Texas



Dallas is really far away. There's no good way to make the 15 hour drive to visit my parents. However, I've driven it enough to have an opinion on the matter and much prefer driving through the night. Yes, it's tiring, but I think it's better than putting the kids through an entire day of driving, coupled with listening to them ask "are we in Texas yet?" at least 100 times. And then when we're actually IN Texas, we have to explain to them that we still have hours to go until we're in Dallas. Turns out Texas is a big state.

 

So, we drove through the night. The drive there wasn't awful. Kevin and I split the drive and while one person was driving, the other slept in the third row seat of the van. The drive back wasn't as fun, as we brought home much more than we came with, so there was no room for the third row seat to be put up. The passenger seat isn't nearly as comfortable. So, less sleeping means a rougher trip, but we made it in one piece.

We had a great time while we were there. The first night we got into town, we went to Babe's for fried chicken. It was great. There is no menu - the server literally asks you how many orders of friend chicken you want. That's it. Then they bring out salad, mashed potatoes, corn, biscuits, and gravy until you can't possibly eat one more bite. Delicious.

We did a lot of eating out in Texas. In and Out Burger was a must-visit-destination. In fact, we went twice.

Kevin and I visited Rooster's Roadhouse one night while my parents watched the kids. We tried their "Redneck Sushi" and it was awesome.

We did a few other things besides eat. One day we visited Legoland and the Aquarium. We spent nearly six hours between the two places and had a blast.

The kids raced Lego cars they built at Legoland.

We visited the holiday train display and listened to Santa read stories at the mall.

We also visited my favorite park on a sunny, 70-degree day. It was nice to watch the kids run around, climb, and burn off some energy.

The rest of the time we enjoyed playing at my parents' house and enjoying their company. I wish I had pictures, but both kids got EZ Rollers for Christmas that they played with all week. They're like the old Roller Racers I remember as a kid. Thankfully the weather was warm enough for them to ride around outside most days.

We got to participate in Mom's annual candy making day and the kids enjoyed "helping".

Maren was introduced to the world of Barbies and played with this doll house as well as mine and Meredith's old Barbies from when we were kids. They're not in the best shape but that didn't seem to bother Maren.

It was a great visit full of sleeping in (thanks, Mom!) long runs outside at 9am instead the 5:30am runs on my treadmill I'm used to (thanks again, Mom and Kevin!), and lots of laughs and fun.