Going Big: Going to Texas!

We planned the trip, we bought our tickets, we read about flying on a plane, we visited the airport, we packed our bags...all that was left was to actually go. So we went, and we went big -to Texas! Jack and Malynn were rock stars! They soaked up all the new sights and sounds all along the way. On the airplane Malynn liked moving the arm rest up and down and doing the latch for the tray table. Jack loved the button for the light overhead (We only accidentally called the flight attendant once.) and walking in the aisle and smiling at other passengers.

During our layover, we learned that Jack LOVES smoothies!

And we learned that Malynn LOVES the moving sidewalk.

Even though Malynn and Jack only slept for a total of about 30 minutes each on our travel day, they were still angel children for both flights and even on through the evening once we got there.
They were ready to explore and took off down this path behind the Mexican restaurant that is our standard first stop when we arrive.
Hmmm...are Texas rocks like Virginia rocks?

At the restaurant we got to see:

-family who also came from Virginia: Grand, Ottar, and Amita.
-Mike's Texas family: Aunt Kathy and Uncle John, Uncle Buddy & Aunt Irmadean, and Great-grandpa Martin & wife, Shirley

We continued to see these relatives throughout our visit as well as more family: cousins Al & Travis & their sweet baby girl Morgan, cousins Dave & Kasey & their adorable kids John David & Bailey, Uncle Rick, and Grand's cousin, Ellen (-thanks for the outfits!). We even got to see Mommy's dear friend, Andrea, & her boyfriend, Matt (-thanks you guys for the pictures!).

Day 2 was a busy day. Thankfully Mommy & Daddy didn't stay up too late and were ready for the 4:30am wake up (since we wake at 5:30am east coast time)! We made a trip to see a step-great-great-grandma, Esther, which was a special visit. We met up with the cousins and their kids at the downtown farmer's market. And we capped things off with some water play time with all the kids.

Jack and Malynn jumped right in. Jack was thrilled to see that they had the same watering can we have back at home. :)
This sweet pumpkin is just as yummy as she looks! Morgie never seems to stop smiling and giggling!
And Malynn was happy to have a friend who loves the water as much as she does!
We got this picture of all the cousins' kids together in the pool right before the pool had to be evacuated...

Here are a couple special family pictures with great-grandpa Martin.

The travel day home was just as successful as the travel day there.
We had a huge empty gate area to play in before getting on our first flight. It was nice to have the new markers from great-grandpa Martin & Shirley to play with while we waited. I didn't get a picture of Jack because he was off running down the concourse the whole time!

HUGE thanks to Mike's Uncle John and Aunt Kathy who took care of us from start to finish of our time in Texas. They picked up us from the airport with a car outfitted with two car seats, had toys and foods that were perfect, set up two guest rooms (one for adults and one as a nursery), worked around our schedule (which was a little tricky since we stick to a strict nap schedule and kept the kids on east coast time), and all in all gave us a home away from home. Also, a special thanks to Al & Travis and Dave & Kasey who helped provide car seats and pack-n-plays and such.

We had a fantastic time and hope to be back again soon!