Long Weekend

This past weekend we drove down to Dallas to spend time with family and enjoy some much needed change in scenery.

Preparations

Jon likes to joke about my over-packing: "You'd think we were going to be gone for a week!"  It's true, I tend to over-pack; but for the record, we used the nail clippers AND the baseball cap.

Box of raisins, swim diapers, extra clothes, two lovies for David, just in case.  All used.  All crammed into the back of our car along with the pack-n-play and shoes that wouldn't fit in the suitcase.

We briefed David all week about how we would be going down to Texas to see his cousins and to swim.   He was more excited once we actually saw the cousins and actually got to go swimming.

D did fairly well on the way down.  He napped for about an hour and then woke up, ready to GET OUT OF THE CAR.  So we stopped to get gas and run around for a bit.  BONUS: the gas station where we stopped had a cow truck parked in front of it.  Our son couldn't have asked for more--a giant truck full of cows to point at and identify.  We jumped back on the road and made it to our aunt and uncle's house before D had a total melt-down.

While We Were There

This is what happens in Dallas, you become blond, tan and aquatic.  
Clearly, this is neither of us, but this is how I felt.
But with more clothing and sunscreen.  And more pale.

Our family in Dallas is wonderful.  They are kind, and funny and welcoming.  I'm sorry to say that, even though I packed the camera, we didn't take a single picture.  Not one.  There are a few reasons for this:

1. We were keeping D from dismantling their home.  You know from experience, or from previous posts that our son is a curious boy.  Place him in a home with sprawling hardwood floors, faux grapes and curio cabinets and you're asking for trouble.  I think we all managed well though--nothing broken or damaged, just a few finger prints on windows and doors and an exhausted puppy.  Nothing that some rest and Windex can't fix.

2. We were really relaxed.  We intended to take pictures, but when your cool uncle offers you pool-side mojitos, you do not dry off to grab your camera and capture a moment.  Even though we spent a good deal of time chasing D around, we had a lot of time to catch up with family, swim, eat amazing food, and not think about work, school, or other stress.  

3.  We were having too much fun and other family members were taking pictures.  

While we were in Dallas, we kept things very low-key.  We visited places like:

In-N-Out.  Love.

Haven't had Potbelly since we last visited Dallas.  We used to frequent this place when we lived in DC.

We had a great visit and we ate entirely too much.

The Journey Back to Reality

The trip back home went as expected: we drove a little more than half way, David slept for about an hour, we took a break to run around Target and re-stock on snacks, and we made it back home around 5:00 on Sunday night.

Since we had done some diligence before we left, we were happy knowing that we would be coming home to a clean house.  There were a few surprises we didn't anticipate though:

Surprise 1: It was 88 degrees INSIDE our house.  At some point over the weekend, our air conditioner stopped working.  We stuck it out and made it to Monday, then decided that we couldn't take the heat (literally) and thanked our gracious friends for offering up their pool (thank you, Hannah!) and home (thank you, Hills!) to us.  Monday was full of more swimming and visiting with friends.  

We woke up early on Tuesday morning since Jon had to be at the hospital at 7:30 and made it back to our 78 degree home.  This is where we found Surprise 2: Jon's car had a flat tire.  

We made some quick decisions and decided that I would work remotely while Jon went to work and took the tire to be fixed.  

Both surprises but easy, and relatively inexpensive fixes.  It was a nice way to ease back into the week. 

We love vacations, even brief ones.  Thank you, friends and family for making it special and memorable.