Our week in TX

Another event that occurred last month I haven't had a chance to blog a/b yet was our trip to TX. Since Patrick had so much to get ready for the (then) upcoming MBSF Spring break mission trip, the kids and I set out for some time w/ family so he could focus solely on work. He sure wanted to come w/ us, however! I first drove to Ft. Worth to stay the night w/ one of my best friends and former college roommate (all 4 yrs.), Sarah. Sarah Ann spent a few yrs. on the mission field in China and is now attending seminary in Ft. Worth. I've always been so proud to call her my friend, and we were literally just giddy to get to spend the evening together. It was only the 2nd time Sarah has been able to spend time w/ Will since he was born, so it was a very special night for us all as you could imagine. Kennedy loved staying in Sarah's apartment and meeting another old friend of Momma's from college (also in Ft. Worth), Erica. We were pleasantly surprised by her visit and enjoyed talking each other's ears off all night! Can't wait to do it again! A huge "thank you" to Sarah for hosting me and the kiddos, and for even giving up her bedroom for us. We miss you Sarah...




After Sarah got up and headed to work the following morning, the 3 of us headed towards Dallas to meet my sister, niece, and nephew @ a children's museum downtown. It was such a neat place to experience and Kennedy/Ayan especially had a blast! The little ones did great in their strollers and were pretty entertained @ times simply by watching the big kids. However, they defin. had some fun themselves too. There were all sorts of different rooms (or "centers") for the kids to experience. There was a room for exploring by digging through sand for dinosaur bones (which was not Kennedy's favorite), a dress-up center, a desk of puzzles, a musical instrument area, a water fun room, an awesome farming experience, a play house to play in, a room full of reptiles, a bubble/wind/tornado/etc. room for the kids to experiment with, etc. We enjoyed lunch outside in the beautiful weather and definitely wore the kids out by the time we left the museum! SO many pictures were taken on this day! But, here are just some of them...



























The rest of our wk. included a trip to the park, daily trips to the barn to feed their chickens/gather eggs (which Kennedy overcame her fear of), lots of outdoor play time on Ayan/Lyla's new swing set, running some errands together, a visit to Steph and Aaron's small group one evening and to their church that Sunday as well, enjoying a movie w/ Steph and her friend in town one night, cooking/cleaning up meals together, etc. It was a relaxing week and the kids did so good together! We're so thankful that Kennedy and Ayan enjoy playing together so much, and basically look @ each other as their "best friend".
Lyla was on the verge of crawling while we were there (and now is), but certainly didn't appreciate how mobile Will was around her...especially when he would get a handful of her curls and pull. : ( Ouch!















We enjoyed gorgeous weather almost the entire wk. there and although we missed Patrick a bunch...we loved getting to spend so many days in a row together! There is such a special relationship b/w sisters that I'm grateful I've been able to experience throughout my lifetime.