We were suitcase-living Wednesday through Saturday (midnight,) and let me tell you, we would not have all lived through this trip if it were not for the double DVD player we have in our car. Can I get an Amen?! Our kids are at the age where they still need help to be entertained, and we don't have gameboys or other electronics, so the DVD player worked. For most of the trip. There were times I just had to find my happy place, which is usually at the bottom of a Vanilla Dr. Pepper from Sonic.
This trip took us through some back roads in Texas that we don't normally travel, and it was gorgeous!! We went through San Saba on our way to Stephenville Wednesday and the kids were really excited about all of the wildlife we passed: cows, horses, longhorns, sheep, goats, buffalo, and I think we even saw a llama or two. Mark led a devotional/ worship hour at the Texas Farm Buraeu leadership camp at Tarleton State late Wednesday night so the kids and I hung out in the hotel room after dinner. After about 2 hours of shushing, Caleb fell asleep around 8:30, and my little bed-buddy, Lauren, fell asleep around 11pm. Needless to say, as soon as this little precious thing woke up the next morning, she said, "I can't wait to go to sleep tonight." Yep. That happens when you won't go to sleep.
The next morning we loaded up, (did I tell you Mark squeezed us in the Prius for this trip?) and headed to Flower Mound to spend some time with one of our sweetest friends, Denise Webb, and her family. Our kids love DWebb. That is actually an understatement. She is as close to them as family. If they were not swimming, and we were at the house, this was where we could find them, reading the squirrel book over and over again. I think they read it approximately 145 times, within the 48 hours we were there. Thursday was spent reading, swimming, catching up with the Webbs, and relaxing.
Friday morning found us at the Grapevine Mills mall (10 minutes away.) Over the past couple of months, Caleb has been adament about not wanting to see Brave, which opened on this day, but changed his mind when we purchased tickets. Mark normally doesn't go with us to the movies because he is either at out of town, or working, so it was a treat for the kids to have him there. My kids LOVED this movie, having a huge tub bag of popcorn didn't hurt either. They were in movie heaven!
After Brave, we walked around the rest of the Mall, which is gigantic by the way, with a toddler that enjoys running ahead of us, sticking his bottom out and saying, "na-na-na-na-na." (the stuff his sister teaches him.) The kids don't do shopping well, and Mark had promised Lauren a trip to the candy store, so I offered to bring Caleb out into the heat of the parking lot to wait. We. Melted. Our first mistake was not bringing a stroller. Our second was promising candy... the candy store wasn't close to where we parked the car.
After we got back to the Webb's house, Mark took the kids swimming while I got ready for Ryan and Rebecca's rehearsal dinner. Guys. The place they chose for the rehearsal dinner was beautiful and we got to catch up with our friends, the Barnett's. I haven't seen Ryan and Kim since they moved last year, so it was a night filled with laughter and catching up. I should have taken lots of pictures, but I forgot. It was a beautiful night and a lot of fun to see everyone from San Antonio up in the Dallas area.
Saturday morning, the kids and I went on a donut run with DWebb. We bought too many, but who doesn't love a good donut every now and then. :)
We headed to Dallas after packing up to see cousins and for the Schultz wedding. Lauren and Caleb LOVE LOVE LOVE going over to cousin Kate's house, where they get to.....
I started this post while the kids were in "quiet time," and I had to abruptly stop because I heard this, "Caleb, Shhh... Don't tell Mom. Caleb! Don't. Tell. Mom." And with that, I had to go investigate. Don't worry though, Lauren was only putting sparkly lip gloss on her brother.
... Where was I...
My kids LOVE going to cousin Kate's. Cousin Hank, Ben, Cameron, Aunt Cristi, and Uncle Jim are all there too, but they dub the house as only cousin Kate's. Kate is pretty much Lauren's babysitter while there, they play together the entire time, we only hearing Lauren's voice when Caleb is involved.
Since Ryan and Rebecca were getting married at a Church literally 1 minute from the Swayze's house, Mark and I left a few minutes earlier so we could go devour these beauties:
Sprinkles Cupcakes, I love you. My little secret: I am a Facebook fan of Sprinkles Dallas and each day they give you a secret phrase or word. If you are one of the 50 that say it, you get a free cupcake. I don't remember what the one on the left is, but it was DELICIOUS and free. Mark loved it. I got my usual, Red Velvet, or as I like to say "my other happy place." (Yes, food and drinks are my happy places. I am not ashamed.) We also had a moment of guilt for not bringing our children, but that moment passed quickly. They were known the wiser.
Our next stop was at University Park UMC to witness our sweet friends, Ryan and Rebecca, get married. Rebecca, you were gorgeous and absolutely radiating happiness, and Ryan, you were very handsome, my friend. I am stealing the below photo from our friend Cyndi, who just happened to be a mini-papparazzi. (Thank you Cyndi!)
After the wedding, we gathered our children, and headed back to San Antonio. I think it was the fastest we've ever made the drive, with little to no traffic. Not even in Austin. No lie. Shocked. Caleb slept most of the way, only waking for bathroom breaks and snacks, like any good kid should, mind you.
And that, my friends, was the end of our adventure. You know, they say, "Home is where the heart is," but I say, "Home is where my bed is."
Sit back, relax, let go and have
fun.
Jesus loves
you.
No comments:
Post a Comment