Texas: Austin and Dallas

The second half of our Texas tour took us to Austin and Dallas. There are two non-family families that I make sure to include on all Texas trips when possible: The Bighams and The Duewalls. Austin brought us to the first of those families and we had such a wonderful time. The Bighams just finished building their new house and I was so excited to see it. It's beautiful and perfect and I loved getting to hang out with them there. The 4 girls picked up right where they left off, just like they always do. And for me, hanging out with Laura is like being home...love you, sweetheart. We were in the pool a ton (of course) and we also went to a bouncy house b/c I was a little water-logged at this point of our vacation.

Noelle also got her first pigtails at Laura's house

We all scream for ice cream!

After our glorious days in Austin, we headed to Dallas to stay with the Ernzens. The girls had been so excited all week to see Lauren and Taylor and they were not disappointed. Again, a ton of time in the pool and we also went to an awesome science museum where the girls could play with a ton of stuff. This part of the trip was the biggest break for me because Taylor and Lauren just took my girls upstairs and played with them for hours at a time. Loved getting to hang out with Ted and Kim...and we even got to have an adult night going to the Astros/Rangers baseball game. 'Stros lost but I had a blast anyway. :)

 

And the day before we headed back to NY, we hung out with the Duewalls. I was so excited to meet baby Cole who was born a few months ago. Noelle LOVED him. It was also our first time to see Runyon since moving away. Delilah was excited to see her, but not sad, which was perfect. I got a little sad. And I don't know if Runyon remembered us, but she did just sort of lay on me all day, so I'm thinking she was feeling connected in some way. We spent the day in, yep, the pool. It was over too fast, but so glad we got to spend that time together. We love the Duewalls!!!

Bye for now, Texas. We love you!

Texas: Houston & San Antonio

Time for our annual trip to Texas! Unfortunately, Chris could not get away from work this year, so I took the girls by myself: Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas over the course of 12 days. Was very worried about flying by myself with them, especially when I discovered that the plane only had 2 seats on either side of the aisle, which meant there was going to be an aisle separating me and one of the girls. But oh my goodness, did my girls prove my fears unfounded. They were ANGELS on the flight. Delilah made friends with the woman next to her and drew her a bunch of pictures. Noelle played quietly by herself and took an hour nap. By the time we got to Texas, I was in a much better mood than I expected! :)

Excited on the plane, and so proud to be sitting by herself. :)

The girls were so excited to see Mimi & PopPop and all their VanDuzer cousins. The boys even made signs welcoming the girls...so cute! The Houston trip was pretty typical...lots of swimming and donuts! One morning we went to a nearby miniature amusement park and had a blast go-karting and bumper boating.

The girls' first video game...they LOVED it!

Fun with Thibault and Van Duzer cousins

Brenden was such a patient coach and pitcher!

After a few days, we headed up to San Antonio to visit the rest of the Clifton clan. Stayed with Bryan & Marra and spent our time swimming, going to Sea World's water park, and just hanging out.

Avery put on this wig and declared that she was Delilah. :)

Love my brothers!!!

Noelle was in LOVE with baby Easton

 



One of my favorite pics of the whole trip. Too cute!!!

 

S'Mores!

Little artists

At the movies.

Sun-kissed ice cream sandwich eaters.

I think I took this at 3 in the afternoon. Very telling. :)

We had such a wonderful time during this first half of the Texas trip. I must admit that I had been feeling a little frustrated with my side of the family during the past several months, but this trip reminded me how much we all love each other and how much fun we have together. My family is loud and fun and big and passionate...sometimes that brings drama, but it also brings a whole lot of awesome.

Big Girl Bed!

Today is Noelle's first night in a big girl bed. I absolutely love that both girls asked if they could share a room. We went to Target today and they had such a blast picking out matching bedding. I don't know if anyone will get any sleep tonight, but they sure do look cute!!!!

Sweet dreams, sweet girls!!

Tourist Tuesdays!!

Chris and I have been talking about future plans, and realizing that we probably won't be in Manhattan any longer than one more year. We love this city, but it is time for backyards and dogs. Just ask Delilah: we were walking on the street one day and she told me that there were too many people in New York City. She also asks continually to move so we can have...you guessed it...a backyard and a dog.
Since this might be our last full summer in NYC, I decided we should make the most of it. I didn't want to look back on our time here and regret not doing things. So almost every Tuesday, the girls and I set out to do something in the city that a tourist might do. Oh my goodness, did we have fun. Here are all the Tuesdays... (yes, the post says July because that's when I started it. But it is now actually October, so I can post all of the summer Tuesdays).  :)
Our first one was a doozy: a walk around The Plaza (from the Eloise books), then FAO Schwartz (where I told them they could each pick out one thing under $20), then the famous frozen hot chocolate from Serendipity. Heaven!

We also went to kids' concerts in Madison Square Park, playgrounds by the Hudson River, museums, etc. I didn't take pictures of every place, but here are some highlights.

They LOVED the concert!!!

Happy face!

Sometimes the heat and the music and the beer get to you...

They had a raffle to win the band's DVD and Delilah wanted to win SOOO badly. I told her that since hundreds of people were there, that it was very unlikely. Guess who proved me wrong...

Pier playground

Delilah snapped this pic of Noelle with my phone. Then told me to put it in black & white because, "It just looks cooler that way, Mom."  I am OBSESSED with this picture

At the end of August, Noelle started going to "school" two days a week. Delilah hadn't started her school yet so I decided to do one last Tourist Tuesday with just Red. We went to Victorian Gardens...it's an ice skating rink in Central Park that gets turned into a carnival for the summer months. We had the most incredible time together. We went on every ride at least once, climbed on rocks on the way out of the park, and Red nodded off on the bus ride home. By the time we got back to our apartment, Delilah was covered in a mix of popsicle juice, bloody scrapes, and drool. Not a bad way to say good-bye to summer! She kept looking at me and saying, "This is more incredible than I even imagined".

 

 

 

I am so glad we did Tourist Tuesdays. It wasn't always easy, but it was definitely worth it. Saw new parts of Manhattan and had something to look forward to every week. Love my girls.