s.s. hanson: "Texas, Here I Come (Went)"

Last weekend we traveled to Texas for a wedding. It was an old roommate of Jamie's. We braved the airplane with the girls and found that we were rather successful. Of course, Stella didn't totally grasp that she was 30,000 feet above the ground, but she was fascinated by the take-off and landing part of the trip(s). We had one stop one the way there and two on the way home. Other than those superfluous stops, flying with the children was not bad.

I started to get really nervous before we left. I was leaving my comfort zone--and theirs--for the unknown (read: the unknown sleep schedule). I would like to think of myself as easy going (Jamie insert guffaw here) but I know that I am most definitely not when my sleep is either threatened or compromised.

Of course no one but Gianna got to take naps. Stella was up late but slept late, too. She shared a bed with her dad, so I think that made the trip successful for her. And every morning she'd wake up in the hotel room and say, "Hey! Look! Look! Look, Mommy!" as she pointed at the large television set. Then she proceeded to turn the TV on.

We ate lots of Chick-Fil-A and snacky foods.

I'm glad I went. The wedding, what I saw of it, was a beautiful. Jamie was one of the groomsmen so I spent most of he wedding in the vestibule wrangling the children. Stella met another little girl named Sasha. They ran around with each other and crawled with a baby that was just as wedding-rambunctious. When we got to the reception Jamie said Sasha and Stella saw each other again and smiled and waved giddily.

I'm all for making positive traveling experiences as I love to travel.

And right now I just glanced at my kitchen counter. I have all the ingredients for a soup for dinner. A soup that Jamie actually likes. This is an outrageous experience as my husband rarely comments on his enjoyment of meals (that I make) or only likes meals that require tremendous preparation that is only undertaken by the likes of his mother or grandmother. Perhaps if we dated longer before we married and I was really worried about whether or not Jamie liked me I would've slaved in the kitchen to make homemade noodles for his favorite beef stroganoff. But as it was, there was never a doubt about whether or not he liked me.

More on that later.

If you look hard you can see Stella, Gianna and myself in this photo. We are waiting at the car while Stella grabs a few zzz's as Jamie attends the wedding rehearsal. Thankfully, November in Dallas is unlike November in Phoenix in that you can actually wait in the car.