Through the Happily Ever After: A Vacation After Vacation?

Hoss found out at the beginning of August that he actually had some vacation days that he had to use up. One week to be exact. This came as a surprise to us, since we were not expecting him to receive vacation time until after his year anniversary with starting work at UPS...and even then, since after November commences, that is considered peak season aka the busiest time of the year for shipments, Hoss would be unable to use that vacation time until after the New Year.

Needless to say, we immediately began planning what to do with that time away. Our conclusion, was an extended weekend in Lubbock, TX with our little family. This was the girl's and my first time in Texas.

We took Big T and Little H out of school early on Thursday. Hoss got done with his morning part-time job at BSA just in time for lunch, and we hit the road!

DAY 1--Thursday:

The first evening we arrived, we drove into some ominous storm clouds. However, it did not rain until we arrived and had all of our stuff packed into our hotel room.... thank goodness, because it rained! When we left the hotel room to go have dinner our car was right next to the door. We got nearly soaked as we ran (literally 2 seconds) to the car! It doesn't rain like that in Idaho!

We found the restaurant without too much trouble. It was delicious! If you go to Lubbock and want to eat some Korean food, go here! I personally had a migraine headache developing, so we headed back to the hotel for bed.

DAY 2--Friday:

Friday we spent shopping. All four of us were in need of clothes. School clothes for the girls, maternity clothes for me, and shirts and church pants for Hoss. It was an exhausting day. We ate at Chick-Fill-A...which was very tasty. I wish we had one in Roswell.

DAY 3--Saturday:

This day was dedicated to Hoss and I attending the LDS Lubbock, Temple, which we did!
After the temple, we made our way to a little amusement park called Joy Land. They girls had a blast! We were there from about 4pm-10pm (close time). They had the classic little kid rides, a roller-coaster and a few adrenaline rides. I was the picture taker, since it is not recommended for pregnant women to ride.

Hoss took both girls on many of the "big kid" rides. Little H couldn't get enough of them! Big T, really liked one fast ride, and one roller coaster, so she was ready to try some more! Hoss took them both on The Rocket, which is basically a rocket shaped ride that swings back and forth like on a pendulum. Little H was all smiles, and Big T was...... freaked out--gripping Hoss's arm like a cat avoiding falling from a tree into a pond!

The next ride was an octopus type ride. Big T was nervous, but she went anyway. After that ride, she was done with the big rides. She nearly threw up! But how was Little H? All smiles, ready to go again and again! She rode almost every ride. Our dinner consisted of Burger King burgers!

DAY 4--Sunday:

Aaaaaaah, the day of rest. We went to Church. We went back to the hotel. We had a nap. And we hung out in the room...which was a suite for only $79 a night (or so). We got a smokin' deal! We ate sandwiches, apples, and carrots for lunch and dinner. It was nice that we could keep the sabbath day holy even on vacation!

DAY 5--Monday:

We packed up, checked out of the hotel, and did a little bit more shopping. We grabbed lunch once again at Chick-Fill-A, since we had free meal coupons from our last visit! $7.50 for all four of us to eat! Yaaay! We then gassed up (which was the first time for the whole trip) and headed back to Roswell.

Later that night, we decided to stop at Subway in Roswell, to eat dinner. We ordered, and as we were sitting down, Big T said, "Maybe we should say a blessing on the food." We all agreed. We sat down, prayed and began to eat.

There was an elderly couple sitting at a table nearby. As they got up and left, she leaned over and said, "Even before I saw you pray, I could see the Lord in you."

I have never received such a compliment. I am grateful for little girls who help keep us in line and reminding us to pray (we don't always remember that when we eat out).

I love the timer feature on our camera!