From Stitches to Stock Shows

I thought I had prepared myself well enough when I discovered I was having a boy, but you don't know until you live it. C1 got his first set of stitches and we're all doing fine!! We were enjoying family night at Grandma Glenda's house and after getting up from the dinner table C1 was bouncing about and tripped over his own feet, banged into the couch, and landed on the tile floor. His little chin split immediately, and I knew right away he needed stitches. I grabbed ice and a paper towel, and held him on my lap in the back seat of the car while daddy rushed us to the ER. Four stitches, a popsicle, and a wind up airplane later we left the hospital with our bruiser. The big boy didn't shed a single tear after the initial shock of his fall. He's too cool.

On Friday we found ourselves at the beginning of a four day weekend and a fun adventure to the great state of Texas. After a quick poll on FB and an invitation from Buddy, Daddy immediately booked a trip and started the planning. C1 was most excited about flying Southwest and was rewarded by flying one of their newly painted planes. C2 wasn't even aware he was on his first flight and did great!!!!

Abbie and Connor became fast friends and it was so much fun watching them play together. The Finnie's were such great hosts and happily took us all over Dallas starting with an evening at Top Golf. With a gorgeous sunset and interesting driving "skills" we all had fun! We ended the evening with a steak dinner from Saltgrass! Yum! Our bodies were still on east coast time and we were so lame to fall asleep earlier than they were ready.

We were also the lame ones who woke up early! Connor was so excited though because he knew we were heading to the Rodeo! Saturday saw us driving their two cars (babies with the ladies; big kids with the dads) to Fort Worth to see the Stock Show and Rodeo...evidently it's a big deal!

The kids had fun seeing all of the animals, the dads were excited about the food, and I was happy to have girl time with Sherry! After arriving we found out that the Rodeo was sold out, but we did not give the news to the big kids. They didn't know the difference and had fun anyway. Especially at the carnival.

We let them choose what rides they wanted to go on, and by the time we got to dinner the big kids were fast asleep in their car seats. Connor slept in an empty booth while we ate real Texas BBQ. We tuckered the poor cowboy out!

Sunday was our museum day and our first stop was the 6th Floor Museum right in the heart of Dallas. It was interesting to see how interested Connor was in it, and insisted on wearing my in-ear tour guide. He even pointed things out to me as we encountered them, including the infamous window. He kept telling me "that's the window mommy" and looked right at the picture of it on the wall and showed me which one it was. He was listening so intently. The area has been preserved to look exactly the way it did on that fateful day and was a little eerie. I found it a little more disconcerting to see the X marked in the street exactly where it happened.

We did go down to the street and the kids even ran around on the Grassy Knoll. So weird to see it all in person.

The other exciting museum of the day was the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. It was so cool, and I won't lie, I was completely hoping one of the Bush's might be there.

Inside was an exact replica of the Oval Office the way it was decorated while he was in office and it brought back so many memories of visiting Leslie while she worked there. All of the little facts and tidbits came right back and it was such a fun experience. It was very child friendly and the big kids were able to touch the interactive computers around the museum and even played some games.

Everyone was so kind at the museum and it seemed they all really enjoyed their jobs. Each person was so full of information and wanted to share their knowledge. I think we all had fun. On the way back to Buddy and Sherry's house the guys picked up groceries and we grilled hamburgers and hot dogs for everyone. Perfect evening after a great day!

Monday saw us waking up at our leisure, hitting a little bit of shopping, and then on our plane home. It was an amazing trip! Tim was ready to book a trip immediately back! Buddy and Sherry were such wonderful hosts and made us feel so comfortable. The kids were able to be kids and run around, and the babies were able to be babies no need to keep everyone quiet. The playroom upstairs for everyone to hang out in was a magic place and Abbie and Tyler were so sweet to share their toys. We had SO MUCH FUN!!!! Texas is definitely my kind of place!