The Lonestar State!

My sister Mallory and her family moved to Texas last year, and ever since Mal and I moved to Utah together almost 10 years ago (WOW!) that is way too long for me not to see her.  So, we decided to make our big summer vacation this year to the good old heart of Texas.  We took our minivan and drove straight through with our 4 kidlets and my brother, Ricky. It was really helpful having him in the back with the kids and especially the baby (Ace was only 4 months old!) We arrived at Mallory's and all kind of crashed for a bit. They made up the spare room for us and it was super fun nights for everyone in the house, when Ace would wake up... then Liam... then Carson... then Liam again... then Ace again...

We spent a fun day in Dallas, saw some historical spots and played in a great park/splash pad.

Where Kennedy was shot, and where he was shot from.

After church on Sunday (where we saw an impressive array of Texas mustaches) we all packed up and drove down South to stay in a condo (which was sweet) and check out some more of Texas.  We went to the Alamo and Riverwalk, where I don't know if I've ever sweat more in my life - and I'm from Florida!! We went back for a swim at the condo and some num barbecue. 

The next day - the beach!! Yay and woohoo!   Despite the 5-10 foot wide barrier of kelp between our car and the water, we had a great time and it was fun to be at a drive up beach.  We may or may not have gotten just a liiiiiiiittle bit burnt to a total crisp.

We intended to spend a day at a water park back in Wylie, but it was rainy-ish and we were just so exhausted from all the travelling and activities and HEAT that we opted to rest instead.  All the while, we ate at lots of lovely places that are unavailable to us in Utah, like Whataburger, yummmm.

The drive home... now that was a story.  The short version goes something like this... after about 15 hours in the car with 4 little babes and adults that were exhausted, I thought I'd get myself a speeding ticket.  That way, I'd already be in a really good mood when, at hour 17 or so in the car, my van would decide to self destruct.  Still 4 hours from home, by the way, and in a spot where there was no cell service.  It was magical.  We coasted our way back to Hole In the Rock, where we figured they at least had some things to look at while we figured out our rescue plan.  I called my mom who actually got in her car and drove 4 hours to save us.  Meanwhile, we got an expensive tow to the closest civilization - Moab - where the mechanic told us we'd need a whole new $5000 dollar engine.  Yeah, that wasn't an option, so we drove it off the lot down to McD's to wait for people, and our van was literally dropping pieces of the engine on the road as we went!  When we left with my mom, Jeff stayed at McD to wait for his brother, who also drove down to save us, to tow our van back to SLC. The kids and I slept at my mom's while we worked out the mess.  That didn't stop us from heading to the lakehouse the next day with our friends as previously planned, though!  We love those weekends.
Other than the dramatic ending, the trip was so much fun and Mal was a totes gracious host! Love you guys!