Houston trip

Lane and I just got back from a trip to Houston, TX. He had to take an exam there for school. Monday morning I dropped Rhett off at school and then took Alexee to meet my Mom so she could stay with my parents while we were out of town. Lane's parents came to our house to keep the boys since R had school. A BIG thank-you to both our parents for taking such great care of the kids so that we could go on this little trip! It had been two years since we'd been somewhere--just the two of us--and it really was a nice break (excluding Lane's 7 hour test!).

Monday evening we went to the Galleria (didn't buy anything but had fun looking) and ate at The Cheesecake Factory. We got up early Tuesday morning for L's exam. We weren't sure how much time to allow for traffic, but we had no problems and arrived very early. I dropped Lane off then drove a little over an hour to a city just outside of Houston to spend the day with two of my best friends that live there. I wasn't sure if I would be able to make it in time to ride to pre-school with Heather, but she was backing out of her driveway just as I drove down her street--perfect timing! I hopped in with her and we got to visit all the way to her son's school and back. Heather also has a 1 month old so he kept her busy, but we were able to go have lunch together with one other friend, Stacy. It was so good to get to see them and meet Baby Bennett for the first time!

Me, Heather & Bennett at H's house, before leaving for lunch

Lunch time (Mexican food--yum), enjoying the warm weather!

Bennett fell asleep in his stroller and did great!

Cute Brooks, after school.
Jaxon was really wanting some of B's snacks...just like our dog with our kids!

Brooks took this one of us! :) One of my favorite things was when Brooks asked me, "Do your children like Scooby Doo?" I thought it was so cute that he said "children" instead of kids--he sounded so grown up.
This was the beautiful floral arrangement in the lobby of our hotel. A man saw me taking this picture and pretended to jump in front of the camera to get in the shot. He then asked where we were from (and teased me about my accent when I told him) and talked to us forever about Texas history and every other topic he could think of. Just a few of the things I remember him mentioning: Sam Houston, local city parks and landmarks/places of interest, selling men's suits, his wife's trip to the hotel spa, giving his grandkids chocolate chip cookies against their parents' wishes, John Hagee's ministry, the old Neiman Marcus catalog and the Nordstrom shoe department (I think he even told us his shoe size).
The second night we ate at Cyclone Anaya's, per Stacy's recommendation, and it was really good. After dinner we made a quick trip to one store in the mall to look for Easter shirts for the boys (last minute, I know). I didn't find what I wanted but wasn't in the mood to continue shopping so we left and went to Starbucks. I think I was asleep by 9 p.m. and slept until 7:45 Wednesday morning...almost 11 hours of sleep--that's a lot more sleep than I usually get--very nice!

Wednesday morning at the hotel--loved the swans!

And the babies! They were so cute!

I don't know if this swan wanted to bite me or wanted me to feed it, but it kept swimming right up to the edge and reaching its neck out toward my feet--it was making me nervous.
Wednesday morning we visited Lane's uncle in the hospital. He has made significant improvements over the last three days, but he still needs prayer for strength and recovery. It was good to have a chance to see him and Lane's cousin who was there with him at the time. After leaving the hospital we ate a quick lunch at Jason's Deli then went to Hermann Park and walked around. The weather was so nice the whole time we were in town. It was fun just to be outside and not have anywhere we had to be or anything we had to do!

I don't know what kind of trees these were, but they looked so pretty with their branches hanging over the sidewalks and roads--they were everywhere!

We walked through a pretty Japanese garden:

After the park we left to drive back to my friend Stacy's house. She and her husband were so nice to let us stay with them for our final night in town. They took us to a neat restaurant called Benjy's in Rice Village. The food was delicious...I think we all ate every bite of our meals! Such a fun night with them! I had butternut squash crepes and Lane and I shared this dessert:
This morning we ate breakfast at la Madeleine and went to the airport. (It seems like we ate a lot!). It was a really fun trip, and I'm so glad I got to go with Lane. BUT, I was also so glad to get back home to see the kids and Bogart! Three nights was plenty. Rhett lost his first tooth while we were gone (post to come). They had fun with their Grandparents, but it was wonderful to get to tuck them all in tonight. I missed them!