Dallas! Part 1

This past week I was lucky enough to go visit my sisters in Dallas! I loved getting back to Texas and having a lot of fun just hanging out with them, sans kids, sans schedule, and sans responsibilities! Sometimes you just need that break to get out of your life for a minute and enjoy just being a human, instead of being a wife, mother, activities coordinator, yearbook helper, chauffer, etc.

I got to stay with both of my sisters while I was there, which was a lot of fun. I flew into Dallas late on a Wednesday night and was greeted by Ali and Jed! We got to their house and Ali insisted on playing this dumb game of charades. I was so tired that I was oblivious to how ridiculous it was sounding, but she said, “I’m going to go in the kitchen and draw the phrase, then you and Jed have to guess it.” Being the obedient sister that I am (or at least that I am when I’m sleep-deprived), I agreed. When she came back out, she showed me this:

I’m sitting there guessing and Jed is just silent. I remember thinking, “Why isn’t he even guessing anything? That’s weird.” And then when I finally got the clue (cheese half ink baby = she’s having a baby), I thought I got a point for my imaginary team. It took me about 10 seconds to realize that Ali was sitting there with this huge smile on her face waiting until I realized she was talking about herself.

So that’s the long version of how I found out my little sister was going to have her first baby. :)

The next day, first things first, Ali and I sent Jed off to work and then we hit Taco Cabana. It was like heaven to me (even though they were using some weird crumbly bacon instead of strips. But I didn’t care, it was still GOOD).

After pigging out for breakfast, Ali and I went to the salon. I got my hair dyed and the lady who did it took FOREVER! Ali was done with her trim in about 40 minutes, and mine [literally] took 4 hours. To dye my hair and wash it, not even to cut it. Craziness! I mean, I guess I should cut her some slack because it was a salon school, but still.

Thankfully, I was really glad with the way it turned out. Here’s a layout I did with the little Instagram photos I took.

That night, we met Emily, my older sister, and her kids for dinner at some Mexican place called Matt’s? I think? It was good food and the kids were entertaining. I loved getting to play with them without having to be responsible for them if they made a mess or threw a tantrum. ;)

(Sorry for the horrid lighting, it’s not that flattering…)

Here’s little Sophie-Roo, who turned into an old lady as soon as she put on my sunglasses.

This smile from Aidan is a rare treat. Examples of why are below.

After dinner, Ali and I went shopping. I got some books for the kids and then we stopped at Party City for fun. And fun we found.

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The next day was a super fun day, as we got to go with Emily and her kids to the Dallas Aquarium! Here are the kids, with their super excited faces.

Waiting for the train. We got there literally as one was driving off (guess we should have checked out the schedule before we left, ha!) and so we had to wait for a little bit for the next one. But we amused ourselves in the meantime…

It was fun!

Then the train came and we got to pass a stop called the Carl J. Jones terminal. Everyone thought it was hilarious (inside family joke).

Once we got to the aquarium, it was really cool! It was at least three stories with a great big waterfall in the middle of it. It was great. Here is the trip in photos:

This guy was huge! He was looking at Ali and then as soon as I came to take a closer look, he wouldn’t have anything to do with me and my camera.

This guy was HUGE! Seriously, one of the biggest alligators I’ve ever seen.

They had one of these fun water tubes where you could go underneath and see all the fish swimming around and above you. There were sharks and stingrays and turtles all hanging out and swimming around. It was really fun.

Aidan got some good shots that he wanted to show me. :)

It was a really fun day trip!

When we got back to Emily’s house, we ended the day with homemade hot chocolate. It was well-timed, since it was freezing outside! And of course, now I want one of these automatic hot chocolate machines. :)