Derek went to his meeting, we ate again and drove home. I love that I have nothing else to report. Hooray!