I hadn't seen my kids in Texas since last summer so decided a quick trip was in order. We'd had terrible weather for days but the day of my departure brought sunshine and almost no winds so I was a happy flyer. As we've said many times, Alaska is a small big state and it's easy to run into people we know at various stops. My friend Tammy was at the Anchorage airport at the same time I was, so I hung out with her for awhile before her plane left.
I had a long layover in Anchorage--from 4 PM till 12:30 AM so my friends Paul, Jeanette and Pam were nice enough to come get me and take me to dinner. It was fun to catch up with all of these former Unalaskans (plus Pam's boyfriend Josh, who took this photo). After several hours out, they returned me to the airport to continue my wait for the dreaded red-eye to Seattle.
After the usual three flights (Unalaska to Anchorage, Anchorage to Seattle, Seattle to Dallas), I arrived at DFW at 1 PM. Luckily, I had managed to sleep on some of the flights so I was not totally exhausted! I was excited to see Sarah and Elle at baggage claim and we were soon chatting away in the car. At home, Elle took this cute photo of her brother Beck. He's all boy and into everything but such a sweetheart and a little lovebug, too. It was a beautiful day so we decided to go to a new downtown Dallas park.
Elle wanted to wear her Strawberry Shortcake costume. Funny, her mom and aunts were also Strawberry Shortcake fans when they were little. I guess it's true that everything comes back around! The kids had a blast climbing on the jungle gym, spinning on the merry-go-round, and petting some of the many dogs wandering the park with their owners.
There were a bunch of food trucks at the park so I had to take some photos for Rich. Here's just one of them--cupcakes! The park was really neat with all kinds of things for the kids to do and a big open area for picnicking and relaxing. And I was soaking up the warm sunshine, of course!
Miles and Beck enjoying the sun
We had a drink and a little snack. The kids haven't ever had soda but Beck wanted to try some Sprite. When the fizz hit his nose, he sputtered and sputtered and spit it out! Good boy!
The next day we took the kids to "open gym" to meet Sarah's friend Candace and her boys. I always enjoy seeing Candace and catching up with her--she is a great friend to Sarah and such a sweetie. We were chatting away and watching the kids play; Elle and Beck were both having lots of fun on the equipment when suddenly
Elle went to do a cartwheel and it looked like she just flung herself onto the floor, landing on her arm in a strange position. At first we thought she was okay but she was holding her arm very gingerly and couldn't stop crying. When Sarah asked her to move her fingers, she could do so, but her little hand kept trembling. Off to the pediatrician we went, then to another building for Xrays. Above, she was waiting for her Xray and not feeling too great. Poor baby!
Yes, the Xray confirmed that she had broken her radius. Then we had to get her in to see an orthopedist to get her arm casted. We were literally gone all day, running from appointment to appointment, but the kids were great and Beck and I got to hang out quite a bit while Sarah stayed with Elle through her various exams and procedures. One purple cast later, our girl was in good spirits and not about to let anything keep her down!
Ipads have such fun games! Our days were spent playing, working puzzles, reading books, running around outside and talking about all kinds of things.
We celebrated Elle's birthday a little late since I could not be there on her special day. Hard to believe this little sweetie is now 5! She enjoyed opening presents and we all had cupcakes.
The kids loved looking at photos on my laptop. Besides perusing the pics we'd taken that day or the day before, they especially loved looking at the animals we saw in Australia and Beck was enthralled with our big cruise ship. He'd say "animals!" or "boat!" and wouldn't give up till I found those photos again.
A broken arm did not keep Elle from practicing soccer. She still went to practice and scored two goals in her game the weekend after I left for Amarillo (with her arm covered in bubble wrap so she wouldn't injure another child!)
We enjoyed some warm days outside--so much fun to run in the sun and ride bikes and scooters up and down the sidewalk just like kids have done for years and years.
Loved being with my girl
Miles, Sarah and I had dinner at Stephan Pyles' new restaurant Stampede 66. Let me just say it was amazing! Go try it if you are in Dallas!
Elle went to preschool so Beck had us all to himself one day. We had a ball running around and spending time in the children's section of Barnes and Noble.
Because I only had two weeks and a couple of days, I didn't have much time with each of my girls and their families. After what seemed like a very short stop in Dallas, I was on a plane to Amarillo to see Bonnie, David, Emery and Luke next!
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