This year I suggested to my parents that I might look into flying to Midland for my break and visit everyone there. With in the next two days I got a call back from my mom saying that they needed to know when I wanted to come because they were going to pay for my plane tickets. We worked the details out and it was set... I would spend 6 days traveling to Texas and seeing home again.
School was out on Thursday and I had to work till noon on Friday. As soon as I got home I packed and prepared for this trip. I was quite anxious. A mix of both good and bad anxiety. The good was ... seeing family and friends (including my teacher friends that I hadn't seen since the wedding!!) and the bad came from the fear of being away from Andrew for 6 days. We haven't been apart more than 4 days since we got married. I know I know... I'm a sap but you kinda get use to having each other around! Well the good news is that we survived. Both of us were so busy that it was hard to get lonely.
I left late Saturday evening and headed to Dallas. My Ettie, uncle Dustin and little cousins Emma and Ben live there. Emma and Ben are only 7 and (almost) 10. This had made our relationship much different than typical cousins. They are more like my niece and nephew and I love it. I don't have any real nieces or nephews yet so they are my 'trial run'! I get to practice my spoiling on them and then be a pro when I get my own. It also makes me happy that they will be able to do the same for my kids when they come around. Ettie (my aunt) and I have a special relationship. I have looked up to her for as long as I can remember. Some of my earliest memories involve sitting on the bathroom counter watching her do her make up. She was only 15 when I was born and as far as I was concerned... she was the coolest chick I knew. It is fun to be with her and her kids and play "aunt" to them.
One of my reasons for stopping in Dallas first was to get a lesson in cookie decorating. I have inherited my Ettie's famous sugar cookie recipe. It is amazing and so delish!! (However, it is quite TOP SECRET ... so don't even ask!) I got my lessons and feel very accomplished! I made a batch this weekend and even my cookies taste better this time.
Cookies that we made and decorated. They were taste tested by Ben... he approved!
(after all, who cares what they look if they don't taste good!)
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| Poor Emma. The night I got there she had an allergic reaction to something. She had such a good attitude through it all. It broke my heart to see her so miserable. By the time I left on Monday she was showing some improvements and I think was better by the end of the week. The sweet girl has learned well though... she knew how to milk it!! |
Oh the food in Texas!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Texas food. I had In-N-Out Burger, Steak and Shake, Labodega, Taco Villa (2 times) and Rosas... those are only a few of the wonderful things I had. That doesn't include momma's cooking!
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On the way to Midland from Dallas, Brandon and I were on the same flight. It was scheduled to leave around 6:30 (I think) that night. Well at about 11 that night after many delays we were told that it MIGHT leave around 1 am. We didn't want to risk it so we booked a hotel and stayed an extra night. There are several things that I should note about this leg of my adventure.
1. My little brother, who I use to taking care of... making decisions for ... buying dinners... well he stepped up and took care of EVERYTHING! I didn't have to go check our flight status once! When we needed to get a hotel he booked it. When I needed coffee (which was often) he got it. When my tummy hurt, he got me Rolaids. When I wanted to cry, he made me laugh. When I was HYPER from lack of sleep and singing my silly songs... he rolled his eyes and did his darndest to put a smile on his face!
2. My brother paid for almost everything...
3. My brother is awesome.
4. My brother and I are NOTHING alike ... thus why we had a BLAST being stuck in the rain.
5. We 'hailed a taxi' to go to Wal-Mart to get this needy sister some essentials ... he paid for the ride and I bought him some sleep pants... but we experienced our first taxi ride together... best part was the driver was from somewhere in Africa and we couldn't understand a THING he said! it was priceless!!
6. My brother's BRAND NEW iPad fell out of his lap and busted as we were getting off the shuttle. He didn't realize it was busted till we were back from Wal-Mart. He handled it like a man! I would have thrown myself under the next shuttle. (PS.He had a brand spanking new one 3 days later!)
7. If ever I'm to get stuck in any airport or town... I hope he is close by! We have now officially moved from being siblings to being friends! I'm a lucky girl!
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| If you show up at our house in the evening and there are 4 people there (if I'm there at least) we will be playing cards. It is how we hang out. It keeps the TV off and conversation flowing... it is almost a right of passage in our house! |
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| This was lunch right before mom took me to the airport. The week was a JOY. I can't wait to go back this summer and spend more time with everyone! |
The week was perfect... it started out rough with the flight delays and such but it was such a joy spending extra quality time with Brandon. I can't wait to go back at the end of the summer!!
