Here's a hint. An old BYU roommate and good friend of mine just happened to visit Allen, Texas - the town right next to where my parents live - last week. When she returned home we were texting about her trip and she admitted to understanding why we always go there. This is an exact quote "Texas is a great place. I do understand now, but it doesn't mean I won't be mad when you're there every five minutes and I'm here."
So yup, we were in Texas again. When planning Christmas/Christmas break we had a little dilemma. We really wanted to have our own Christmas at home but we knew it wouldn't be right if we didn't see our families around the holidays. If we had stayed in Utah for the entire two week break we would have been really bored (almost everyone we know was leaving for the holidays) and frozen. So two days after Christmas we flew to Texas.
Also I'm going to try and make this post not super long. I feel like they've all been really long lately and I'm 100% guilty of looking at someone's blog and then being too lazy to read it when it's more than a paragraph long.
Texas Vacation
We arrived in Texas on the 27th and it kinda felt like Christmas was still in the air. Both Grandma and Mim had presents waiting at their house so we made sure to do that first. Jack loved the microwave from Grandma and Grandpa and the helicopter from Mim. Luckily my Mom makes enough Christmas cookies to feed the state of Rhode Island, so by the time we arrived there were still some left. Jack quickly learned where they were and how to get them.
Aunt Lauren and Jack were finally together again after not seeing each other since August. Garrett and I loved seeing Lauren too but she never let us sit on her lap while she played our favorite songs on the piano. Lame. But we did make sure to go to Chickfila breakfast (a few times), watch the entire first season of New Girl (while laughing uncontrollably), and hang out with old friends.
Garrett and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary while we were there too. Woop! I chose some delicious and entertaining hibachi for dinner and Garrett chose the Mavericks game for the activity. Don't worry, Dirk high-fived us (for real) and Garrett made sure Dirk touched his shooting hand. It was magical.
We also went to Mooyah's for burgers and hot dogs to color on the chalk wall, practiced our balance beam skills with T, played tons of dice and board games and laughed at how hilarious it is to "elf" yourself.
BUT my very favorite thing we did was visit the new Perot Museum of Nature and Science in downtown Dallas. It is my favorite museum ever - and I've been to a lot of museums. If you are ever in Dallas, whether it's for a day or a month, you have to go there. You'll thank me for this recommendation.
Unfortunately, this was one of the last things we did and by the time we went Billy, Hannah and Garrett had already left for Utah. Don't worry, we'll be going back with them next time. Plus I really want to go with Hunter and Ethan, they would have a blast.
Unfortunately, this was one of the last things we did and by the time we went Billy, Hannah and Garrett had already left for Utah. Don't worry, we'll be going back with them next time. Plus I really want to go with Hunter and Ethan, they would have a blast.
The architecture of the museum is amazing inside and out.
First we went to the bottom floor to take Jack to the Children's Exhibit. As we walked down the stairs we realized the stairs were also a piano, so notes descended as we walked. (This was a very good sign of things to come) The children's section was awesome. It was set up to look like mini Dallas. There was a skyline of Dallas that doubled as an indoor playground, the Trinity River where kids were invited to play in the water, Trinity Park which had a mini camp site (fire pit, tent, picnic table, raccoons and all), the Dallas Farmer's Market to shop at, and throughout were cages of native animals to Texas. Jack could have stayed and played there the entire time.
Playing in the Trinity River, learning about nutrition at the Farmer's Market and hanging out in the tent.
Little did we know what else was in store. The other exhibit downstairs was the Sports Exhibit. Holy guacamole it was incredible. Outside of the exhibit was this interactive Sports Wall that would light up when you touched it. Once we were inside the Sports Exhibit I was immediately disappointed we hadn't come with Garrett. He would have loved it. There was one area where they record you either throwing a football, pitching a baseball, doing a cartwheel, etc. and then a computer slows down the recording and compares your form with a professional's. If Garrett had been there he would have done this over and over, but none of us wanted to wait in line.
Our favorite part of the exhibit was the track. It was two lanes next to a long television screen where you could race a cheetah, a T-rex, Felix Jones (a Dallas Cowboys football player), or gymnast Emily Richardson. It's even cooler than it sounds. I convinced Lauren that we had to do this, and she agreed but only if we raced the cheetah. Her reasoning was that it isn't embarrassing to loose to a cheetah, which makes sense I guess. After Lauren and I raced Jack really wanted to race too, and he was only interested in racing the football player. He is his Father's son. The first time we raced Jack was a little nervous and wanted to be held until we started running. The second time we raced he was totally into it; he got down on the starting line and when the buzzer went off Jack ran all the way to the finish line and then cheered for himself. It was adorable. Lauren was supposed to be recording it, but she apparently wasn't recording when she thought she was. Good one, Lauren.
Our favorite part of the exhibit was the track. It was two lanes next to a long television screen where you could race a cheetah, a T-rex, Felix Jones (a Dallas Cowboys football player), or gymnast Emily Richardson. It's even cooler than it sounds. I convinced Lauren that we had to do this, and she agreed but only if we raced the cheetah. Her reasoning was that it isn't embarrassing to loose to a cheetah, which makes sense I guess. After Lauren and I raced Jack really wanted to race too, and he was only interested in racing the football player. He is his Father's son. The first time we raced Jack was a little nervous and wanted to be held until we started running. The second time we raced he was totally into it; he got down on the starting line and when the buzzer went off Jack ran all the way to the finish line and then cheered for himself. It was adorable. Lauren was supposed to be recording it, but she apparently wasn't recording when she thought she was. Good one, Lauren.
Grandma, Jack and I racing Felix Jones - obviously he beat us because he isn't even on the screen anymore.
I really could write an entire blogpost just about this museum. There was just so much stuff to do and look at, you could probably spend 10 hours there. There was everything there from dinosaurs, gems and minerals, animals, music, geology, energy, birds, bodies, engineering, chemistry and planets.
Of course we can't go to Dallas and not stop at The Cupcakery, it's totally our favorite.
Another successful trip to Texas has come and gone. As of right now there are no trips planned for the future, so if you're sick of reading about us going to Texas you'll get a break for a little. We will miss our family, good thing we have FaceTime capabilities!
Well I failed at making this a short blogpost. Sors.
