Come to Texas

As I was getting ready for church on the Sunday before Homecoming week the thought occurred to me that I should invite Laurann and my mom to drive down and spend a few days with us. I knew that Este was nominated for Homecoming King and thought they might enjoy being here for all the festivities.

Laurann was not able to come due to obligations at work. My mom retired last fall and has been enjoying her new found freedom. She asked my dad if he wanted to visit us. At first he didn't think he would be able to make the necessary arrangements to take the week off from work. Thankfully his assistant took care of the details and opened his week up for him to come down.

I was so surprised when my mom called to tell me they would be leaving the next morning. They were actually going to just drive down to be here for Homecoming!!

They arrived the morning of the pep rally and were there to see Este's presentation. The next day we went shopping at Cabela's. I had no idea there was a Cabela's just 30 minutes from my house.

My dad was interested in the tractors and such.

I was interested in this.

Ok. Not really. My boys, however, would be interested in this.

I did find the perfect shirt for a Longhorn fan from my hometown.

We drove to Ethan's JV football game out in the country. (AJ freshman game was at the same time on the other side of the city. He said since he is a freshman they will have to chance to watch more of his games so he told us to go to Ethan's game.) There is something about watching the sunset over the football field. It was beautiful!!

It just makes it impossible to actually see the game.

We had lunch at Rudy's and Babe's. Those are our two "go-to" establishments for out-of-towners.

We also made a stop at Bahama Buck's our "go-to" establishment for snow cones and smoothies.

My dad was surprised by the cost of gasoline here in Texas especially since our low grade gasoline is the equivalent of their mid-grade gasoline. The price is even lower now.

We made a Costco run where we posed for pictures.  It is harder to take selfies than it may seem. The photo is not the best but I sure am happy to be with my parents.

They also were able to experience Friday Night Lights. I think everybody should experience a high school football game in Texas just once in their life plus it was Homecoming and they witnessed Este crowned as king. My dad was intrigued by the size of the football stadium

but even more by the ambulance. That's my dad for you. Always the emergency manager.

On Saturday, we watched as the black clouds surrounded us as we waited for Savanah's soccer game to start.

Just as they were preparing for the kick off. The lightening sirens went off. By the time we walked back to the car on the other side of the sports complex, we were drenched. It gave my parents the opportunity to experience a good ol' Texas thunderstorm. If they want to experience it again when they get home they just have to get in the shower with their clothes on.

We finally made it home and dried off, then they were here as my boys left on their dates.

I taught my dad a few tricks on his phone as we took random photos of my mom.

Every night as we said what we were thankful for I said how grateful I was that my parents came down to visit us. I am grateful for their love and support. I loved hanging out with them. While the kids were at school I had them all to myself. It was wonderful.

So while they seemed to enjoy their visit, they eventually had to return home. They left my backyard....

for their backyard.

I love that they were willing and able to drop everything so they could come to Texas. I also know they were happy to be home in spite of the snow and that's just how it should be.

On the Plane

After making a few seat changes on the plane to Salt Lake, I found myself sitting next to Sadie, my four year old niece.

She was one of my favorite flying companions EVER!! She did great!

We colored a Hello Kitty poster together. She played with my phone and iPad. She even learned to use the camera on my phone. I especially like her selfies. Here are the the highlights from the flight.

Portland-like

As you know from my previous post, my sister Monica and her family came to visit us just after Christmas. Last year, her family moved from Austin to Portland. It was quite a move for them. They came back to Texas to visit us and some of their friends. They were hoping for some warmer weather. While they were here in Dallas it was cold and rainy. Just like Portland.

Since we had bad weather, we spent most of our time indoors.

We went to the mall. It is one of my favorite places to shop.  Holly tried on a cowgirl hat and found a keychain that she really liked.

The kids loved making their own Lego figures in the Lego store.

This is Holly modeling my purchase from the Lego store. I bought them to use as object lessons in Primary. Do you know how hard it is to find a sword and shield these days?

Holly also loved the Carousel inside the mall.

Milo and Savanah just went along for the ride.Vanessa refused to even get on since they are only for babies  (and very kind older siblings).

Holly loved Candy World, It is one of Vanessa's favorite places to shop. You can see why.

We went to the local snowcone store. (Yes, we buy snowcones year round down here. Yes, there is an acutal snowcone establishment.) Monica liked it so much we went back later that night for a second time after we put the kids to bed.

Speaking of late night runs.....they were here during college football bowl season. We had to make at least one late night Taco Bell run.Vanessa LOVES Taco Bell now!

My favorite part of their trip was visiting our town museum. First of all, there was one thing that was a bit upsetting to me: Several exhibits included toys from my childhood. I am NOT that old! Cabbage Patch Kids and Pound Puppies are not museum relics!

It was fun for the kids though. Este gave the Atari a try. He told the others that when you moved the controller one way the pac man went the other way. They told him he was holding the controller up side down. I told them it's called a "joystick". Maybe it is a good thing these objects are museum relics.

Holly went in to the silent movie they had playing and sat down on the front row. She sat there talking to herself happy as can be. All of us soon joined her. I will admit I've never watched a silent movie. It really was quite entertaining. In fact, it was downright hilarious. Before long Monica and I were laughing so hard we had tears rolling down our faces. It was this silly little movie about a train and there is this one part when the train turns (I know it doesn't sound like much, but trust me, that's pure entertainment). The thought of it still makes me laugh. The problem is that nobody else in the rest of the theater was laughing. Just Monica and I and we couldn't stop laughing. Everybody with our group got up and walked out. Even to this day, when somebody is laughing on our home we say, " And the train turned." Then I laugh even harder. It was one of those moments where you-had-to-be-there but, I will always cherish. The moral of my story: Don't pass up watching a silent movie if given the chance and make the most of every day whatever the circumstances.Portland like weather is not such a bad thing after all. Sometimes rainy days are the best days.

Chihuly

My sister and her family visited us a few days after Christmas. There was an art exhibit here in town until December 31st. I wasn't sure if it would be worth the drive and the admission prices. My sister and her husband said that it would be worth it. They were right.

The artist/sculptor is Dale Chihuly. Who bares a resemblance to someone else I know.

He does all his work in bright colored glass. The exhibit was outdoors at The Dallas Arboretum. The sculptures were spread throughout the gardens. See his website here.

Holly served as our tour guide. She looked at the booklet and said, "The map says we are going the wrong way." I pointed out that our current path would lead across a bridge.  She replied, "The map says this is the right way now."

Holly was really good at naming the sculptures. In her mind this one is titled "Yellow Mountain Rock"

Holly was willing to stop and pose in front of some actual holly.

Savanah was excited to see some artwork from Chihuly. In her art class at school, they are divided into groups and assigned to tables named after various artists. She sits on the Chihuly table.

His work is amazing!

 The kids seemed to have fun together.

Amaia, however, was far more interested in the water features.

This fountain was not part of the special exhibit but ended up being one of my favorite photos of the day.

You all may be surprised to know that my favorite piece of the exhibit was not the Dallas Star, in spite of the fact that it was incredible.

My very most favorite piece is called the Sun. It made me feel happy.

The only problem with the visit was the fact that it was really cold. We only had hoodies on and there was just enough of a breeze to make it feel even colder. I would have loved to stay longer but I'm pretty sure that I am allergic to weather below 40 degrees. It was so cold that by the end of our visit, as we stopped by a tadpole pond, Holly had the look of the matchmaker of Fiddler on the Roof.

All in all, they were absolutely right. It was well worth the trip. If you ever have the chance to visit an exhibit, you really should do it.