Dallas Visit, Part 1

We arrived in Dallas around lunchtime & jumped right into Gaga's car to head to Great Gran's House. We had some lunch then put the little girlies down for a nap.  My mom has 3 sisters that all live in the Dallas area so over the course of a day & a half, we got to do lots of visiting with them & their families.

Both evenings we relaxed at the house playing games & chatting. Here are some pictures of our time together.  Only Great Gran had met Eloise so it was special to introduce her to the Loftin Clan....
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Kelly & Eloise

A favorite part of our trip was meeting Baby Aubrey Elizabeth. She was born in August & is just as sweet as they come! We got lots of snuggle time in with her & made sure she got to know her Florida cousins.  It would be so fun to live close & let the girls enjoy playing on a regular basis but we will do the best with our visits!  Aubrey's beautiful mommy, my cousin Amy is pictured below.

Me, Amy Beth & the future Red Raiders ; ) My cousin Amy & I were at Texas Tech at the same time & just love dressing our girls in Red Raider gear!

Lil Red Raiders, thanks Uncle Kyle for the matching shirts!

Aunt Sharon & silly Eloise with her tongue poking out

Another dear friend of mine that I always try to see when we come through town is Charlotte.  Charlotte & her husband JJ lead a small group that Robby & I were a part of the first 2 years of marriage.  Following the group's ending, we stayed close with their family & have grown so much through their leadership & encouragement.  I did miss out on seeing their boys Jack, Chase & Josh....oh how we love these kids! I was filled in on all the latest details about their lives & hope to catch them next visit.  Charlotte is always a breath of fresh air to spend time with & we are never short on laughter in our once a year coffee date.

My sweet friend Charlotte & my girls

After having 4 daughters & 7 grandchildren, Great Grandma Shirley is a pro at calming babies & keeping them happy : ) She has quickly added 3 great granddaughters that she loves very much! It is kind of fun, the 7 cousins start with 3 girls as well & we were spaced almost identical distances apart as these 3.  Her lap is still the same size, just perfect for snuggling her babies!

One happy Great Grandmother with her three great granddaugthers

The newest babes with G Gran

Charlotte loved playing with Aubrey, she covered her with toys to enjoy : )

Gaga & Elo, Lolly & Aubrey

Elo & Uncle Ron, aka Pepaw to baby Aubrey

The girls with Aunt Sandy & Uncle Darrell

We also took a trip to the beautiful Dallas Arboretum on Friday morning to see the pumpkins.  My friend Brooke met us there & took pictures for us which I will post once we get them back.  It was PERFECT weather & we had a wonderful time!

Charlotte woke up early Saturday morning with a fever : ( I should have predicted that since she has been sick the last 3 times with have visited with the Valentine's....we were headed there that morning.  We stopped at their house for a 4 hour break in our drive.  Rob's Uncle bill, Aunt Kathleen & cousin Elizabeth stopped by to visit & Aunt Jenny & cousin Karis were staying at their house so we got to do some catching up.  Bob & Jeannine served us a lovely breakfast & lunch while we were there before getting back on the road. 

Grammy & Bob-Bob, I love how Elo is staring at her Grandpa : )

Cousin Elizabeth snuggling little Eloise

Our friends Andrew & Renata joined us for the morning as well! I had to be honest & call them that morning to let them know that Char had a fever so they didn't bring Owen over.  I was so sad not to see him but we enjoyed his mommy & daddy!  They came bearing gifts from Brazil for the girls....always so thoughtful! Renata captured Charlotte for a photo : )

Renata & Char

Andrew & the eggplant from Big Bob's Garden

The Valentine ladies

After this picture was taken, Charlotte started feeling really crummy & actually fell asleep while I was holding her. This has only happened maybe 1 time in the last year & a half so I knew she felt awful.  She stayed asleep when I laid her down on Grammy's bed...this also NEVER happens.  She snoozed for a bit before we loaded up & headed to Houston.

Our drive was wonderful! Eloise has not been on a long car trip before & it has been over a year since driving a long distance with Charlotte. They did great though! We stopped a couple times to feed Eloise & let Charlotte out of her seat & made it to Houston in about 4 1/2 hours.

Whirlwind is the only word that can describe our trips to Texas.  They are always filled with fun but I am exhausted when they are over, especially after adding the kiddos to the family : )