Everything's bigger in Texas!

Day: 1 - Texas in April is amazing.  True statement.  We went down to the Lone Star State to visit two sets of friends - in Dallas/Fort Worth and in Austin.  It was great to get back to a state with yards and open spaces:)

We happened to arrive on the day that John's parents were taking Quinn (and the whole family) to A Day with Thomas - or something like that.  It was basically a fair dedicated to Thomas the Tank Engine.  While we were waiting for the real train ride, I got to take Quinn on the little train being pulled by a small tractor of some sort.  Quinn actually didn't like it that much...he seemed pinned to the seat.  

That night..or maybe the next, we went to an enormous barbecue restaurant at the Fort Worth Stock Yards.  Order meat by the pound and beans and pickles are free.  I got brisket and sausage (1/4 lb. of each).  Sarah got brisket as well...1/4 lb.  

Look at all that meat!

 

Diving in:)

After dinner we walked toward the shopping area and encountered the bulls for the rodeo.  Those of you who know me (Dan), know that they scared the crap out of me.  I basically had to walk on the other side of the street - and no, it didn't matter that they were behind iron/steel fences.  They are huge, scary creatures that literally gore human beings.  

We did some window shopping and I tried on a few hats...Sarah thought this was the best fit.

Getting a high than usual vantage-point. 

Those people in the street...us.

It was just barely too small. 

Day 2: Dinner at La Hacienda - this place was great and we got to sit in saddles.  This was the Tex/Mex choice for the trip - there were beans and cheese in abundance. 

That's me (Dan) on the left.

Look at that funny face!  He had us in the palm of his hand all week.

Table-side guacamole! She is probably pouring in the garlic-salt at that moment, which she told us was just garlic.  Definitely had that remade.

Just awesome. 

 Day 3 - Botanic Gardens - Ft. Worth.  Sarah and I had a really great time at the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain, MA, so we wanted to visit the Botanic Gardens in Ft. Worth.  The day was beautiful and we saw some great flowers and plants.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to see the butterfly exhibit because it had ended two days earlier.  That said, we decided to just go into the conservatory (that's where the exhibit had been) and look at the coffee, banana and palm trees.  Little did we know the conservatory was also closed because you can't actually removed the live butterflies.  The gardens literally has the exhibit until the majority of the butterflies die and then they close the building to "remove the carcasses".  The visit wasn't a bust though, we got to have a picnic outside and spent time playing with Quinn and his big ball.

This was hilarious.  He did it over and over for 30 minutes.

Sarah chased the ball around and kicked it.  Quinn then ran after the ball and tried to grab it. 

Caroline wasn't very mobile yet, but she was quite adorable.  She kept buzzing her lips and spitting all over her face.  She smiled almost all the time and was mostly a dream baby. 

Day 5 - Franklin Barbecue - This place is widely considered to be one of the best, if not "the best", barbecue in Texas.  We had to get in line by 10am for an 11am opening.  This place is reputed to sell out of meat before it even opens its doors.  No lie, this place was worth the wait.  The brisket was "to die for" - Scott actually bought 5 lbs. of it to take home. 

From left: Scott, holding Violet!, Lydia, Sarah, Dan

 Later that day - Downtown Austin.  We spent a few hours walking around downtown Austin.  The highlights were two: an antique store and a cowboy-boot store.  The antique store was amazingly organized by color and had a million gems to be found.  Sarah and I look at all the antique stores here in Somerville/Boston and there is very little that's appealing.

Sarah went in to the boot store with the intention of seeing some well-crafted, beautifully-designed boots and I went in with the intention of finding the most expensive pair.  Sarah definitely saw some great boots and some terrible ones.  I found a pair of (what looked like) snake skin cowboy boots for $1499.99, that's $1500.00 for all those susceptible to marketing ploys.  Wowsa!

Sarah at the State House.

All in all a fantastic trip:)