Dallas & THE State Fair of Texas!

The weekend before last, Carson and I headed up to Dallas for one final visit before Little Miss gets here.  We flew up on Thursday night and came home around lunch on Monday.  For once, it was actually a nice, long visit that didn't feel extremely rushed.  Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE that American now flies direct from Beaumont to DFW???  The airport is 5 minutes from my house, you don't have to pay to park, lines are nonexistent, and there's only one terminal in use.  It's a dream, especially with a 3 year old!

Friday morning we met up with Kristine, Rylan, and Aunt Debbie at the fair.  I have been dying to take Carson since the State Fair is such a tradition for anyone that grew up in Dallas.  Plus, let's be real... this preggo was ready for some fried food!

Carson had mixed emotions about Big Tex... I'm not sure he knew what to think!

 

 

So much to look at!

 

 

 

Daddy's, I mean, Jimmie Johnson's race car!!!  This ride was a major FAIL.  It was his first and last for quite a while.  It whipped around the corners a little too fast and she started screaming to get off.  Thankfully, we got our 8 tickets back!!!

 

 

Gigi & Carson in the helicopters!  He LOVED this ride!

 

Fun with Cousin Rylan on the 4-wheelers!  Carson's favorite! 

 

How cute are they??

 

Checking out all the animals!

Pops was brave to go with him on this.... I did it at the Nederland Heritage Festival and it was painful! 



They made it!

 

 

I have no idea how Pops fit in there!

 

 

Swings!

Whoops.... he was too big.... oh well! 



Fading.... (but Pops REALLY wanted to see the Bird Show). 



 

 

Before Carson charged the stage and nearly caused a disaster.  Yes, he went straight for that eagle in the background.  Said eagle then freaked out and nearly attacked the trainer.  It could have been bad.

 

Wow.... I look huge.

 

As much fun as we had at the fair, I definitely think I pushed it a little.  I was hurting by the end of the day.  It might have been worth it though for a Fletchers Corn Dog, cotton candy, and the fried Cuban Roll....um... AMAZING!!!

 

Carson's Big Tex impersonations...

 

 

 

Saturday morning, we were all pretty darn pooped, so we just took it easy.  After Carson's nap, we headed over to Arlington to see Nina & Papaw.

 

Carson did NOT want to take pictures... he was having too much fun jumping on Nina's trampoline.

 

 

From Arlington, we headed to Fort Worth to celebrate my cousin Joel's 30th birthday party at Joe T Garcia's.  He didn't know it, but his wife had also secretly found out the sex of their baby (she didn't know, but someone else put together the surprise reveal.  They weren't supposed to find out at the doctor until Monday).  So, it was a 30th birthday/Gender Reveal.  And.... she's having a GIRL too!!!!  The Morgan family is ALL BOYS!!!  I was the only granddaughter and so far all the great-grandkids were boys.  Our little girl was the first in the family in a while!  Our boys are 6 months apart and the girls will be 4 months apart.  SO FUN!!!  Wish we lived closer!!!  

 

It's a GIRL!!!

  

 

Cake face!!

 

Sunday we went to church and then took Carson to Jakes... LH people know that this was a big deal!  I don't think I've been since high school.... hasn't changed much even though my dad said that Jake sold out!  I will say the cheese fries were much better than last time!  :-)

 

After nap time, Carson and I went on a whirlwind visiting tour!  We first headed to Lauren & Jeff's new house in LH to see Harper.  Carson had fun crawling around the house chasing him.  We then headed to Meghan & Ken's house to see Baby Paul.  He just turned 1, and had changed SO much since the last time I saw him.  Last (which was probably pushing it but I didn't care), we headed to Dori & Colton's house to meet Ellie.  I've seen her pictures but had never met her.  What a sweet girl!!  They are fairly close in age and had fun playing together.  By this point, Carson was not on his best behavior.  I think he took her out once.  But, she still wanted him to stay and take a bath with her.  Next time.... it was already at least 8:30pm at this point.  :-(

 



Great trip!!!  Pretty crazy that the next time I'm in Dallas, we'll have another member of the family!!!

Much Needed!

A couple weekends ago I met up with my childhood BFF for a kid-free weekend in the country.  She's pregnant too with #2 and due 2 weeks after me.  We both decided a kid-free weekend before our #2's arrive was much needed!  This was to be a "personal to-do list" weekend... for her, it was completing scrapbooks.  For me, it was trying to get blog books and Shutterfly books complete.  She made more progress than me, but I felt good just getting my projects started.  These books take FOREVER, and I am SO behind.  I have never made a blog book, so I feel like I accomplished a lot just by figuring it out and getting started.

We stayed at one of Stag Leap Country Inn's cabins, the Deer Haven, just outside Nacogdoches. 

 

 

Yep, that's the only picture I took because we were too busy working!  We did watch The Little Mermaid for old times sake (since we used to act it out from beginning to end with the tape soundtrack.  Yes, it's on video.)  There was lots of college football watching too.  A&M had a bye and Baylor killed whoever they were playing.  We each brought our tubs of newborn clothes to switch since she's having a boy this time, and I'm having a girl.  Hand me downs ROCK!

 

That's about it!   Wish we hadn't stayed up so late and wish our bodies let us sleep later, but other than that, it was definitely refreshing!  A MUST DO every year!!!

My Favorite Things

Two of Carson's favorite songs for me to sing are from the Sound of Music.  First, it was Edelweiss, then my mom sang him "My Favorite Things", i.e. "Raindrops on Roses", and he fell in love.  So, in honor of Carson's new favorite song, "My Favorite Things," I thought I'd post a few of mine right now.

Local Honey - Why did I just start buying this???  I use it to sweeten plain yogurt and my coffee & tea.  I also love it on toast, or just straight out of the bottle on my finger. :-)  So far I've tried Bernard's Acadiana Honey and Rudy's Honey.  Love!!

  

 

 

Dog Tag Silencers - I'm overly sensitive to sounds that bug me.  Trust me, ask Andrew or my mom.  They know certain sounds absolutely will drive me crazy.  One of those sounds was the dogs shaking in the morning when they woke up and hearing their LOUD tags clanking together.  It always was SO early too.  I don't know why this drives me crazy, but it does.  So, I bought these.  I'm in heaven.  This inventor is a genius.  So simple, yet solves a problem.  Now, if only we could stop Shooter's "talking" in the morning or the barking at EVERYTHING during the day....

Pregnancy Tea - At my last massage, the masseuse was telling me about how her midwife highly recommended red raspberry leaf tea for pregnant ladies.  Labor with Carson was anything but easy, and apparently this stuff helps strengthen your uterus and can make labor faster and less painful.  The tea I got actually tastes good too (with my couple swirls of local honey!).  Who knows if it actually works or not, but I just drink it too to have something different during the day.  I love water, but it is nice to have something with flavor here and there.  One of my best friend's doulas also recommended she drink it towards the end of her pregnancy, so I figured I'd give it a shot.  I asked my doctor and he didn't have any opposition to me having a cup or two a day.

Pretty much every R+F product I have started using.  This stuff is pretty amazing!!!  I love the REDEFINE regimen, but also can't get over how soft my skin is after doing a mini-facial (the Micro-Dermabrasion Paste & Night Renewing Serum).  Amazing!!   I used the Macro Exfoliator (Macro-E) the other day for the first time, and WOW!  Check out the filter when I was done!!

Applesauce... ask my mom.  I've always loved applesauce, especially cinnamon applesauce.  And grilled cheese.   :-)

This little, lap top lap desk...  I love the little slide out for the mouse.  Sitting at my desk is no longer that comfortable (hello, cankles!), so this is perfect for the bed, the chaise on the couch, or in the car!!