A weekend in Dallas

With all that we've had going on lately, Robbie and I decided that we needed to just get away for a few days. So Thursday night we left for Dallas with not much of a plan. Which is how I usually prefer it on a "let's just get away trip". We stayed at the Hampton Inn in Mesquite by the rodeo. I must say, I highly recommend this place. It was very nice and clean, pretty pool, and HEL-LO.. 2 waffle makers in the breakfast area AND hot syrup! (Wow, they should totally pay me for that endorsement!)

Friday morning we decided to go to Grapevine for a vintage train ride that goes from Grapevine to the Fort Worth Stockyards and back. There are some times that you can go first class on things and it's just not worth it. This would not be one of those times. First class is the only section that is air-conditioned, and with a train ride that lasts over an hour in temps right around 100, I want my air-conditioning. Totally worth whatever extra we had to pay for it.

This was the train we rode.

Once we got to the Stockyards, there were so many things to do. There were lots of shops (a few that had jewelry just calling my name) and there were things for the kids to do also. We thought it would be fun to go through this maze that they had set up with wooden fences. I wish I would have gotten a picture of this, but I no longer call it a maze, I call it a torture chamber. They give you these cards with the letters M-A-Z-E on them that you have to complete and are timed for. As you go through the torture chamber, there are 4 different places set up with the hole punch for each of the 4 letters. Your game is not complete until all 4 letters are found. Did I mention it was hot? And we were in direct sunlight? For the entire 26 minute ordeal? And I tend to be a little claustrophobic when I can't see my way out of something? But, we made it out alive, and I will never go back. Ever.

There was a cattle drive, a petting zoo, and an electronic bull that Aaron won a million dollars on (well, not really a million, but he did stay on the entire time and I totally think he should've gotten a million dollars for it, or at least my $6 back that I had to pay for him to ride it).

Aaron in the petting zoo.

Austin at the petting zoo.

Ride that bull, Aaron!

This better be the last time I see these 2 in jail.

Ladies, you know you've got a good man when he will carry your 30-pound purse for you when you get hot and tired.

We stayed at the stockyards for a few hours, and then loaded back up for our first-class, air-conditioned train ride back to Grapevine. That evening we went to the Magic Time Machine for dinner, where Austin got the autograph of every person that works there. It was so much fun, and although Joe Dirt was a very cool waiter, I think maybe Woody would've been more appreciated at our table.



So this was my view Saturday morning. You know it's going to be a good day when your biggest worry is if you can possibly get the flip-flop tan line on the top of your feet to go away. We headed to the pool just after breakfast. We then went to visit my Aunt Ruby that is in an assisted living place in Dallas, then met Marty, Sherry, and Melissa for lunch. (That's my birth-mom, her hubby, and my sister). Then we all went back to the hotel where my sister Reva and her family came to swim with us. It was so nice just to get to sit and visit with them. It doesn't happen often enough, and it was a very relaxing afternoon. Late in the afternoon, everyone left, including our kids. They went home with Marty and Sherry so Robbie and I could go to dinner without them.

 Robbie and I had dinner with my brother, Blake, and his fiance Destiny. If you read my post 'Found on the Side of the Road', you'll remember that I mentioned that my birth father had 2 boys that I met only once when I was 18. Well, a few months ago Blake got in touch with me, and I've been texting he and my other brother, J.J. ever since. It was so good to get to meet Blake! After dinner, we went to my birth father's house and I got to see him for the second time in my life. We talked for quite a while, and he mentioned that he would really like to meet our boys, so we went back Sunday with Aaron and Austin so they could meet each other. The boys were SO worn out, so I'm not sure they got much out of that meeting, but I'm glad we had the chance to do that. It's really neat getting to know a side of your family that you never really knew much about. I'm kicking myself now for not getting pictures of them, but I think I just had so much going through my head at the time, I didn't think about it. I will remember next time for sure!

So, that's our weekend. And it was so good I'd really like an instant replay every weekend for the rest of the summer.

Well, everything but the maze...