birthdays in the lone star state

when matt and i moved to ohio, my family was understandably pretty sad. however, they were supportive and did what they could to help me with this transition away from the only home i'd ever known in my 24 years on this planet. of course, this didn't stop my nieces and nephews from asking difficult questions about moving, and if/when we were "ever" going to come back. ::heart breaks!:: the most memorable encounter we had with this was with my niece olivia, who was talking to me on the phone one day shortly after we moved here. liv was 3 and finally aware that birthdays are a big deal, it was only november and she was already counting down the days until she would be "four, aunt jessica, i'll be FOUR!"
she queried," you'll be here for my birthday, aunt jessica? it's in march."
me: "well, liv, i'll have to see if uncle matt and i can come visit from ohio."
liv: "oh, well, i'll just have my party in ohio!" ::pause:: "....of course, i'll have to ask my mom and dad"
too cute! i figured that march would be a good time to visit, anyway, so i could also celebrate my birthday with my family. so we started making plans...luckily, i was able to figure out my work schedule so that i could visit for a whole week, from march 3 - 10. unfortunately, matt wasn't able to come with me this time, as his work schedule was not permitting. but he did get some work done while i was gone, and i was very happy that i got to visit my family and friends. the play-by-play is as follows:

wednesday, march 3:
- fly in, land before noon (texas time), picked up by mom, dad, liv and jonah at the airport. sunshine abounds...for the first time in my life, i'm happy to see the sunshine!
- eat home-made pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon with the family.
- watch "word world" with liv and jonah...and take a nap :)
- head to the annual dallas auto show with dad. find out that we are there 1.5 hours before it opens...hmm....
- walk around downtown dallas near the convention center, visit pioneer plaza and the cattle drive statues (more info here) grab some starbucks with dad, enjoy the auto show (for nearly 3 hours!)
- back at home, celebrate with family for liv's birthday with dinner and pink cake (per liv's request)


cattle drive

thursday, march 4:
- hang out with sarah & the kiddos. look at stuff for the house they are building, take a nap (no wonder i like to visit!), play "the very hungry caterpillar game" with liv, catch up with my sis.
- head to shari's house for chipotle (YUM!) and more catching up.
- movie with my buddy jerimey. yes, we saw percy jackson and the lightning theif....so what?!

friday, march 5: (olivia's birthday!)
- help ray & sarah make interior decorator decisions for their new house. spent the morning looking at countertops, paint samples, tile samples, carpet samples, shower shelves, etc until they all started to blurr together....but it was still a lot of fun.
- meet up with mom, dad & jared for dinner at chuy's and margaritas (some of the very best 'ritas in the entire metroplex!)
- back to sarah & ray's house to save ray from "house arrest" sarah was working, so ray had the kiddos. we watched "the invention of lying" a very interesting movie...


chuy's...yum!

saturday, march 6:
- sleep most of the morning :)
- head to church to help mom & dad with the church yard sale (this was actually more fun than it sounds)
- dinner with mom, dad and jared at jake's burger joint...so not healthy.....so good tasting! beer and 'ritas are good too
- head to the schiratos (i miss you, ryan & carrie!!), watch some american idol before heading to the cheesecake factory for drinks and dessert
- visit my hard-working friends at MCD...oh how i miss you!

sunday, march 7:
- wake early, head to church
- breakfast at denny's with mom, dad, sarah and liv
- head to the proctor's for liv's birthday party!
- back to mom & dad's for a movie night. we watched "fargo"....there is a story behind this....


the birthday girl

monday, march 8:
- run errands with mom (again, more fun than it sounds)
- help make a delicious birthday dinner for me including fajitas, taco dip, white queso, home-made margaritas and other tex-mex yumminess. dessert was my two favorites: creme de menthe and a fruit pizza!
- time with the family :)
- kids to bed, the adults get to watch "the hangover"

tuesday, march 9:
- breakfast with MCD buddies (yay!) at ihop (yum!)
- time with the family
- coffee with eddie, sister, nini & bryan, then drinks at fillmore

wednesday, march 10:
- income taxes with mom (this is just as *not* fun as it sounds)
- pizza dinner with the whole family
- head to the airport, fly to columbus


thanks, everyone, for a great trip to the beautiful lone star state! i love you and miss you!!

the pics:

texas - march 2010