In February or March I told Brian that for my birthday and Mother's Day (though he spoiled me anyways on both of those days) that I wanted a ticket to Houston to go and visit my good friend Kim and her little family. Brian, being the amazing husband he is, did not object and the tickets were purchased. I had been looking forward to going forever and the trip finally came. It was the best present I could have ever thought of!
So the closer the trip got the more nervous I got about taking Thad on my flight w/ me. I bought my tickets through the bidding system on Priceline.com and so I wasn't able to choose my flight times or if I would have a layover or not. So what I got was a 6:00am flight the day I left for Houston and a 7:15pm flight the day I came back home with a layover in Dallas Fort Worth. So we woke up at 4:00am and headed to the airport w/ my huge suitcase, a carry-on, a stroller, a car seat and of course, Thad. My mom was worried about me hauling everything to check-in, so she parked and thankfully helped me in w/ all my stuff. If she wouldn't have I probably wouldn't have made my flight because I was the last person on and they took off w/in 5 minutes of me boarding! I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was because Thad was a CHAMP!!! He sat on my lap, read books, watched movies on his DVD player and colored. We only had about 30 minutes between flights so we booked it pretty fast to our Dallas-Houston flight because Dallas Fort Worth airport is GIGANTIC! We made it though and arrived safe and sound with a sane mother and well behaved child. What did I do to deserve this kid? He is so amazing!
Thad on his very first flight!
The first night we got there we went to the Children's Museum in downtown Houston.
On Friday we went to Froberg's and it has yummy fresh produce and a strawberry patch in the back where you can pick your own strawberries. So fun!
Thad wasn't too good at following, so Lincoln did his best to try and keep Thad focused:)
It was crazy rainy on Saturday so we headed to the mall in downtown and it was insane BIG! This was a candy shop and we got some ice cream there. It was loads of fun and we were able to shop a bit and buy some fun things.
On Suday we went to Brazo's Bend. It's a national park and it had a swampy lake w/ gators!
This is the closest we got to one, but that was totally fine w/ me!
When we first got there some people told us to be careful by the dock because there were 2 gators snapping at people. So they weren't there anymore, but Kim and I were obviously a little worried. Christian wanted them to come out and play so he decided to start throwing rocks at them! I got a picture of him on my way back up to the playground because I didn't want the gators anywhere near Thad and me!
On Monday we went to the Johnson Space Center and it was AWESOME! The first day I got there we were trying to think of obvious tourist attractions and we couldn't think of anything. DUH! On Sunday we thought of this and just laughed that we didn't think of it sooner:)
Yeah, we're cool.
Monday night we went to BJ's w/ Kim's friends (they are all so awesome) while Christian watched the boys. The food was delicious and they had yummy P'Zookies for dessert.
On Tuesday morning we headed to Surfside beach about 45 minutes from Kim's house. The weather was not too muggy and the boys loved digging in the sand.
Thad didn't love the water, but he was a good sport when I made him go play by it:)
Since I came for my birthday, Kim gave me a cute Houston t-shirt for Thad and a good book she just read, These is My Words. I'm so excited to read it and she is so sweet for thinking of me.
We were so sad to leave, but as you can see it was an AMAZING, event-filled trip! Kim was an amazing hostess and I'm so glad I could go spend time w/ her. Kim dragged her boys everywhere and juggled everything like a champion. She wasn't even phased and never got stressed. She is an amazing mother and it gave me hope that I can handle 2 kids someday.
Here are some of my favorite things that make me miss seeing Kim and her family more often:
1. If Lincoln is doing something he's not supposed to, Kim tells him it's "Spooky." For example: He didn't hold her hand to cross the parking lot, so it's spooky. I can't even think of the best ones, but I heard that word several times and laughed each time:)
2. A rat died in the ceiling of Dean and Lincoln's room and created a HORRID stench and Kim just started referring to the dead rat as Rat Man. She told Lincoln that he would have to stay w/ Rat Man if he wasn't being good. Christian finally found it on my last night and threw him in the gutter. The next day Lincoln said he was going to miss Rat Man.
3. Lincoln referred to me as "Lady" pretty much the entire trip.
4. Kim can make crazy noises w/ her mouth to get the kids' attention. How does she figure that out?
5. Dean is the sweetest baby I have ever met and smiled every time I said his name.
6. Kim is a great friend and great to talk to.
Thad on the flight home. What a sweetie!
Yesterday Brian and I celebrated our 4th anniversary and it's just crazy how time flies! We have now known each other for 9 years, but the past 4 have been the best ever! We have done a lot of fun things in the past 4 years and our love continues to grow with each passing year.
4 years ago
Today:)
We went to a fun little Italian restaurant in Logan. It was very authentic and DELICIOUS!!!
After dinner we hung out w/ Heidi and Jason for a bit because they watched Thad and then came back to the apartments and got in the hot tub and it was so fun because no one was living here and it was just peace and quiet!
