MLK weekend in Dallas

We have not been to Dallas in almost a year and a half! Shame on the Zyrieks because I do have a brother and sister there and the girls have 5 cousins anxiously awaiting their visit to catch up. We finally found a good weekend to go and it was great. We drove down on Friday afternoon after the girls got out of school. While the drive took the exact time it always does, roughly 7 hours, we were all tired after a day at work and school and were ready to be there!

We stayed with James and Lydia in their great new home and really enjoyed being there. Of course this home is over a year old to them, and that further shows how long it has been since we have visited!! Have not even seen the "new" home!! Anna and Caroline instantly had fun with Blake and Drew. They played around the house on Saturday morning while James took Gary and I to the gym. I'm training for the St. Jude Country Music Half Marathon that is at the end of April and needed to get in a good run on Saturday and Sunday. We ran indoors on Saturday and then we were off to the zoo with the kids. James, Gary, my dad and my brother-in-law Matt headed to Waco, TX to watch the undefeated Baylor Bears take on Oklahoma State in basketball. We enjoyed the zoo with the kids. That evening we enjoyed a great dinner, a surprise birthday cake and gifts for me and more fun with the family.

My favorite part of our trip to the zoo would NOT have been when Caroline deposited her water bottle in my purse without closing the top! Love having to dump out the many ounces of water from my soaked purse. One mom at the zoo offered me wipes because she thought I was cleaning out vomit. Hilarious. Another not so fun moment was when the birds in the bird feeding area (similar to what we have had in Memphis before) pooped on Caroline's head. Gross indeed, but she took it in stride!

My brother was being ordained as a deacon on Sunday at his church, so there was actually more family in town than usual. My dad and stepmother came down and my sister Elizabeth, currently in Austin getting her PhD in nursing drove up as well. We had a full crew. We missed Blair and Kim and their kids or it would have been a full family reunion!

The Zyrieks went to the 8am service on Sunday and the Pittmans and my parents went to the 11am service. We really enjoyed being there to support my brother in this special ceremony. Great church and it reminded me of my Kirby Woods Baptist days since this they attend a Baptist church in Dallas.

The afternoon was relaxing. Nowhere really to be except Gary and I needed to get in a good 1 hour run. We decided to run at White Rock Lake so we could be outdoors. It was warmer but we had no idea how windy it was going to be. Gary paced me and we ended up getting in over 6 miles. So proud of how far I have come in just a few weeks with my coach's help!

The kids played and were worn out, we watched some NFL football and had another yummy dinner together. We had the drive home on Monday and did not want to be too worn out.

Overall, great fellowship with family, got my runs in, the kids had a blast and we celebrated my brother's special time at church and my birthday. Great weekend!

before heading out to the zoo

zookeeper chat

she looks happy now, but this is the bird that pooped on caroline's head!

quick trip to american girl after church on sunday

the pittmans and the zyrieks

after church, looking good :)

kids table at dinner

all the cousins together



the kids made an obstacle course for the adults...turned into more of a carnival but they had so much fun making it and it took over an hour which kept them occupied for a while 



evening entertainment included the kids "reporting" news stories and creating a newspaper to share with the adults