Austin Trip Part 1

I have never flown with two children before. I was really worried about it, but shouldn't have been. My girls are awesome kids. Rhayn was anxious for our flight, but more because I didn't let her pack weeks in advance. She worried about bringing the right and enough clothes. We had her make a list a few days in advance so she could plan what she would bring. Gwennie didn't care, she was just sad that we had to let someone watch our pups.

The morning we flew out, I took my time getting dressed, eating breakfast, all of that. Our flight left at 11, which was by design. I was pretty sure that my girls wouldn't sleep the first night we were there, they both get so excited and Rhayn especially has a really hard time calming down at night. It usually takes her a few hours to go to sleep.

We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare, we found out gate and then went to the moving walkways so the girls could check those out. We bought some cinnabons while we were waiting, too.

Our flight was about 2 hours, which was a little longer than I would have liked, as the time dragged after the first hour. Rhayn and Gwennie were good, though. I could not have asked for more pleasant travel companions (well, I think Will would be fun to travel with, we've never flown together, isn't that sad? I hope to rectify that at some point after he comes home.)

As we flew over Austin, I was surprised at how it looks, I have never been there and really expected a little less green, and more flat. Our plane landed uneventfully and we got off quickly (the girls and I needed to pee.) We went down the escalator to the restroom, then feeling more refreshed walked out to the baggage claim. We looked around the airport, which is really small, but didn't see our friends. Then from far away, I heard it "I see you! There you are!" I looked up and saw JD on the upper level, excitedly yelling for us. She and her kids had been waiting at the wrong exit, and missed us. We walked quickly (well the girls ran) over to them. There were lots of hugs, and exclamations about how big everyone had gotten. It was a great welcome.

After we found our bag and car seat, we walked outside. The heat blasted us in the face, the humidity level made it hard to breath, at least for this desert dweller. Then JD told me that her car's a/c was not working. I can handle that, I thought. It won't be that bad. We lived for years as kids with no a/c. So I smiled and just dealt with it.

We drove the forty-five minutes to their house in the country outside of Austin. There was a lot to look at, so much green, so many vines. I really had no idea how it would look there and was pleasantly surprised by the greenness of it.

JD asked me to help her grill some hamburgers that night, which was fun, since neither of us had done a lot of grilling. But we really had fun working together and laughing about everything. Dinner was good, we all enjoyed it.

The kids played really hard and at dusk we walked on their property to "the big tree" which is a huge tree that has hammocks and swings in it. After playing for a few moments we walked back up to the house and got ready for bed.

Rhayn was supposed to sleep in her friend's room, but it was too dark and scary she said. Both girls were in bed with me. It was really dark that far from the lights of the city, with barely any moon in the sky. The stars were amazing to look at. I lay in bed and stared up at them for a long while before finally drifting into dreamland.