Our Time In Texas

We are still in Texas for the rest of today, and will make our trip back to Gulfport tomorrow.  Even though the trip isn't quite finished, I need to go ahead and capture it here, otherwise I'm afraid it will get "lost" once we return home, back to the daily grind.

Monday, 8/27
I was super tired all day after arriving in TX late Sunday (actually, early Monday morning).  We just spend time at the house, and while Sydney napped I let Lorelei "unpack" one of the suitcases while I laid on the bed and watched her.  It was a great source of entertainment for her, and a chance for me to take a break from entertaining her!

When my mom (Didi) got home from work, I finally got out of my pajamas and we took the girls in the backyard so Sydney could swim.  My dad (Papa John) visited too.

Tuesday, 8/28
Tuesday I got out of my pajamas in the morning rather than 5:00 p.m., and the girls and I went to the mall so Sydney could play at the indoor playground.  Didi met us there during her lunch break, and we bought the girls cute Halloween shirts from the Gap (30% off!).

After Didi got home from work, I left the girls with her so I could go for a run.  There are 11 weeks left until the half marathon, and I am following the get-ready-in-12-weeks-for-a-half-marathon chart that I found in Runner's World magazine.  My assignment was to run 2 miles.  Simple!  Right?  Not so much...

I have been running on a treadmill at the gym up until this point.  It's too hot to run outside, and running at the gym works best for the girls' and my schedule.  But this day I decided to run outside since it was early evening and my mom was keeping the girls.  Wow.  I knew this already, but running outside vs. running inside makes a HUGE difference.  In a hard way.  As in, I was super winded after my meager two miles...yikes.  I had better start running outside for my workouts if I want to survive that race.

Wednesday, 8/29
Wednesday we had a lot of fun.  Didi and I took the girls to the Children's Museum of Houston.  That place is amazing.  There was a 3-year-old-and-under play area where we spent much of our time, but then we ventured out to the more "grown up" exhibits.  It was a little overwhelming, and I think Sydney is still a bit too young to fully appreciate most of the exhibits.  They certainly were cool though.  There was a veterinary clinic, "Wall Street", a bank, a grocery store, a cafe, a voting booth, and much more.

See Sydney's blurry hand trying to snatch the tea cup back from Lorelei?  Teaching a 2-year to share is not easy.

Wednesday evening we visited my friend Casey at her new house.  Casey and I have known each other since I was in fourth grade and she was in second grade; we grew up in the same neighborhood (she lived just one street over from us).  Her parents and my parents still live in the neighborhood, and until she moved just a few weeks ago, Casey did too (she had her own house in the neighborhood)!  Their new house is amazing, and I can't wait to see all of the improvements they do to make it their own!

Thursday, 8/30
Thursday I went running again, this time three miles.  We had plans to eat dinner with my dad Thursday evening, so my mom came home from work at lunch to watch the girls, and I went to the gym to run on the treadmill (yeah, yeah, I know what I said...but I surely wouldn't have survived had I ran outside at noon).

Lorelei had tons of fun playing with this stool on the floor Thursday afternoon while Syd napped. She scooted it all around the floor for at least 45 minutes, giving me the opportunity to wash dishes.

This video is a little long, but this is how Lorelei "crawls."

Sydney no longer fits in the Pack 'n' Play, so when we found out we were heading to TX to avoid Issac, my mom and I decided Sydney could sleep on the trundle bed in my old bedroom.  Then Chet and I decided that we might as well convert Sydney's crib to a toddler bed before returning to Gulfport (he's already done it...eek!).  She's done great in the bed though, thank goodness.

Here she is, just waking up from her nap Thursday. 

Thursday evening we ate with my dad at Humble Inn.  They have the best food...probably because they use actual lard to cook.  Here we are sitting outside the restaurant after eating.

Friday, 8/31
Hmm, what did we do Friday?  I can't remember...  Lorelei played on the kitchen table a little bit.

And Sydney and all the four-legged "children" cuddled with Papa Dave in the recliner.

At one point Lorelei was in the chair too...he's like the dog/cat/child whisperer.

Friday night is when Chet flew in to Houston to stay the weekend!  His flight was delayed, but he still arrived at a decent time (9:30 p.m. as opposed to 8:00 p.m...thank goodness we live super close to the airport).

Saturday, 9/1
Saturday Chet and I left the house to work out at the gym (Didi and Papa Dave watched the girls).  But the gym was closed (sort of...I work out at the hospital's fitness center when I'm in TX, but I've never taken the time to get a key card...so on Saturdays, when the fitness center is only open until noon, the outside door is usually locked and you can't get in unless you have a key card).  So we went to the mall instead, and got our exercise there (ha!).  We browsed the 10,000 different magazines Barnes and Noble carries (their magazine selection is crazy!  And makes me feel like I need to take on at least eight hobbies!), and then we walked the entire mall (not "mall walker" walking though, just regular walking.  Although we were in our workout clothes...), and ended up treating ourselves to Starbucks coffee before heading back to the house.  All that is equivalent to working out, right?!  (RIGHT?!)

After "working out" and before dinner I was able to leave to get a pedicure.  It goes unsaid that it was glorious.

Saturday evening we ate dinner at Pappasito's.  Oh, man, it is the best.  There was a mariachi band walking around, and they sang the "Chicken Dance" song to Sydney.  She was a little weirded out, but mostly enjoyed it.

She looks a little scared, doesn't she?



Rare family photo outside of the restaurant.

Sydney picked more flowers for me after dinner.  I'm sure many neighbors are wondering why their flower beds are looking sparse.

After the kids went to bed we watched "The Hunger Games" (finally!).  It was great.

Sunday, 9/2
This morning Didi and Papa Dave offered to watch the girls so Chet and I could see a movie, so we saw "The Dark Knight Rises" at 11:45 a.m.  We love going to the movies; Chet and I really need to find a regular babysitter so that we can go on dates regularly.

Right now Chet and Sydney are in the pool, and Lorelei is napping.  We may go to the huge Academy store after Lorelei wakes up, just to walk around and get out of the house.

We've had a great week in TX.  I think we've done more in one week than we do on our 2-3 week visits!