The Last 5 Days in 20 Pictures or Less...

Back in February, we decided to surprise my mom with a visit in March.  The plans were set, the tickets purchased, and then we just had to wait....But the time finally came, and she was just as surprised as ever when we showed up and sat down next to her while on a date with my dad. 

Following are some pictures from our trip.  Can't fit all 247 of them on here, but hopefully, this will give you the flavor of our time there.  

Wednesday, Day 1:

We took the train from Ft. Worth into Dallas.  Quite the sweet ride.

Dealey Plaza is famous for the location of JFK's assassination, but it's also where the very first homestead of Dallas was established.
Kevin in front of the second of two white x's marking the spots.

The crosswalk where history was made.

We couldn't take any pictures inside the 6th Floor Museum.  If you ever get the chance to visit, it's well worth it, albeit sobering.  By the end, I just had to leave the museum.  What a time in our nation's history...

Kevin's second time ever on a train on the ride back home.
We stopped to pay our respects to my biological father, who died when I was just a baby.  It was an interesting feeling to see the year of one man's death as the same year that gave me life.
Thursday, Day 2:

It seemed only right that the day after visiting where JFK was shot, we would travel through Austin on our way to San Antonio and stop at LBJ's presidential library.  

He is commemorated as a man who was forced into a job he didn't want, but in reality, he established many government programs that are still alive and running today (ever heard of PBS?).
We also visited the capitol building, where I met George W. Bush while on a 5th grade field trip. :)

Can't go on a vacation without a little Starbuck's!!!

On the streets of Austin.
Friday, Day 3:

After a day in Austin, we arrived in San Antonio late Thursday night and hit the ground running the next morning.

We took Kevin to the house I grew up in...funny, it seemed so much bigger back then....
He also got to see my old elementary school...which also seems to have shrunk.
And then breakfast at the Gunther House.  World Famous Sticky Buns and all home made (the flour is ground on the premises).
Long Live the Alamo--as well as the line to get in!

We decided to forgo the two hour wait to spend 15 minutes inside its walls, but we did get to see the museum on the perimeter.  

Can't visit good ol' S.A. without seeing the River Walk.  After a lengthy walk down it's bank, we had dinner at a little restaurant with...
...two of the most special ladies I know!!! I grew up with Leslie and Danielle right next door--and we spent hours at each other's houses playing anything and everything you can imagine!
With our Mammas.
Saturday, Day 4: 

Our last night there, my brother, Don, and his wife, Danielle, joined us for dinner.  It was the first time our family had been together since their wedding in November, 2007.  It was fun to see them!

And today is Day 5, of which I have no pictures only a sad case of let down that it's all over.  I'm so grateful to Kevin for allowing us this venture!  It was 100% worth the money, time, and energy put into it. :)

And that's it!

I would be lying to say that I'm glad it's over.  It's always sad to say goodbye to my parents, but I am very grateful to report that their house is sold and they are on their way to Pittsburgh, PA as of the beginning of May!  We're hoping our visits with them will be much more frequent! :-)

Hope your weekend was as fun as ours was!  

Now, it's time to recover... ;)