Home, home, we are finally home! After spending almost all of February in Texas we’re back in green country – AKA, the Northwest – and so happy to have such a swell trip under our belts. The kids are smitten with the toys they missed and are loving bedtime more than ever because hella yes we’re sleeping in our own favorite beds once again!
Jemma and Max did bomb on the plane to Lubbock. Like, ten times better than I ever thought they would. That even included a layover in Vegas where Max chose not to change out of his one piece pajamas and stay buckled in his car seat … crazy boy. By God’s grace the gate we got off of for our layover was the same gate we needed to enter for our final leg. That meant Dominic didn’t get to carry 2 Dionos across the airport – yippee!
This was the best airplane activity – Jem’s pen pal via my mama blogger friend sent it to her as a travel surprise :)
And yes, before you jump in with “you know you can check your car seats” I’ll just say, why yes you can, but did you also know that after car seats get tossed around like luggage they’re considered to be unsafe – just like they’ve been in a car accident and thus needing to be replaced? Also, although the airlines don’t require kids to be in car seats, I think that is quite dumb because if kids need to be in car seats in a car – a plane, going a billion times faster with the likelihood of turbulence – seems like a good place to be in a car seat too. And finally, my kids, and I’m guessing yours, know how to act in their car seat. It’s familiar, sleep inducing and just the perfect height for that little airplane table. So, yes, we hauled 2 heavy car seats to and fro and are happy we did.
And that little rant leads us to our Lubbock adventures. Or, more appropriately, our Lubbock eats. The line up of favorites include …
- Blue Sky – real fine burgers and the best tots
- Rosa’s Cafe – the freshest, yummiest tortillas
- Chick-fil-A – I’m all about that Asian salad and waffle fries with THE SAUCE
- Rudy’s – baked potato with pulled pork … delish!
- Spanky’s – oh my word, fried cheese and monte cristo sandwiches
- Chuy’s – happy hour margaritas, free nacho bar every day from 4-7 or something like that and this dessert called Tres Leches
Jemma and her cousin, Karrington, shared an air mattress in the master closet for the week. They thought it was super fabulous and after the first night of “you’re going to be separated if you don’t stop talking”, they slept like little angels. Well, all except for the night when Jemma started snoring which woke Karrington who started crying because of the “weird sounds” Jemma was making :) Let’s just say Jemma sleeps hard and heavy after a string of busy days.
Whilst the children slept, the adults indulged in my new addiction. I really <3 board games. 
Oh, and in prep for the Austin 5K I had both my best and worst runs ever. Best being a night run in the crisp, Texas air and worst being a morning run in the windiest wind ever. I swear it didn’t even feel like I was moving the wind was kicking back so hard. Talk about resistance training.
If you ever find yourselves in Lubbock swing by the Museum at Texas Tech University. Jemma and I had a girl’s date there and treated it like a mini homeschool field trip. It was full of learning opportunities – our favorite being the huge mammoth and the world map where we got to pin or dream destinations … hers beings the south of Argentina and mine being Prague :) 
Jem took a whirl at kindergarten one day and amidst all the famous Texas food we took a little drive through the harvested cotton fields and oil drilling sites. Really truly, cotton and oil are such interesting commodities and Texas sure has a handle on them. 
That was Lubbock! From here Dominic flew home for work and my sister drove 6 hours one morning to load us up and turn around and drive us 6 hours back to Fort Hood for a week of adventures with her! Stay tuned for those photos and favorite recommendations … I promise, there is a lot more than just food in the Fort Hood to Austin area!
And seriously, why attempt a smile when you can capture and store these gems for a lifetime?
