here we are, in what i think may be our very first family portrait since alex was born(!), at matthew and sarah jo’s wedding last weekend in dallas, texas. sadly, i don’t really have a picture of them at the wedding yet, but my brother was very handsome, and my new sister was stunning. our family is gaining a wonderful addition, and matthew is gaining a great partner for his life. (as is she!) my dad did a solid job of officiating the ceremony, and we all got to enjoy bbq and ice cream under white-lit trees in the twilight. so lovely.
of course, due to the demands of getting ready for their wedding and also unexpectedly moving in the middle of it all, we didn’t actually get to spend much time with matt and sarah jo, but we did get to have fun with my parents. daniel, alex and i flew in on thursday, and spent the evening eating waffle house carry-out in our hotel room and going to bed early because we were exhausted after traveling all day. but friday morning, mom and dad came to our hotel and alex and i joined them on a spontaneous trip to the national cowgirl museum in fort worth. the fort worth version of COSI is currently housing some exhibits in the cowgirl museum due to remodeling, and we got into the whole thing for free with our COSI membership reciprocal admission benefits. yay! dad played with alex in the kids’ playspace while mom and i browsed the cowgirl exhibits and then we all headed back to their hotel to clean up for the wedding rehearsal and dinner, where we met up with daniel. we got to meet matthew’s new in-laws, who are kind and welcoming, as are matthew’s texas friends.
on saturday, daniel and i hopped into our rental car with alex to explore dallas. here is where we need some help for future trips, because i have to admit that we struggled to find things that were interesting and creative. i’m sure that there have to be lovely parts of dallas aside from shiny malls, but it seemed liked we just saw a lot of concrete and run-downedness. we did venture into deep ellum, a neighborhood that i had heard was alternative and artsy, but i have a feeling that it is more vibrant at night than on a saturday afternoon. we found a pretty cool cafe there, but it’s motto was “all-good cafe – it’s like going to austin without having to drive through waco.” um, i wasn’t sure what to think about a place who’s biggest draw was being like another city. hmm. so, please, if you know and love dallas, where do we need to go the next time?
alex did an excellent job of going with the flow, being charming and making new friends. the biggest problem was that she went to bed late every night and ended up co-sleeping with me in one of the beds (can’t cry it out in a hotel room with neighbors on either side, and this girl wasn’t going to stay in a crib when she could see mama and daddy right there!), and didn’t do great during the ceremony babysitting, but she was a real trooper!
overall, it was a good trip, and i can’t wait to make memories with my brother and his wife. welcome to our family, sarah jo!
joyful girl 