Texas Adventure, Part 2

After our four days at the Great Wolf Lodge, it was time to visit family! We headed to Brett's sister Karen's house, about 2 hours away. She has a great backyard and huge playroom. The kids were in heaven! As if that wasn't enough, the second day she took them to Chuck E. Cheese. As much as they all loved the arcade at the Great Wolf Lodge, we knew they'd love it even more there! Since it was lunchtime on a school day, we had the place pretty much to ourselves and they played tons of games!

(Jacob's first trip to Chuck E. Cheese)

Saturday we had the chance to go to Brett's alma mater, Baylor, to see the brand new huge stadium they just recently opened. Karen outfitted all of us with Baylor attire. As a season ticket holder and alumnus who regularly donates money, she and Johnny had the chance to go to the stadium to watch the away game on the big screen, plus have free lunch. There were even bounce houses for the kids on the field. Brett was so amazed by the size of the stadium and all the changes that had been made, and he was so excited to be able to actually go ON THE FIELD.

Before we left we attempted to get a shot of the kids with their cousins, Seth & Luke. They look so big next to them! Abi wasn't having much to do with photos that day.

We stopped by the Baylor bear pit to visit the two live bears they keep as mascots.

We had to at least try this:

We even got to see the players' locker room. (They were of course at the away game, so it was spotlessly clean!) Though the kids really could care less about football or Baylor, they definitely caught Brett and Karen's excitement and thought it was so cool that we got to do all we did!

After two days at Karen's, we left for Brett's parents' house in South Texas. It was a six-hour drive. I was worried about how the kids would do on the long car ride, but there was a DVD player in our rental van that kept the big ones occupied. Jacob only cried when we weren't moving, so we kept going as long as possible and stopped only twice to feed him and get out to stretch. 

It was a lot more relaxed once we arrived. One day we went to visit the neighboring town where Brett grew up. They just recently demolished the house he grew up in, which was sad, but we saw the empty lot.

We played at the playground. Brett used to play here as a kid. And we sat down by the Gulf of Mexico and watched the water and enjoyed the sun.

We enjoyed lots of time with Nana and Papa. They hadn't even met Abigail, so they were thrilled to be able to get to know their grandchildren. Of course, Jacob was held often.

Nana showed them all her makeup tricks.

And cut the girls' hair at her shop. Abi didn't want to show off her new haircut so all her pictures were blurry.

We even got to take some family pictures by their fireplace. What precious memories the kids will always have of visiting their grandparents far away. They loved the attention and all the excitement of being in a "new land." They came back and told everyone all about their adventures. I am so glad we had the chance to go and do this trip together!