Everything you ever wanted to know about our trip and more

Obviously, we're back. Well, 3 of the 4 Texans are back in NC. Addi is still in Texas with grandparents. And having a ball, so I'm told. She's not really needing to talk to me once a day like I had planned. I got a call from her about an hour ago, which was the first she's initiated during the 3 days she's been away from us. I, at least, am going to believe she initiated the phone call rather than the alternative...her grandparents forced her to call.

We had a great trip. I am having a little trouble getting out of vacation mode though. And, no, the mountains of laundry surrounding me aren't doing much to slap some reality back into me. We have 7 people (including Addi) showing up at the local airport on Thursday. They will patiently be waiting for Bryan, Libby and I to pick them up. Then, we'll see what we can do to entertain 4 more adults and 2 more kids for a week while it is supposed to be scorching hot and raining. Maybe that knowledge will kick me into gear...at least by tomorrow night :)

So, like I said, the trip was great. We spent the first afternoon with Bryan's family where we were introduced to our newest family member, sweet Rachel, and the girls were introduced to a cool new treehouse that Poppa and Uncle Clay built. It goes without saying that the girls loved both Rachel and the treehouse.

The next morning, Bryan and I drove to Houston. We were able to hang out with good friends all weekend and see lots of old friends at the wedding. We took advantage of being child-less by eating everything we wanted....chili-cheese Fritos with peanut butter Twix and Big Red for a snack on the road, Mexican for lunch, yummy seafood at the rehearsal dinner, Shipley's for breakfast, Sonic for lunch, Whataburger for the next breakfast, and Wings-n-More for the next lunch. My mouth is watering as I type.

We enjoyed our fried pickles, cheese fries, and wings at the "new" Wings-n-More in College Station. Bryan and I took our time at the Bonfire Memorial. We walked around campus remembering different spots we would always meet and noting the inevitable changes.

Bryan was amazed at the Century Tree. I guess, being a guy, he didn't pay much attention to it while he was a student. I don't really remember the whole "story" with the Century Tree, but, basically (and please feel free to correct me in a comment if I'm wrong) there is this huge tree in the front-side of the Academic Building with a path leading right under its branches. You aren't supposed to walk under the tree by yourself or??? Who knows?...you'll never get married or something. If you walk under it with someone, that will be the person you marry. Lots of people get engaged under the tree. Anyway, all I know is I avoided that path at all costs while I was a student. I guess, I walked under its canopy for the first time about a week ago! We also drove around College Station and spent way too much money outfitting our family in current Aggie garb.

We were more than ready to see our girls by Sunday evening. Monday night we all ate at Babe's in Burleson. My belly was full by the time we made it back to Nana and Poppa's house. Not too full to enjoy some Blue Bell though!

Tuesday we ended our time with Bryan's family and began our time with mine. That night we were able to catch up with the neighbors I grew up next to. On Thursday, we drove out to Sprinkles and ate a cupcake. I have to say, that none of us were overly impressed. Don't get me wrong, the cupcakes were delicious, just not overly delicious.

We swam, ate more Blue Bell and more Mexican, spent time with my grandparents, played with the little girls next door, and made pancakes while at my parent's house.

Then Bryan, Libby and I came home. Addi cried when she found out she had to ride with Grandpa while he dropped us off at DFW. We'll miss you too, Kid! I started crying when I hugged her good-bye and she did her best at impersonating a sad person. I cried as we drove to our house from RDU and wondered what in the world I was thinking when I agreed to leave my child 1100 miles away from me. I called Addi the minute we walked in the door and she humored me for about 2 minutes. I really didn't want her to be miserable. I just thought she would want to talk to me once a day (maybe before bedtime). I thought wrong and that has been a little hard to come to terms with. My baby's growing up. She doesn't need me like she used to. It's part of life and before I know it my other baby will be just as independent.

I don't know that I'll be posting much more for the next week or two. I really do need to tackle this laundry. I've been trying to do fun Mommy-Libby activities while Addi is away. And, we will have company for a week. Until then...