Lovin' Texas

 I was super happy we were able to take a trip to visit my Grandma Chipman, my great Aunt Bebe, my Aunt Leslie, and Uncle Oliver in Dallas, Texas. I haven't been down there in forever and I haven't seen my grandma since Daniel and I got married. My mom, Spencer, Daniel, Sophie, and I all flew down there for a week. I was nervous about travelling with Sophie--the fear of the unknown, of course. She did really well, no major fits and slept a little on the both flights. More than anything else I wish we had packed lighter (even though we used most everything we brought) because it was very cumbersome hauling all that luggage and a baby. We probably would have ended up forgetting a piece of luggage somewhere if my mom and brother hadn't been watching out for us.

 We got there Friday afternoon and met my Grandma at her house. We swam (as we did every day!) and then had dinner. Saturday my mom, Aunt Bebe, and Grandma spent the entire day quilt shopping--Dallas has quite a few shops that they like to frequent. That left Spencer, Daniel and I up to our own devices. We headed out to the Cowboys football stadium. It is the largest domed building in the world. It's enormous. You could fit many small Idahoan towns inside it. The tour we went on was pretty basic. They just let you wander around the field, locker room, press room, and a few other places. It was really cool to be on the field just imaging how crazy it would be to look up and see the whole stadium full of people. They also had Cowboys cheerleaders signing autographs, you could have your picture taken with the Superbowl trophies, and a couple other little stations to check out. We also could run out of the tunnel the players run out on the field from and it was kind of fun to watch the door automatically open up as you ran towards it. Silly, I know. But we had a good time. And of course, we saw the largest TV on the planet (I think), it's enormous to say the least.

 

 After that we went shopping at some great outlets near Grandma's house. We did lots of shopping. Then we headed back to go swimming again. That night we ate at Catfish Sam's---a little hole in the wall place that Spencer and I remember fondly because our great-grandpa Ulrich took us there before he passed away. Spencer and Daniel were the only ones to get catfish, but I did at least try it.

After days and weeks of hunting I finally found a swimsuit at Bloomingdale's Outlet

 Sunday we went to church, then drove over to my Uncle Oliver's to have dinner with everyone. It was really fun [and tasty] and so good to see everyone. I got to meet my little cousins I haven't even met yet. They are so sweet.

 Monday we went to the Forth Worth Stockyards. It was similar to Jackson Hole with more cattle. Lots of cowboys and cute little shops. We saw some longhorn cattle and checked out the largest bar in America, Billy Bob's. It was a Monday in the middle of the afternoon we pretty much had the place to ourselves. They have lots of cool country paraphernalia, a huge dance floor, multiple bars, and a small area to ride live bulls. While in the stockyards my mom bought Sophie some cutesy little cowgirl boots.



Sophie kept sticking the gun in her mouth--barrel first--yikes. :)

We had to get a picture because of the insane amount of kisses all over Blake Shelton's handprints.

 Tuesday was the anniversary of the death of my sweet Grandpa Chipman. I remember him as a happy, friendly, lovable grandpa. We visited his gravesite and then had lunch with Grandma, Bebe, Leslie, and Peyton. We hit up the outlets one more time and Sophie got spoiled rotten with a new fall wardrobe. Then back home to swim and hang out. Wednesday was an exciting day. For his birthday Daniel got tickets for us to go to the Rangers vs. Pirates game while we were in Texas. Rangers Ballpark is a beautiful park and our seats were AMAZING. Nine rows back from first base. Unfortunately the game was during the heat of the day and Sophie did not like it. I spent most of the game walking around with her in the shade and in the air conditioned shops and kids center. I kept trying to go back to the game, but she hated the loud clapping and yelling and she was getting so red from the sun. At one point I nursed her in the kid's area where they had a playground and the A/C was blasting nice and cool. She fell asleep in my arms and there I sat in a chair shaped like a baseball glove watching the game on a TV. Sure it wasn't how I expected to spend four innings of the game, but she was so much happier afterwards. We rejoined the fam and watched the last two innings. Right after the game it downpoured so we got out of there just in time. Then we hit up the pool to cool down from our toasty game.

Thursday we went on our foodie adventure. The whole trip we were hunting for some extra tasty food---either Tex Mex or BBQ. My Uncle Oliver suggested the Pecan Lodge at the Dallas Farmer's Market. We headed down there at ten, no one was in line so we walked around for a half hour, came back and the line had started up (they don't open until 11). We got some dang good BBQ.

Then we walked around the Grassy Knoll in downtown Dallas. Then we headed home to cook up dinner for everyone. We had so much fun hanging out with everyone. It was a great vacation. I want to go back already. I loved seeing Sophie with my Grandma and Aunt Bebe. Sophie was generally sweet the whole time. We did have a couple rough evenings, but I think her teeth are bothering her. We should vacation more often...