Trip to Texas, part one!

For about six months we have had a trip planned to go to Texas the day after Christmas.  We planned this trip to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday.  So my brother and his family, my sister and her fiance, and my family all made plans to be in Arlington this past week and have a week of adventures with my mom.  The day after Christmas we were up at 3:30am to catch our 6:00am flight to Dallas.  The girls went in their pajamas and we landed in Dallas at 8:30am.

We tried to sleep the first hour and then gave up and watched the Kindle and had snacks.

Caroline was my seat buddy for our flight to Dallas.

It was very early and very dark outside.

The sun finally caught up to us around 8:00am.

On Tuesday, the 26th, we spent most of the day at my grandmother's house with a quick trip to the grocery store to grab breakfast foods and snacks.

That night we took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese.

My mom was supposed to go (it was her first birthday week activity) but she was really sick with pneumonia and had to stay in bed.  She treated all of us to an evening at Chuck E Cheese and we took her picture with us.  

Elizabeth holding up a picture of Ga-Ga with her four granddaughters

We took a break from games to enjoy some pizza.

Again, a picture with Ga-Ga.

These girls had the best time together all week!

Elizabeth (5), Annalise (2), and Caroline (3)

Time for more games!

On Wednesday, the 27th, we headed to McKinney, Texas for a day of fun!

I read several blogs written by ladies in McKinney and thought it would be fun to check out some of their favorite places.  All our kids had a BLAST at all our stops and I enjoyed seeing the town I have read about so much!

I'm so silly, but I had to take a picture that said 'McKinney'.

I sent it to my friend Liz because she reads several of the same blogs. :)

First stop- PlayStreet Museum McKinney!

Andrea from Momfessionals highly recommended making a stop at PlayStreet and I am so glad we did.  All three big girls had a blast and played non-stop for two hours.  We finally had to drag them out so we could go to lunch.

I thought this giant 'Lite-Brite' was the coolest!

Ben and I are now talking about getting Elizabeth a Lite-Brite for her birthday.

Kinda blurry, but the girls loved playing inside this space shuttle.

Both girls played with these foam beads for a long time.

Caroline's favorite thing was to make a birthday cake and sing happy birthday to different people.

Elizabeth liked making a snowman!

The last 30 minutes, Elizabeth discovered the arts and crafts table.

She made cards for people, glued papers, and enjoy stenciling.

Annalise and Caroline LOVED the Lite-Brite!

Selfie with my big girl :)

The girls also loved the sweets shop!

They spent A LOT of time serving up sweet treats

And it was called Caroline's! :)

After playing at PlayStreet, we headed to another recommendation, Spoons Cafe located on the historic McKinney Square.  They had great service, amazing food, and the kids had a blast coloring, talking to other kids, and eating delicious food!

The girls were hard at work on their coloring pages

They stayed occupied all through lunch (win-win for the parents!)

After lunch, I had a surprise for everyone- we walked over to Mom and Popcorn.  

Ben and the girls had no idea where we were going and I loved surprising them with the candy and popcorn store!  Ben sampled several types of popcorn before settling on a bag and the girls each picked out two treats to enjoy later on our trip.  I grabbed a few chocolate covered almonds.  Yum!

After Mom and Popcorn we headed over to Emporium Pies to grab a pie to take home for dessert.  My mom couldn't make the trip to McKinney (because of her pneumonia) so we thought she would enjoy having a little taste of McKinney back at her house in Arlington.  We bought the 'Smooth Operator' which is French Silk Chocolate with a Pretzel Crust- so good!!

Walking back to our car and we had to get a picture in front of the GIANT tree on the McKinney square.  I guess everything is bigger in Texas. :)

Wednesday night, I was taking a picture of my Grandmother's 50+ years working GE oven when Ben decided to photo bomb me.  I cannot believe this oven is original to the house and still works!

Thursday morning I went for a quick run and had to represent my Gamecocks!

Shortly after this photo was taken we decided to go to the movies.

Ben and Andy were going to see Star Wars while Lolly and I took the girls to see Ferdinand.

Unfortunately; Andy, Lolly, and Annalise were in a horrible car accident on our way to the movies.

Thankfully, Emi, my seven-week-old-niece was at the house with my Grandmother.

The rest of the day was spent talking to police and insurance companies, getting a rental car, and my brother and sister-in-law trying to recover from the accident, get everything from their totaled car, and take a bit to regroup after that horrifying experience.

My brother broke his hand and Lolly has horrible bruises from being pushed into the side of the car.

 

Andy, Lolly, and Annalise will be ok but could definitely use your prayers.

Our week got more interesting after this and I will share the rest tomorrow.