Spring Break 2012 ~ Part 1

When I first found out that Jon had to be in Dallas, I didn't think too much of it. When I found out that he had to be in Dallas over spring break...I was a little less than thrilled. That is, until I realized that maybe we could go with him. I mentioned it to him and he didn't see any reason why that wouldn't work. YAY!! I was so excited! We don't generally do anything over spring break. Not anything major, anyway. We might go to the movies or do something fun, but we really never go anywhere. I was thrilled to know that we were going to get away from home for a few days!

I have to say that before we ever left on Wednesday, Ben and Abby both had a very busy start to their spring break. Ben was able to go to Hutchinson to be with his buddies for a few days. It's was Sam's birthday, so it was very important to Ben to be able to celebrate with him. Plus, it had been a while since the three guys have been able to be together.

These lifelong friends had an amazing time together!

Abby informed me while we were gone that she only slept in her own bed ONE time over all of spring break. She was a busy girl! She spent the night at her friend, Anna's, house one night, then the next night Anna spent the night at our house. A day later she went to a birthday party sleepover at her friend, Sam's house.

Abby and Sam had fun being crafty!

I am SO thankful that my big kids have such great friends! (And that their friends have great parents that I trust and appreciate!)

Finally, the kids and I headed out on Wednesday morning. (Jon left on Tuesday.) After a few days of insane amounts of rain, I was happy to be heading toward the sunshine! Not to mention a much needed break from my normal daily responsibilities. No cooking, cleaning, laundry...

As we were on our way, Ben saw a sign for Pops. We love Pops! Ben asked if we could go there for lunch. I was in a little bit of a hurry to get to Dallas so that we could beat rush hour. Plus it's a little pricey and I wasn't so sure that I wanted to spend that kind of money this early in our trip. But you know what, we were on vacation, after all! I figured there wasn't really a need to rush and we had to eat lunch anyway, so why not?

I think Ben's main motivation was that he wanted a Coke bottle to take home. He is a Coke FANATIC!! He got what he wanted!

Abby opted for a black raspberry pop. Tasty!

Delicious!!!

Ben took this amazing picture.
Doesn't it look like Jesus could just step right through those clouds?!

I guess this means we are on the right path.

I guess this would be a good time to mention that I have never been a fan of Texas. I'm not sure why. I guess it seems like I had this picture in my head that people from Texas are annoying, proud, boisterous, have big hair and wear too much makeup, not accepting of anybody not from Texas... Since I moved to Oklahoma, I have met a lot of people from Texas. None of them have shown any of those signs. Well, except that they are proud of Texas. That's not so bad, right? I've always been proud to say that I'm originally from Michigan! Here, at the beginning of our trip to Dallas, Texas, I am happy to say that I no longer have those negative thoughts! To all of my Texas friends, I apologize! I will never give you a hard time about your great state again! I will be happy to visit your great state again any day! We loved it there! The people were friendly, the scenery was beautiful and we had a really great time!

Ok, now that that is out of the way, let's get back to the trip.

We didn't choose where to stay for the first part of our trip. Since Jon was on a work trip, we just stayed where his reservations had been made for him. We were excited when we found out he had a two-room suite at the Embassy Suites.

I knew it couldn't be bad when I walked in and saw palm trees! Palm trees make me happy!!

On Thursday morning, after an amazing breakfast that included made-to-order omelets, we thought it would be fun to start the day out with a swim. What kid doesn't love to hit the hotel pool?!

The kids loved it!

I'm not sure what Luke's favorite part of the hotel was. It's a toss up between...
the fish inside the hotel...
and being able to watch the big jets coming in to land at DFW.
He was pretty thrilled with both!

Driving in Dallas was a little bit overwhelming! There are highways all over the place! I don't know what I would have done without my trusty GPS!

One of the things I miss about Michigan...7-Eleven. I had no idea that there would be 7-Eleven's on almost every corner in Dallas! Ben and Abby were pretty happy too!

Thursday was a big day for Jon. The work that he had to do before going to Dallas was very stressful! He had to teach on Wednesday and Thursday. So once Thursday evening rolled around, he was one relieved guy! It called for celebration! We were looking for a pizza place for dinner, but on the way saw this gorgeous! It actually turned out to be a double rainbow!

I love that God gives us these beautiful reminders of his love and promise to us! I think on this night it was meant especially for Jon! I am so proud of Jon for all of the time and effort that he put into his work project! It was a lot of work and very stressful (for all of us!) and I know he (along with the rest of us) was thrilled for it to be over.

We didn't end up finding a pizza place for dinner, but we did find The Cheesecake Factory. I think The Cheesecake Factory is the perfect place to celebrate!

Of course, you can't go to The Cheesecake Factory and not have cheesecake! That would be just plain wrong!

This is WAY too long of a post!
Stay tuned for the rest.
The really fun stuff is still to come!