Texas Trip

The day after Christmas, we got up early and headed for the airport. We flew to Texas to see Billy's family and some friends.

Sarah enjoyed her trip and sat quietly reading books the whole time. NOT! Abby was her usual sleepy traveler.
We flew into Dallas and then drove down to San Antonio where Billy's sister and her family live.

Mary loving on Sarah. Grandma playing games with her grandchildren.
Jumping on the trampoline with cousin Juliet.
Juliet had saved her birthday pinata to share with the girls. That is one big pinata!
Abby taking a whack at it.
Sarah tried her hand with the big stick. I think she got the hang of it.
There is something ironic about little girls whacking on Cinderella and seeing her head dangling from a rope.
The whole family posed for an amateur portrait.
The cousins.
Grandma and Grandpa with the grandkids.
We got to see some of our dear friends in Dallas, Shawn and Jurgen and their daughter Annie.
Abby and Annie made pretty fast friends.
The girls are ready for a delicious lunch.
Playing in the sandbox with winter coats on.
Our friends Steve and Sarah
Elli and Abby played dress-up.
Playing in Elli and Sophie's room.
We got to stay at the "Bee Hive" while in Dallas. Tanya and I have been friends since we were students at CFNI back in the early nineties. We were even roomies for a time. Surely that could not have been twenty years ago? Although the lighting in this photo is showing the years on my face! Tanya is a true kindred spirit; the kind of friend that you can be away for a while and then pick up again right where you left off.

Since we moved away from Dallas, Tanya and her husband Scott have enlarged their family. They now have six children. Here are the boys (and Rachael) enjoying a game - Star Trek Monopoly.
The girls and Rachael sporting their sunglasses. There is a lot of sun in Texas!
Scott and Daniel - like father like son!!!
Tanya made me a birthday cake - yummy!
We stayed up late to ring in the New Year. Some of us were beyond coping and had already gone to bed.
The day we had to leave, the kids decorated some gingerbread men. This is Abby and Natalie.
It was a fun trip and so good to catch up with some of our friends and family. Hopefully it won't be too long before we can do it again.