Texas is not "that"Great.......
      ....but Well Worth the Wait!!

     Leaving Independence we headed west into Kansas where we stayed and Emporia, Kansas.  I had often joked to my young football kickers that they should kick it to Kansas.  Now, I had a realization of how far that really was.    It was Friday and we were not getting used to driving but the constant stops helped.  I pondered on what it felt like to be walking along side a wagon or pulling a handcart as my early ancestors had done....It was an easy choice.....I took the pain of driving and plowed on.

The saving grace in all of this was we were now heading to Carrollton, TX and family and we were excited.

     

   Our arrival was met by Eric, Kristin, and the grandkids and  Christi.  They streamed out of the house when they saw us pull up and the hugs were abundant as we greeted them all.  My little buddy Kimball came running to me, I pulled him up, and he gave me a bear hug that lasted for minutes.  It was almost like he was afraid to let go.  What a welcome!!

     They had prepared a basked full of treats and goodies and we were given the entertainment room as a bedroom...complete  with a blowup queen size bed.  That didn't work out so well as Marilyn and I move around a little while we sleep and by two o'clock, with Marilyn giggling away at the constant movement, we pulled the futon off the frame and slept on the floor in relative bliss.  At least she stopped giggling!

    

     The following day, which was full of fun and excitement, started with French toast breakfast.......without almond or a griddle.  Sometimes you just realize you haven't trained your children well at all.  The saving grace was the grandkids really didn't know how good French toast can be when cooked with proper ingredients on a griddle.  They will live on without knowing the "better way".  Until they taste mine.  

     As we left for our Saturday adventures and being in Texas, I just couldn't help myself.    I donned the big ol' cowboy hat that I had acquired in  Nauvoo Missionary DI.on our last day in Nauvoo.  I had never found anything of value there over eighteen months  but that ended on our last day as we dropped off some things.  There was this "big ol' oversize western hat (probably from one of those ol' big headed teamsters), that I just couldn't pass up.  Marilyn grabbed my other "special hat" and together we made an impressive(?) pair as we posed.

     Our first stop on our Texas adventure was a nearby nature preserve with lots of trails that meandered through the untamed, well groomed Texas wasteland.  We walked around hoping to see something exciting but it was more of a dog walking park than anything. The Texans looked pretty much like people everywhere......except Iowa where there seems to be a lot of "Big"(overweight) folks. 

    

    


     Things got more interesting as we headed to the Dallas Temple.  It was a gorgeous day and the temperatures were mild...not the cold Nauvoo spring we had been experiencing.  Temple visits are always a great experience and with the family(grandkids)  it is the best.  This is probably the best point to discuss driving in Dallas. We had been used to the less traveled roads of Iowa and Illinois.  We were now in the midst of heavy traffic and had to learn to dodge and weave with the best of them.             The freeways are a little bit....different than what I have been used to and they are also a little bit confusing to the GPS system since there are roads built over roads.  We managed with a couple of strange turns to find the Gibson's house in Carrollton but it was such and adventure we decided in the future to hire a chauffer, who strangely enough was named Christi. Ok....it was Christi but we relied on her and she rose to the task as we maneuvered around the Dallas roads.



    

   

    
     Next stop was "The Galleria".  For a moment I was believing it was an indoor amusement center like we had in Utah.  Well, in a way it was.   Turns out I was duped as  it was a super large indoor shopping mall complete with and indoor ice skating rink. We meandered around looking a some of the specialty stores while Christi and Eden took to the skating rink.  Watching them was entertaining and the both used their skills to navigate through others on the ice.  It was comical to watch the woefully inexperienced take unique falls with several doing a full back flop and conking their heads.



    

     Topping off the day was a trip to Rudy's in order to experience real life Texas Bar B Que.  Even though it was housed in the carcass of an old gas station/convenience store we were assured by Eric that it was one of "the best".  It's the first place I ever ate where everything was sold by the pound...except the bread....it was free.  Forget plates....you dish it up on a waxed paper with plastic ware.  Fingers are fine but utensils are soon found to be helpful.
    We found a large table in the back of the restaurant and proceeded to feast away.  If you look closely at the picture you will see that Kimball is either looking at the ceiling or showing off his perfect chin which, at the end of the evening, was not so perfect. 
    

    
     While we were preparing to leave he did some sort of acrobatic move that landed his chin on a chair or the floor but the result was a trip to  (well actually several) urgent care facilities in order to get the stiches needed to put him back together.  Once patched up you would think nothing had happened as he posed with all those in the household that had similar injuries.  Christi was the grand champion with the most stiches...I remember it well.




         

     Sunday was our chance to be shown off at church as we met with the members of the ward.  Christi had stayed overnight so as to spend as much time with us as possible.  Kristin, as always, prepared a spectacular Sunday dinner which we all enjoyed to the max.  That evening we all took a walk around the nearby lake.  It was the perfect time since the temperature was in the 70's and there were no bugs out....yet....to pester the walkers.  There are a bunch of annoying geese and ducks that are more than willing to attack the passerby's unless you stand your ground and stare them down.

    





     We "enjoyed" our final night on the futon and early the next morning we packed up, said our goodbyes, and headed west on the last leg of our homeward journey.  It was bittersweet as we will miss them but also we look forward to returning in July when Easton returns home from his sion.