Texas

Adam surprised me on Valentines day with a plane ticket to San Antonio, Texas for my sister's 40th birthday party in May.  It kind of snuck up on me and last week I realized the time had come for my Texas adventure. Last Thursday I met my sister Heather on the way to the airport and we were off to warmer weather and less responsibility!  At one point in the flight I pulled out the one book I had brought with me,  "The Parenting Breakthrough".  Heather started to laugh as soon as she saw it and then pulled into her bag and got out the exact same book. Apparently great minds think alike (and need any help they can get on parenting).

My parents arrived in Texas a few days before us and on our first full day together (and Tif's actual birthday) we started by dropping my niece Abigail off at her school.  Never ones to pass up a "let's take a picture while people watch and wonder why on earth we are taking a picture there" moment we snapped this beauty:

It was a regular school day and we were stopping everywhere and posing for pictures. Yeah, that's not awkward.

Once Abigail was safety tucked away in her classroom for 5 hours we were off to the outlets.  I was surprised to find that the outlets were about 3 times the size of the Park City outlets. There were so many stores over such a large area it was a little overwhelming.  I was content to let the group dictate our starting point.  Because I'm a non-shopper my parents had a great time taking pictures of me shopping and sending them to Adam.  By the time I called him later in the day he had received pictures and e-mails from my Dad and had already talked to my Mom on the phone.  He knew what I was up to long before I did!  It was a wonder I was able to keep his birthday present a secret.

So here is proof that even I can have an enjoyable day shopping with the girls. (Shh, don't tell anyone, I have a reputation to protect)

We ate lunch at Jonny Rocket's where Tiffany was properly serenaded on her birthday by the waitstaff.  We told them she was turning the big 3-0 which for my sister isn't too much of a stretch. She has always looked younger than she is.

After picking Abigail up from school we spent the rest of the day getting ready for Tif's party the next day and going to Abigail's school open house that night.

The next morning we went to the San Antonio Temple bright and early. Wow. It is really a beautiful temple.  The stain glass window work was incredible.



Then it was off to Tiffany's birthday party.  We were 20 min. late for her own party. Oops.

 Good times.  The shish kabobs (?) were amazing.

After the party Heather and I had the bright idea to go running. . .at 2:30 in the afternoon. . .in San Antonio. . .in the 90 degree heat with 54 % humidity.  Yeah, we're pretty smart sometimes. It was hot, but felt good to get a workout in.

Sunday was a low key day of church meetings and relaxing.  My parents flew out Sunday night, but Heather and I stayed another 2 days and left on Tuesday.  (This is where my pictures end.  I left my camera at home with Adam and was at the mercy of others for any pictures of the trip and for some reason I haven't been able to get them off of my sister's blog.)

Tiffany, Heather and I had a great time visiting the riverwalk in San Antonio, filling up on ice cream at Coldstone, and touring the most fascinating place in Heather's world--The Container Store.  For organizational enthusiasts everywhere The Container Store is THE place to peruse.  Her little heart started to beat faster the moment we walked in the store and the first thing out of her mouth was, "How much time do we have?"  It's a good thing Tiffany and I have great self entertaining skills.  We spent 15 minutes seeing how many times we could spin around in chairs made out of bungee cords. Turns out we have chair spinning skills we didn't even know about.  Abigail loved hanging out with the big girls. Before heading to the airport on Tuesday we went to Rudy's BBQ.  Under the name it read "The Worst BBQ in Texas!" What?!  It was in a gas station but upon arrival I knew it wasn't just another BBQ place.  First of all they had a guestbook and then had a map with pins in it showing all of the places people had come from to eat their BBQ.  Next to one of their "Worst BBQ in Texas" signs it read, "as featured on The Food Network" and a few well known magazines.  Turns out the "worst" BBQ was actually the "best" BBQ.  The sign keeps people laughing, but it doesn't keep people from coming back for more. 

After 5 days in Texas it was time to come home reality. Thanks to Tif for letting us come and to our husbands for letting us go. It was a party.  While the weather hasn't been too bad since I've been home it is cold and raining as I write this. I'm ready for some sun shinin'.