Big D

One week ago today, we arrived in Dallas. It has been 11 years since we lived there, and the minute I stepped off the plane, I felt like I was at home. I loved the diversity of people, many colors and cultures all in one place!! The weather alone is enough to woo me back. It was mid-90s the whole time we were there, and I soaked in every bit of it. I wondered after all of this time, if I would still like it. The big city does have its drawbacks, but I can honestly say that I still LOVE that place.

Before I go on, I want to say to all of my Dallas friends how much we missed seeing all of you while we were there. The friendships are definitely one of the things that we love so much about Dallas. With our trip being so fast and celebrating our anniversary, we decided to spend the majority of the time just the two of us. So, we waved to all of you while we were there, and promised ourselves we would have to make another trip to spend time with all of you in the future!!

A new addition to Dallas!!

This place just keeps getting better all the time!

Enjoying the yumminess!

We stayed at the Fairmont Hotel in Downtown Dallas. It was quite luxurious. We spent about 6 hours at the pool one day talking, reading, napping, and looking at the Dallas skyline. We strolled around the Downtown area one night. We also drove around to a lot of the areas we used to frequent: Dallas Seminary, our favorite places to eat, and downtown. We slept in really late EVERY morning!!

Watching the sunset at the pool!

We did have lunch with one of my favorite people, KK and her husband, Jarod.

I have known this girl since she was 14 years old. She was in the youth group that Rick and I led. The only way I know how to describe my relationship with her is to say she is the sister I never had. I had to meet her husband. They have almost been married for a year!! We had lunch at our favorite Mexican Restaurant, Uncle Julios. I loved seeing her home and catching up as if we had never been apart. She and Rick and so funny together. They love to pick on each other. She had a new nickname for him, Papaw. He is 40 now. That made me laugh so much.

The big event for this trip was Monday Night Football at Cowboys Stadium. Now, let me just say, I am not really a football fan. I do claim the Cowboys as my team and faithfully stand by them through wins and losses, but I don't REALLY follow football. I went into this event as an act of love for my husband.

This experience went way above and beyond my expectations. I am so glad we got to do this, and I think it may have converted me into "kind of" a football fan. I have now agreed to watch Cowboys football with my hubby and make a big deal of it at our house with yummy foods when the games are on TV here. Tomorrow is our first official "Family Football Game Time."

The thing that was the coolest was the community that you felt on game day. Even when we were leaving our hotel and going out for lunch that day in our Cowboys gear, everyone was coming up to us saying, "Go Cowboys". We arrived at the stadium 4 1/2 hours before the game to get a good parking spot. Even that early, people were already out tailgating and partying.

Here we are outside the stadium:

Speaking of outside the stadium, we had 2 hours before they even opened the gates. That time made for some great people watching and trash talking amongst the fans. This was better than being at the airport watching people. There were so many different people that I wanted to take pictures of and post on here. It is so funny to see the uniqueness of different people and the way they express themselves.

At 5:30 PM, they opened up the gates to let us in:
There were all kinds of things to do while we waited for the game to begin. They had a show going on outside in the courtyard area. There was a drum line and break dancers. The electricity and excitement could be felt.

This picture does not even do justice to the size of this stadium and that screen!

It was great to go to a game that our team won!! Afterwards, as we were leaving, people were cheering and screaming as they walked out. Words can't even really describe it. I hope that each of our kids can do this at some point.

Happy Cowboys Fans!!

We had such a great trip!! I can't wait to go back to that place again!! It felt like a full circle moment to celebrate 17 years of marriage in the place where we started our family!!