Feathers, Fur and No AC, Oh My!

     We went to see my parents a couple of weeks ago for the 4th of July holiday. We had a great time swimming, watching fireworks and going to the annual Teague 4th of July Rodeo. The kids had a big time and so did we.

Helping GG make a flag cake..delicious and pretty  

 The little water bug

The 4-wheeler…anytime they heard it start up, 

Cooper and Ace were out there begging for a ride 

 Ready for fireworks

 
    When it was finally time to load up and head home we fit everything we had brought and made room for a few more passengers….Dad has decided to get out of the chicken business, so we were going to take his 6 chickens home with us. So, while I finished getting the boys' things together, Dad and Dalton caught the chickens, put them in a cage and loaded them into the back of the car. After that it was a race to get on the road because chickens can really stink up a place if you aren't careful.

      Finally the boys were strapped in, Max was in place beside them and we were off, about 11 am. It was already getting warm outside but we weren't worried. We decided to take the 'more scenic' route through Stephenville, instead of our usual concrete one up the interstate and through Ft. Worth. It turned out to be a great decision in light of what happened next.

Double stack of chickens

       About an hour into the trip, just on the other side of Waco, I noticed that the air wasn't as cool as it should be. I pointed it out to Dalton and he agreed. It kept getting warmer and warmer until we were sure the AC was no longer working. We looked at each other with panic in our eyes and kept driving…a little faster. No AC on a July day with two kids, a dog and 6 chickens was not an ideal situation to say the least!
      The boys were napping in the back so we rode with the windows up and the air blowing full blast for a while. As we pulled through the next town Dalton attempted to roll the window down for some fresh air. What resulted was a flurry of feathers and chicken smell wafting up to the front and blowing around our heads.  Everyone was perspiring by this time and with the windows down the feed sacks that we had put over the chicken cages to keep the smell contained also went whooshing around the car. We started laughing, for fear that we might cry if we didn't!
       I fought off the temptation to get into a really fowl mood ; )  and we sped along, happy to see that the speed limits on those roads was now 75. We also reflected on the good fortune of having taken this route, which gave us opportunities to roll down the windows as we went through little towns, and provided us with a nice view. If we'd have taken the other route, the concrete and fast traffic would have increased the sweating and irritation even more. Dalton tried to keep his eyes on the road because he said that every time that he looked in his rearview mirror all he saw were chickens panting and looking pitiful.
      I knew that once we stopped this crazy train it would be hard to get back going again, so we opted to keep on trucking until we got to Stephenville…only an hour from the house. We pulled into Stephenville with cranky boys, a panting dog and hot chickens. Not too mention we all had tomato red faces! It was not a pretty sight. Our first stop was Sonic. It was happy hour so we each got some refreshing tea and juice for the boys. The chickens and dog got a water.

Fresh air for everyone

     Then it was on to the park for some fresh air. We unloaded the boys, the dog and the caged chickens. Dalton attempted to give the chickens some water but they weren't having it. The dog drank his share though and the boys enjoyed being out of the car. We stayed there as long as we could and then it was time to load up again.

     We stripped the boys down to their underwear/diaper, gave the dog one last drink and cranked up our sweat-mobile for the last leg of our trip. It went by pretty easily, considering all that we had going on. At one point I tried to turn Dora on the computer but the roar of the windows was too much for little Dora and a silent kids' show just doesn't work.

A cup of juice makes the hot ride easier

     Finally we pulled into our home…oh so glad to be home! We peeled ourselves off of the sticky seats and let the boys have some fun in the backyard with the water hose. The chickens survived just fine too.
     Once again a simple trip turned into an adventure of crazy proportions. I'm not sure why this sort of thing always happens to us, maybe to keep us laughing, maybe so I'll have something to blog about, or maybe because we always put ourselves into situations that lend themselves to disaster! Either way, we survived with a story to tell.

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thess 5:16-18