Trip to Dallas

I know it's been a while since I've posted. This summer has been busy busy busy. Zachary and I just got back from Dallas, TX. We left on Monday to stay with my sister, Connie, and her family (husband - Chad and triplets - Ryan, Emily & Kyle). My sister, Tracy, and her boys (Reed & Graham) were in town (during their 6 week stay in the states - they've lived in Shanghai China for three years and are getting ready to move to Singapore in a few weeks). It worked out well because I haven't seen Connie since my cousin Brenda's wedding three years ago. I even got to see my mom and dad for a few hours since they drove Tracy and the boys to Dallas. Zachary and I got to the airport, checked our luggage and went upstairs to the gate only to find Cameron Diaz sitting there waiting to board our plane. I wanted so badly to have Z go up to her and say, "Ms. Cameron, can I take a picture with you?" but I chickened out. It was a small plane and she sat four rows in front of me. We were both on the isle so I could see her every time she leaned over. She was walking down the isle and I tried to take a picture of her with my cell phone but the big dude in front of me leaned over at the same time to check her out so I ended up with a picture of his back. Apparently she was in town with her siblings to view some wetlands or something like that. Anyhoo---my parents picked us up at the airport and took us to Connie's. Tracy and the boys were there and the kids played and played until after dinner. Connie house is perfectly set up for 6 kids to play. Here are her three:

Ryan

Kyle EmilySince I didn't get pictures of Cooper and Zachary playing together while I was in KS I was determined to get pics of the kids. I have plenty of them playing but I won't post all of them. Unfortunately I was so focused on the kids I didn't really take any of my parents, Connie & Chad, or Tracy. I really wanted a picture of myself, Tracy & Connie but we just never got one taken. With six kids it's easy to forget about taking pics!!

On Tuesday we went to the pool in Connie's neighborhood. It's right around the corner and it's such a nice pool and playground. We were practically the only ones there. It was so nice. That night Tracy picked Zachary and I up and we went to my friend, Gina's, house. She and her family live in Frisco which took us close to an hour to get there. Gina and David live in a beautiful home. We tried getting as many Salina people that lived in Dallas (and surrounding areas) together as we could. It was a wonderful evening. I wish I would have gotten to visit with everyone more but unfortunately Zach had an allergy attack. Gina has two dogs (who were even in the laundry room the whole time) and Zach is allergic to both dogs and cats. We got there about 5:15 and by 7:00 he was miserable. So we ended up having to leave early. Poor little guy. Here are a few pictures from that evening:

Dart & his darling baby girl, Madison who is only 6 weeks!! Precious! Dart & Jim This is about half the people that came. Wish I could have gotten more pictures taken. On Wednesday we decided to load the kids up and go to the park. There were some ducks there that the kids (and us moms) enjoyed feeding. Unfortunately Zach was climbing up the ladder and Reed was behind him and Z accidentally kicked Reeder in the mouth. I took a picture of him and despite the busted lip I think he still looks cute in the picture! Here is Tracy's other son, Graham. That night we went to Rainforest Cafe for dinner. Tracy's mother in law, Glenda, and nephew, Bryce, met us there. Unfortunately almost all of the pictures I took at the restaurant were blurry due to all of the lights. Here is a picture of Zach waving to one of the Gorillas. I also took a picture of the dessert we ordered. It's called a Volcano. The kids really got a kick out of it. I'm happy to say that both of our flights were on time. I was disppointed that there were no movie stars on the flight back but we got home safe and sound so I guess I'm happy about that. We were both so excited to see Jason when we got off the plane. When we got home Addison just stood there looking at me for a few seconds and then smiled and ran over. A big thank you to Linda for watching her all day on Thursday. Although I missed Addie it was great taking a trip with just Zachary. We don't get to spend a whole lot of time together just the two of us. It was a lot of fun. Thanks Connie for hosting us for four days!!! I had so much fun getting to see you and your family - you are welcome to come to Gulfport any time! I'm so happy that I got to see Mom and Dad (thanks for picking us up at the airport!). And I'm so thankful I got to see Tracy and the boys even if it was for only four days. I miss them so much and wish they would move back to the states so we could get together more often!

Here are a few random shots of the kids....