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Our last summer vacation is coming to an end. Tonight we head east out of Texas and school officially starts this week too! 

But, not yet! We still have all day!!

Since we got in so late we slept the morning away. We finally got up and just let the kids play for a few hours. Then we headed to Teskey’s Ryanna’s favorite cowboy store. She tried on boots and belts but nothing quite worked. 

Then we got to the toy section! Bows and Arrows! 

Once they had their weapons, we headed to lunch, again at Taco Casa and then off to the pool! 

So much fun, we all got a little more sun, they got to use a diving board, which they loved and have a blast with Jack. 

Next stop! 

Yogurt Story! 🍦 

Then it was back home to play some more, pack the car and of course stop the ice cream man! 

Such a great visit! I hate to see it end. Leaving family is always so hard. 

Family forever, for always, no matter what! 

We turned our car eastward and headed out of Texas after a quick dinner at In – N – Out! 🍔

This morning Alan and I got up early and headed to meet up with our best friends for coffee. They are moving to San Antonio and happened to be here house hunting while we were here. I was so glad we could get together even for a moment. 

When we left we ran by the hotel and picked everyone up and then we were off to Sea World again!! 

We went straight to the Shamu show. It was already 100 degrees and we were ready to get soaked by an 8,000 lb. orca!! 

It was such an awesome show! The kids soaked up every minute! At the end of the show, the trainer called the kids to the aisle and I stood up to film them as they signaled to the Orca to splash them. It was awesome until I got nailed over and over again…I honestly thought I was over far enough…nope! Alan and Staci were, I most certainly wasn’t! 

💦Soaked💦

After this show we headed out for another show! The beluga whale show. This show was pretty funny because the belugas decided not to perform. They just swam around not doing anything the trainers wanted. They eventually had to move on and get the dolphins out. 🐬

Next stop was roller coasters! Ryanna had seen advertisements for the newest coaster, Wave Breaker and she was so excited to ride it. Daddy and her headed out! 

She had her hands up the entire ride! She was so brave. While she and Alan waited in line we took Jack and Bree to see the penguins and puffins! 

When they were done we ran on to a sea lion show and were able to feed them afterwards.  That was so much fun. 

They fought over who would get each fish and sometimes the smaller ones would sneak in at the last minute and snag the fish in the air! 

Now Ryanna wanted to try a bigger and faster coaster before we left so her and Daddy headed to the Steel Eel! While the littles headed to the Shamu Express! 

This one Alan said was much faster and higher…she held on the entire time. 😱

Bree and Jack rode their roller coaster six times, it was just perfect for them!

About this time a front was rolling in, and the weather cooled off to a brisk 99! So we decided to grab our suits and head to Aquatica again to cool off. 

We played in the sand and the lazy river then it was off to dinner. Such a fabulous day! 

We had quite a drive ahead of us home, we had extended our stay about 4 hours longer than we had planned because we were having so much fun. Eveyone promptly fell asleep in the car, while the mommies drove home. The Lord protected us when an oncoming driver came into our lane and He got us safely home after 1 in the morning. 😴

We woke up bright and early! ☀️ Ok, not really, we all kind of rolled out of bed, minutes before breakfast closed downstairs and ran down! 

But then, we were ready! Sea World Aquatica here we come! 

After a lengthy ticket line we were all ready to get in the water! We had such a blast, we closed the place down being the last riders on the body slides. 

When we first arrived though we were so hot and sweaty from standing in line that we went straight to the lazy river. The place was starting to fill up so we floated around before we checked out rides. 

Then it was off to explore the park…little did we know the park hit maximum capacity and had to be closed to anyone else…it was one of the busiest days they have ever had! But, you know us, we made the absolute best of spending the day with 5,000 people! 

Our first rides were tube slides…I was terrified! Jack and Ry rode the toilet bowl together, Staci and Bree the purple tube and Alan and I followed behind them. Such a great time! Then it was off to wallahalla wave! Yowza it looked scary…at first 4 of us bowed out, but Daddy talked Bree into going with him and Ry. She loved it! 

Our next stop was the stingray pond! We had reservations to wade in to touch and feed the stingrays!! 

Bree was terrified!!! But she did it, with a lot of prodding from daddy and mommy. She didn’t go out far, but she went a little. 

Then it was off to stingray falls! 

So much fun!!! 

When we got off stingray falls it was 8:02…the park closed at 8, we didn’t think we had time to hit the body slides but the lifeguard had not closed the ride so off we went!!! We all picked a partner and raced down! 

Bree beat Mommy, Jack beat Ryanna and Daddy beat Aunt Staci! 

Aquatica was amazing! Such a great day in the water! 

We had free meals in the park so since Aquatica was closed we walked over to Sea World for dinner at the Smokehouse. BBQ pork and Chicken! 

The perfect ending to the day!! 

We love coming to visit Texas! We have so many favorite places and things to do we always have to find time to squeeze them in! 

I woke up before everyone else and ran to Starbucks! Somehow I don’t have a Texas cup! 

I do now! 

So today Alan had to do some work so we had some time to kill before we could head to Waco and San Antonio. What should we do??? 

Central Market!!!!! 

We all love to come here, when we left Alan said bring me back something good! I know he hated to miss it! We took the short trip into Fort Worth and then off we went! 

Lunch! They have so many fresh foods to order here that our favorite part is lunch. 

🍓🍅🥖🥐🥙🍱🍣🍪🍩🍭☕️🍽

We sampled sushi, got olives, had Brie cheese, goat cheese, pimento cheese, pesto, fresh tortillas and Fort Worth kombucha!! 😱 A feast, and that was just me!! 

And then there is the bulk candy section…definitely the kids favorite place!! 

We headed back home because if we didn’t hurry Waco would be a wash! 

We packed the car and off we went, the GPS said we would arrive 20 minutes before it closed. 

We made it!!!! 

We had a game plan though because they closed both the store and bakery line at 6, and we could not be in the same place twice so we divided and conquered! Super dad Alan took all the kids and waited in the bakery line. This gave Staci and I some mommy time to shop! 

So worth the wait! The Silobration cupcake was amazing! 

Shopping is so fun, I’m not a huge fan of the show, mostly because I really haven’t seen it! However, their Christian testimony makes me want to give them my support and what better way than to shop all their amazing things!! 

Staci took great pics of me in the store checking everything out. She made sure I got the full experience even though we were only there an hour! 

Meanwhile, Alan and the kids had retrieved the cupcakes and were enjoying the time outside with nobody else around! Every picture I’ve seen of this place people are everywhere. 

Not today! 

I made a few purchases, but what I really wanted was one of the metal signs they feature on the show. Those you have to purchase at the front counter so I made a mental note to get it when I checked out… and forgot! 

We were outside snapping this pic…

When I realized I had forgotten it. So I rushed back, hoping the armed cop at the front door would show mercy on me! I told him my sob story and he did!!!! He let me back in!!!! There was no one else inside but the front desk guy. He happily got me my sign and booted back up the iPad for me to check out. 

😍LOVE😍

Crisis averted! Back to pictures! 

We had such a good time, full of memories and it only took an hour and 20 minutes! 

We still had a few hours to drive to San Antonio, so we got back in the car, got dinner and headed out…a target stop later and we were there! 

Sleepy time! 😴

We headed out early! We had a good 8 hrs ahead of us today. 

On of my favorite things about driving is all the big cities we come to. I use the word BIG loosely because today, the “BIG” cities consisted of Vicksburg, MS, Shreveport, LA, and Dallas, TX. None of which really compare to BIG cities, like NYC or Chicago but nonetheless they are big compared to the trees and flat lands we drove through. 

Vicksburg is a city located right on the Mississippi River, I believe it is only a “big” city because of its history in our nations civil war. Regardless, after a few hours of nothing, driving through Vicksburg was a welcome sight. A few fast food restaurants and then we crossed the Mississippi! I made the girls turn off their TV and look because I think they need to see America! 🇺🇸

Shreveport is a much bigger town then Vicksburg, but I drove though it so I don’t have any pictures. It has tall hotels and a good bit of traffic considering we have had none since we left Atlanta. Again I made the girls look up and see the city. One I know they have driven through a hundred times but still, I wanted them to look! I ❤️ cities! 😉

Next up was Dallas, really we could just see it in the distance because we take the freeway south of the city, but there it was! I always know when I can finally see we are close! Texas has In N Out so I had to get a little snack before we arrived and we needed a potty stop, it was perfect! 

These are animal style fries, French fries, covered in grilled onions, smothered in melted cheese, and (insert another Waffle House word) with special sauce. They are delicious, but probably a heart attack waiting to happen! 

So, in an attempt to be mildly healthy I had water! 🤣 

We made it safe and sound! We had dinner with Staci’s family and enjoyed our time together…with a late snack of Taco Casa and then Big Brother! 

Families are like branches on a tree, you grow in different directions but your roots remain the same.

Our newest niece was born this week, and we find ourselves in a car headed in the opposite direction of holding her. Why? Because our nephew is also waiting to see us who lives on the complete other side of the country from the newest niece.

Our hearts were bummed when the littlest decided not to be born early and then went so far as to be born a week late. Our window to visit her before our Texas trip had closed. It’s times like these when being a Faraway Aunt and Uncle is no fun at all. Arriving at Christmas with boatloads of toys or sending surprise packages in the mail, those are the fun Faraway Aunt & Uncle times!

However, that’s how life goes when your family is spread far and wide!

So Texas here we come!!

We had very little traffic heading out of Atlanta which I was super grateful for. The girls and I had the car packed and the house cleaned by 2. We were anxiously awaiting Daddy to get home from work! We left around 6:30, excited to be on our way. Texas holds some of our favorite places, our favorite food, and our family!

Family isn’t whose blood you carry. It’s who you love and who loves you!

We did well traveling, although when it came time to find a hotel, we couldn’t! It was crazy that we couldn’t really find anything where we wanted to stay. Small town Mississippi was busy! We ended up actually having to stop an hour and half earlier than we had planned because that’s where there was room in the inn! 😜

It’s a good thing too, because we were tired!

My expert travelers! They do so good, wherever we go, but their favorite places to visit are homes to their cousins.

We parted ways last night, we needed to leave early to get home and the others needed sleep then they would head out. 

5:30 am rang bright and early and we just couldn’t do it. 30 minutes later we rolled out of bed and were in the car by 6:30.  The sun was just rising as we drove out of Conway, AR. 

We had an uneventful first hour and then were able to stop on the side of the road and see Uncle Johnnie! His crew just happened to be working right off the freeway we were driving on! 

After a short stop with Uncle Johnnie we headed out again! 

Alan finally found a souvenir he wanted…from his favorite gas station. 

❤️ Love’s ❤️

That’s about all folks! We had an amazing trip, full of tons of memories. 

It’s so good to be home! 

The puppies sure are happy we are home! 

Until next time! 

To travel is to live!

The day I have been waiting for has arrived!!! 

I got the girls up super early this morning, 6:30 am! We left daddy at the hotel and we headed to the Pioneer Woman’s Mercantile! 

We made it!! We got there 40 minutes after it opened and didn’t even have to wait in line for breakfast. The line usually has a four hour wait later in the day. 

Ryanna and I shared the Cattlemans Breakfast, steak and eggs it was so good. Bree got Ree’s cinnamon roll.  We also got coffee, Ryanna got the spicy cowgirl coffee…it was spicy!! 

Next stop shopping!!! 

So much fun, so many things too look at! I got salt and pepper shakers, bowls, measuring cups, clothes, hats, a purse, and plastic wrap! So awesome!! 

The boys arrived after we had shopped for a few hours and it was time for lunch. We opted for the dine and go and ate upstairs in the bakery. 

Meatballs, pot roast, mac n cheese, mashed potatoes, alasagna and sandwiches!! All topped with fruit flavored lemonade and sweet tea!! 

A wonderfully successful trip! I feel like we experienced everything there was to offer! If only PawPaw had come in! 

After such a great morning and afternoon we had about 5 hours in the car for our next stop…unfortunately this trip is coming to an end and we gotta get a little closer to home. 

We traveled through Oklahoma into Arkansas! 

Arkansas had the best rest area we have seen so far on this trip! 

Tomorrow we go home…🏡 

Another early morning wake up call again today. I’m pretty much killing everyone with our crazy schedule, but we have done so much. It’s been awesome! (Not sure if they will ever volunteer to vacay with me again!) 😜

We started in Taos and had to make our way over the Rockies and into the Plains. It was 51 degrees, a far cry from the 121 degrees a week earlier in Phoenix. 

Taos ➡️ Eagles Nest ➡️ Cimmaron ➡️

 We crossed over the summit of the Rockies at 9,110 ft and in the clouds! It was so beautiful! 

Raton ➡️ Grenville ➡️ Clayton ➡️ 

We came down into the plains, a vast difference from the mountains we’ve been in! We started seeing tons of antelope in the fields around us.

We had to stop for goodies by this time! 

 Then we left New Mexico and entered Oklahoma…we have almost the entire state to go through today. 

Felt, OK ➡️ Boise City ➡️ Guymon ➡️ Hooker 

We also crossed at the most northwest tip of Texas and had to take Melissa to Texas! 

Texas!! 

We were 10 miles from Kansas so we made a hard left!! 5 out of 11 of us have never been there so we had to put our feet in the state! 

Liberal, KS ➡️ Knowles, OK ➡️ Buffalo ➡️ Alva 

Medford ➡️ Jefferson ➡️ Pond Creek ➡️ Ponca City➡️ 

The kids are being troopers! We decided to get out of the car for awhile in Ponca City and have dinner at Chili’s. 

We were about an hour from our hotel and everyone is done! I decided to play a game with the kids similar to Cash Cab, with questions all about our trip…needless to say I am out a few bucks, but the kids loved riding in the Paying Pilot! 

Pawhuska➡️

We sailed through Pawhuska and saw the lights of the Pioneer Woman’s Mercantile! I am so excited to come back in the morning! 

We finally reached our destination of Bartlesville at 11:00 in the evening. It started raining on us about 20 miles before we arrived. We had left Taos at 7:40am, 15 hrs later we had arrived! 

Jason and I drove the entire day! We rocked the 15hr drive! 

Such a long day, but tomorrow is the day I’ve been waiting for!!! The Mercantile! 

We woke up in the morning and headed out for Taos! We only have a few hours to drive because we are planning on spending the day in Taos. 

Alan woke up this morning with his ankle throbbing. He said he hurt it at slide rock, so he had to be bandaged up and medicated. We are praying he heals quickly. 

Our drive was beautiful through the foothills of the Rockies. We passed through Abique, and by this beautiful lake. This is the setting for some stories on CD the girls listen to, so they were excited to see the small town! 

Off to the Rio Grande!! I was so excited about this part of the trip. I couldn’t wait to see the Rio Grande Gorge from 650 ft. up! 

It was so worth it! Unbelievable!!

The North side of the bridge! 

The Southern side of the bridge! 

It was such a beautiful view, I told Alan I would have bungee jumped off of the bridge…he didn’t think I would have done it! 😱

While we were on the bridge, we saw movement down on the rocks. We were so excited to see a little family of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep! 

After watching the family make their way down to the water we left and traveled over the bridge to Taos. Right after the bridge were 5 rams! Unbelievable!!! We weren’t able to get a picture of those big guys but they were beautiful! We have seen so much wildlife on this trip!! 

We pulled into Taos in time for lunch and feasted at Doc Martins on Blue corn pancakes, blue corn enchiladas, and huevos rancheros! It was so delicious…Alan had a burger. 🍔

Then it was off to shop, we found so many beautiful/souvenir things. We had a great time shopping, Alan hobbled around and then finally settled on sitting in the square as we walked around. He’s taken it easy all day so he seems to be doing better. 

Taos shopping center!

Our last stop for the day was to actually touch the Rio Grande! 

It was super cold! But we did it!!

Everything in Taos seems to close up early so we had dinner at Wendy’s! 

We ended the day with a beautiful sunset after a rain storm! 

 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.