Texas

Texas...such a bitter sweet time. Actually we had a great time. It was just very difficult to be away from Charlie for that long. I guess a lot of the difficulty was that we are just not use to that. We don't really spend much time away from each other, and it was the first time that Jack was away from Charlie. We were gone for 10 days and I realize that is a long time. I have much more appreciation for single moms. What a difficult job. Aside from being away from Charlie we had a great time with family and having a chance to meet Moriah. It was such a blessing to be able to spend so much time with Kristen and Chris. I was also very grateful that Jack was able to spend time with them. I know that those times will be few and far between so we soaked up every moment. Of course most of the trip was spent drooling over Moriah, but we made a point to do a few things and get out of the house so the family could have some much needed rest.

The first Sunday we were there we went down to the stockyards in Fort Worth. It was Kristen's first big outing with Moriah, but she was a trooper. Well, they both were adn everything went great. We had true Texas BBQ. Jack ate all the french fries. He was not so sure about Briskett.

After lunch, we walked around a little while. Jack enjoyed seeing the horses, bulls, and of course watching all the people. He really had a great time.

One of the other outings we took was to the botanical gardens. It was a short trip while Kristen was busy. She had to get ready to take MOriah to the doctor. It was a pretty hot day and Jack did not last very long, but we were able to see the beautiful flowers and admire the turtles in the pond.

After looking at everything I took his shirt off and let him run in the grass. They was probably the best part of the day. He is like his mom and just does not like being hot.

One morning we tried to go to the park, but we did not choose the right time of day.

The last Saturday we were there we had a great day. Fort Worth always had a MayFest the first weekend of May each year. We decided to go. Kristen brought Moriah. We also had Mom, Dad, Heidi and eventually Mark and Julie. It was fun to walk around, have ice cream, see the sights and just be out. This day was probably the hottest, but Jack did amazing. I was so proud of him. He had two fans that he just kept waving back and forth. I took Jack into the petting zoo and he loved chasing the ducks and chickens around. He started to pet a donkey and realized it was alive. He quickly backed away from him. We had a great time, but you can tell we were hot.

That evening, after we gave the kids naps, and I got to babysit Moriah, we went to a true Texas Steakhouse. It was amazing. Charlie always tells me that a good steak is hard to beat, and in Texas that was true to form. We had amazing food and later great dessert to celebrate my birthday Texas style. Kristen did not want to miss celebrating my birthday. I had a great time with Chris, Kristen and Moriah. I miss them so much already and I am eagerly awaiting the next time I will get to see them. I am so thankful that Charlie sacrificed to allow Jack and I to have such a great time.