Spring Break - Waco Trip! (Part 1)

This is the second year in a row to spend our Spring Break in Texas, and I hope it becomes a tradition - at least until our kids are old enough to start pushing for tropical beaches or Disney World.  For right now, they consider Grammy and Gran Gran's house completely magical, special, and exciting. They also think Waco is "so cool".  I would have argued that topic, spending the first 18 years of my life there, but now Chip and Jo have convinced millions of others of this, too.  :)

I have a hundred pictures to share.  I started out with 364 on my camera, but whittled it down by deleting my two hundred (failed) attempts at a decent bluebonnet picture.  I'm going to break up my posts a bit: General Trip Photos, Zoo + Children's museum, Texas bluebonnets.

Our trip going on out Saturday (March 30th) was perfect: no traffic, got through the lines, zero delays, quick trip to Waco, well behaved children, and no meltdowns. Nine hours door to door.  I said in my head "we're so lucky on these Waco trips", but didn't dare say it out loud!  We arrived in Waco to all my immediate family + crawfish + unseasonably cold weather.  Very fun.

Cousin Tori, the kid's favorite, kept the kids playing and running and laughing the entire afternoon. We love her!

hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil

Somehow, despite a commitment to keep the planned activities to a minimum so we could just relax and have fun, the week went by so quickly!  Lots of time spent outdoors doing "chores" with Gran Gran, playing dominoes with Grammy, eating good Texas food, watching old VHS movies during naptime, riding on the Gator, exploring different parks around town, bathing little Greycie, shopping at HEB (4 times), and buying the kids spring/summer wardrobe (barely getting it into the suitcases to come home!) 

On Friday I took James to the Silos!!  Can you believe he's never been?  A bit overwhelming, but so well done and impressive.  We didn't buy anything there, but we can "check the box", he said.

One afternoon, after heading to a park in Downtown Waco, we walked over to see the new Doris Miller memorial.  A veteran killed during WWII from Waco, he's the most frequently recommended person for the Medal of Honor. It's good to see his hometown recognizing his service and heroism. 

James, Gran Gran, and Uncle Kelly took the big kids fishing one morning.  At first JB expressed disappointment in Maryn's inclusion (cue some Tim McGraw, Don't Take the Girl....), but I'm glad they did because she had a blast.  JB caught over 20 fish, no joke.  He's very dedicated to the sport, making his Daddy (and Gran Gran!) very proud...

And, let's talk about the donkeys... Uncle Kelly and Aunt Shawntel have a beautiful house and beautiful property, surrounded by longhorns and donkeys.  

Last trip we fed the donkeys every day, and the kids did not forget about this.  We headed up there several times to try to coax them over, finally succeeding the last night. Pure elation from the kiddos!!!

"the donkeys are coming!!!"

These pictures melt my heart. This has been a rough year for Shawntel, battling (and defeating - we're staying super positive and optimistic) breast cancer. To see these smiles, her recovering and feeling better is an answered prayer!

Our Saturday trip home was....gosh....how to describe. Let's be positive and say "we survived".  Weather issues, delays, mechanical issues, you name it.  15 hours later, we arrived home around 2AM.

I feel like I didn't capture so many other moments from the trip with my camera, but forever in our memories (and hearts).  Love these special times!

(Parts 2 and 3 to come!)