Texas here we come!

I thought we might never get there, but the time finally came for us to leave for our family vacation to Texas and then Utah.  I had a lot of work to do before I could focus on packing, and in retrospect I think I won't do a vacation the week right after school gets out again, but we managed to get it all done, and then we were off!  Here are the girls watching the planes take off at the airport.  They had their backpacks ready and off we went!

This vacation was all about family and the kids having fun with cousins.  In Texas we visited with my sister and her family.  We always have fun with the Millers.  They are a wonderful family.  My parents drove in too because my niece graduated from high school, and then we celebrated my dad's 69th birthday.  He wanted to go see the longhorns in Fort Worth, so that's what we did.  Here are the girls on a real longhorn, although these were raised to be more like family pets.  They were very gentle.

And the clown made the girls their own horse and long horn hats out of balloons.  This was right by the road where they steer the longhorns through just like they did in the days before the railroads came.

 We got to watch a live cowboy showdown, and then the girls got to go to a petting zoo.

But most of the time we were in Texas, we just played in water.  Whether it was Hawaiian falls (the water park across the street), the community pool where Jackie lifeguards, the splash pad down the street, or in the best pool of all, the one in my sister's backyard, we enjoyed all of our time.

Here are the kids at Hawaiian Falls with Lacy.

And here they are visiting Jackie at work at the Roanoke pool.

And here is Shaun with Alex in Michelle's pool... aah, that's the life!

Texas was all I hoped it would be.  It was visits by the pool, playing with the kids, and late night chats with my sister.  I only wish we could do it more often!  Thanks Michelle for being a great hostess!  

Unfortunately, my phone died at the end of the trip, so I only have photos from Shaun's phone, but you get the gist.  I lost a few great gems, but such is life I suppose!  We still have the memories, and that's the most important thing.

Next stop, Utah!  More to come on that visit in the next post.