we survived

My little boys are growing up. My mother, the twins, and I survived the journey to Phoenix from SD and back.
My grandmother (Ma) is not well and doesn't have much time left and my grandpa is almost 87, so we needed to have the boys see them again. Last time they made the trip the boys were under a year old and it was horrible. TJ and I drove them in the middle of the night out there hoping they would sleep and they cried practically the whole way. Then, at my grandparents, they were so tired they cried the whole time there as well. We swore off driving with them. Since we also swore off plane rides, I decided to drive this time. I figured that the boys would only annoy my mother and me in the truck and not the whole entire plane and risk getting kicked off.
We had a secret weapon this time: a borrowed DVD player with 2 headphones (thanks Sarah!). They just enjoyed their shows as we drove through the desert. What impressed me most though was that the boys were so wonderful during the visit. They loved playing ball with their great grandpa. I had not seen that man move so much as he did fielding their ball throws outside. He seemed to just light up around them and genuinely enjoyed their visit. They were not even afraid of their great grandmother who was in a hospital bed and looked so frail. They just sat with her and watched some shows together. They were so sweet that they even covered her up with their blankets and gave her their stuffed animals to keep her company. I was so proud of them.