DALLAS day 5

Monday was our last day in big D.  I wanted to see the Fort Worth Stockyards, so we went over there after breakfast at Archie's Donuts.  It was a cool cowboy environment.  Cowboys riding their horses, bulls hanging out in the stockyard.  Cockroaches the size of small children on the sidewalks.  It was just a nice slow paced place to check out.  After a little time walking around, we left to go meet up with Uncle David for one last BBQ lunch.  Angelo's did not disappoint on the brisket sandwich.  It was a filling meal before heading to the airport.  We had a great trip, the hospitality from Linda, David, Eldon and Val was amazing!  I loved getting to spend so much time with Steve!  Glad to be home with our munchkins.

 

 

 

 

DALLAS day 3-4

Saturday was a very busy, non-stop kind of day.  After breakfast we loaded up in the car and headed into downtown Dallas to visit the 6th Floor Museum. I thought I knew about the JFK assassination, but boy was I wrong.  What an educational experience it was to walk through the museum and view where JFK was killed.  If you are a history buff, you really need to go visit the museum.

The X in the middle is where the kill shot happened

Steve standing on the X looking back up to the window

 

The window with the box is the window the shots were fired from

 

After time spent in the museum and on the grounds we headed over to the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. I could have spent hours in the area with the Oscar De Larente exhibit.  The dresses where stunning, the details mind blowing.  What a talented man he was.  Grateful to see some of his work before he passed away.  After visiting that part of the building, we crossed the grand entry into the Presidential Library.  I have a new found appreciation for President Bush and Laura.  The decisions he had to make as President when the country was under attack, I know I couldn't have done it.  I am proud to be an American, and I am grateful for a President that has led our country with dignity and honesty.

 

 

 

 

After spending time in the museum, we were getting hungry, so we headed back over towards Linda's house.  We went to this fun little restaurant Fuzzy's Taco Shop.  The tacos were yummy and inexpensive.  Then we headed back to the house to rest up for the rest of our night.  Around 6:45 we headed back over to Arlington to go to the Rangers/Mariners baseball game.  A rainstorm rolled in as we were driving to the game and we hung out in the stadium for a while because they couldn't start the game because of lightening.  After sitting for what seemed forever, we decided to go get something to eat and come back if the game were to ever start.  We went to this Mexican restaurant that I can't remember the name of.  But the food was some of the best I have ever had.  We had what they call the fajita blast.  It is a huge skillet full of 4 different kinds of meat, steak, chicken, pork and shrimp.  Everyone is given their own tortillas and sides.  Between the 4 of us, we didn't even put a dent into the meal.  As we were leaving the restaurant we heard on the radio that the game was about 15 minutes from starting.  Mind you, this was 3 1/2 hours after the official game time.  We went by the house to drop David off, he wasn't up for a late night at the ball park.  Steve, Linda and I went back over to the game, and because so many people had left, we had awesome seats.  To make it even better, the Mariners won! Leaving the ball park at 1:30 in the morning was lots of fun.  I felt bad for the players, they had another game Sunday afternoon.

 

 

Sunday morning we got up and got ready to head back into Arlington yet again, but this time is was to go to the Cowboys/49ers game.  We met up with Chris and Lindee at a little joint to grab a bite to eat before the game.  We walked a couple miles to the stadium so that we wouldn't have to pay $$$$ to park.  It was a nice day, and the exercise was good.  With all of the 49er fans you would have thought that it was a home game for them.  I was shocked at all the red in the stadium.  I personally didn't' care who won the game, I was there for the experience of it all.  We had tickets in the party pass area.  Which means there are no seats, you are in the standing room only area.  During the 4th quarter we decided to walk around a bit.  We went down to the main level and happened to be in the right place at the right time.  A couple of pretty wasted guys were leaving the game and asked us if we would like their seats.  Of course we took them and got to sit to enjoy the rest of the game.  The 49ers won so there were quite a few disappointed Cowboy fans.  Sunday evening we just hung out at the house watching yet another football game.  It's a good thing that I don't mind watching them so much with my husband.  What is even better is our kids are starting to understand the game and seem to get excited to watch games with their dad.

 

 




 

DALLAS day 1-2

 So like I said in my previous post, Steve surprised me with tickets to Dallas for our anniversary.  We were spoiled to say the least.  We left on Thursday September 4th arriving in Dallas around 3:45pm.  Uncle David picked us up from the airport and took us to Linda's house to get settled in.  The last time I was in Dallas was 14 years ago and it was late at night.  After resting for a bit, we left to meet Linda for dinner at Railhead Smokehouse BBQ.  It was delicious!! After dinner we headed back to the house to watch some football. 

 

Friday was a busy day for us.  Steve and I went over into Arlington to tour AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys.  What an experience that was.  There were some high school football games that were going to be played so we weren't able to go out on the field, but we did get to experience everything else.  We went in the Cowboys locker room, the cheerleaders locker room.  We walked through the tunnel that the team takes to get on the field every game.  We sat in a suite, we saw the press room where they do the press conferences after the game.  We saw the press suite where all the media sit during the game.  It truly is an amazing building!

 

 

After our tour we went to meet David for lunch at a fun little joint we had heard about from Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives.  It was called Twisted Root Burger Co. The burgers were tasty, the vibe in the place was laid back and cool. If you ever find yourself in Dallas, you should try this place out!

 Friday night we ventured out the west side of Fort Worth to visit with my Aunt Val, Uncle Eldon, cousin Kelly, her husband Lance and their darling daughter Zoey.  They have a beautiful home and the company was wonderful.  Eldon cooked up some yummy steaks, while Val and Kelly made a feast to feed a king.  It was fun for me to visit and hear the stories from my uncles mission to the Orient.  We are so blessed to have such wonderful family that are willing to open up their homes to us when we visit. I totally forgot to get pictures with them and kicked myself all the way home.

 

 



Oh No Not Again!

I am seriously such a slacker when it comes to blogging these days.  I use my phone for pictures and just share them on instagram and forget to blog them for those that still follow our blog.  Please accept my sincere apologies.  I will try to do better.

 

Since my last post lots of fun things have happened.  Steve and I celebrated our 11th anniversary at the end of July.  He surprised me with a trip to Dallas, I'll post about that later.  August found us getting the girls ready to start school.  Paige celebrated her 5th birthday with a party at the splash pad with some of her best friends. On her actual birthday Paige got to go through the Ogden Temple open house with all of her Call Cousins.  It is such a beautiful building and a great way to experience heaven on earth.  Savanna is now in 4th grade and is super excited to have her best friend in her class this year.  Paige is in Kindergarten and is loving going to school on the school bus.  Barrett and I love watching her get on the bus every day and waving as it comes back around in front of the house after picking up the other kids in the neighborhood.  The house sure is quiet with both girls gone during the day.  Barrett usually naps and I get things done without interruption. The last Saturday in August Steve completed the Crystal 51 bike ride with the scout troop from our ward.  The kids and I worked one of the pit stops for the riders.  They got super excited when daddy came through.  We had fun swimming at Crystal Hot Springs after the ride was done.  Savanna and I may join Steve in the ride next year.

 

September found Steve and I heading to Dallas for our trip (I'll do a separate post). I have come to realize that as I have gotten older, I don't do well with turbulence on planes.  We are thankful to Grandma Call for watching the kiddos while we were gone.  She is the BEST!!! We also spent every weekend in September on the soccer field watching Savanna play.  I think her favorite game was the week that the field was a giant puddle of water.  Not a dry spot on the field.  She has really become a good little soccer player.  She loves to play goalie and is a great defender.

 

October came and went with mom spending lots of time at the sewing machine.  I made curtains for a neighbor and then started Savanna's Halloween costume.  This year was the first year I didn't make everyone's costumes.  Paige dressed up as Elsa and she got that dress up for her birthday.  I did crochet her a wig to wear.  Barrett went as a Ute football player.  Savanna was a beautiful Egyptian.  Halloween night we were joined for trick or treating by Aunt Rebecca, cousin Raquel, Grandma Call and Aunt Celeste.  Steve had a brilliant idea to hook our trailer up to a four wheeler and pull us around the neighborhood.  We put glow in the dark necklaces all over the trailer so cars would be able to see it.  Chairs covered the bed of the trailer and we had a fun time.  Covered more area in less time and the kids got way to much candy.  I think we'll do it again next year and invite some neighbors to join us on the ride.

 

This brings us to November.  Steve and I will celebrate another birthday this month.  We will gather with family to celebrate Thanksgiving and of course there is always football to watch.