Around the World...or at Least Texas

Brad's brother and sister-in-law had their third baby, Noah, mid-March. He wasn't due until the end of April, when I would no longer have been able to travel. So, we were so excited that he came early and we jumped on the chance to go see him. Brad was already headed to Dallas for one of his Corps buddies weddings, so we decided to turn it into a week long ordeal, ummm, I mean vacation. ;) (WARNING: this is a very long post, to just get the gist you can scroll through the pictures and skip all the words... :) )

Our first stop was Dallas on Friday night. We got into town in time to make it to the last few innings of Ben's teams baseball game. It was so hot, but Addison had so much fun running around and playing. She was the dirtiest little girl by the team we left the baseball field and went to the Cheesecake Factory (yum!!). I've never been to the Cheesecake Factory when we have all been so hot and sweaty, but I'm glad that that didn't make us change our dinner destination, because it was soooo good! Ben and Jen were such great hosts and even babysat Addison for us on Saturday afternoon/evening while Brad and I went to his buddies wedding. Addison had so much fun that she actually woke up on Sunday morning at 6a.m. saying, "Ben, ben, ben". Haha, she loves her Uncle Ben, and Aunt Jen, too! :)

Addison with Uncle Ben and Aunt Jen at the baseball field.

Checking out the field with Uncle Ben.
Brad with all of his buddies at the wedding.

On our way out of town on Sunday we stopped and had breakfast with Katie (my college roommate) and her husband Jarrod, and got to see their new beautiful home. It was sooo good to see her and get to catch up, and Addison loved the blueberry pancake balls that she served and getting to run around their house.

We then headed to Austin, but stopped and had a late lunch with some of our Waco friends, the Mitchells. They had a little boy just a few weeks before Addison was born, and it was fun to get to see these two together. We wish we still lived close so that they could grow up together! But, hopefully we can keep getting together with them at least once a year...especially since

they let us know they are going to have a little playmate for our newest little girl by this fall! :)

Hunter giving Addison a sweet hug, how cute is this face?!The best picture of the two of them actually looking at the camera.

High five!

We finally made it to Austin on Sunday evening and got to spend the night with Janelle and Tim and get to see their new beautiful home. I can't believe I didn't get any pictures of Janelle and Tim with Addison...but in my defense I was getting a little tired at this point...not to mention the size of my ankles... We had such a fun time for the few hours we were there. Tim cooked wonderful hamburgers and we spent most of the evening in their backyard which Addison loved because she could run around and explore while we ate and talked and laughed.

Daddy giving Addison a "ride" as we once again loaded up the car to head to our next destination.

Before we left Austin, we met one of Brad's college roommates, Robert, for lunch. Addison immediately took to him, calling him "Robbie," and wanting him to hold her. We ate some yummy Freebirds burritos and got to catch up for just a bit. Then, it was back in the car for the drive to San Antonio.

We arrived in San Antonio early Monday evening and spent that evening, Tuesday and half of the day Wednesday playing with the big kids and loving on little Noah. It was so much fun to get to meet little Noah. Addison adored her cousin Ben and would just laugh and laugh at pretty much anything he did. And if Ben was dancing, she wanted to be dancing. If Ben was running, she wanted to be running. It was so cute to see her in that kind of a dynamic. And, she was completely fine with baby Noah. I have been a bit concerned about how Addison was going to handle mommy holding a new baby all the time. And while I still think there will be hard moments, I don't think it will be as bad as I thought. Addison was so interested in Noah, wanting to touch his little bitty toes, and kiss his forehead, and hold him...she just might like her baby sister after all. :) On Wednesday, Brad and I took all three kids to the park, and then to lunch at Chick-fil-a. Whew! It was quite the adventure. Getting three kids ready to go pretty much took all morning, and then keeping three kids happy and together while we were out and about, not to mention getting three kids into carseats, was an all new experience. I'm glad we are going from one to two, and not from one to three...I would feel a bit overwhelmed! Here are some pictures from the park. I could never get all three of them together and looking at the camera at the same time...oh well.

Addison loving being in the swing.

Addison and Grace cheesing in the swings.

This is one of the attempts to get all three together. Addison was VERY upset that we stopped her swing to take this picture...as you can see. ;)

I added up the hours, and we spent a grand total of eighteen hours traveling in the car. Needless to say, between the hours in the car, sleeping in a pack-n-play, in three different houses, seeing an overload of people all wanting her attention, and late nights, Addison was a trooper! We were all very glad to finally make it home, and for my ankles to return to normal size!! But, we were also so glad we got to see so many people we loved in such a short amount of time. We truly are so blessed!!