Week 25::2023 – Texas Trip

On Saturday, the 17th I flew to DFW, rented a car, and drove a little over an hour to my sister’s house in Weatherford, TX. My sister was due to have a baby the week of June 16th. However, Baby Lu came a month early, so I had to adjust my plans for a visit. Luckily nothing was set in stone with my trip so I was able to do it over a holiday (Juneteenth) weekend. I’ve taken solo trips to Texas before but this was the first time to rent a car on my own. I will say I was a bit nervous about that. Honestly, I’ve gotten so used to traveling with Rob and having him to navigate and problem solve. My anxiety coming and going was a bit heightened, but I survived and nothing bad happened. So praise the Lord for that!

We had so much fun. Here’s some highlights…

I enjoyed helping out with Baby Lu so much. Here we are not long after I met her that first day.

This is the shirt Nikki had dressed her when I got there.

It didn’t take long before she stole my heart.

On Father’s Day we went to Blue Mesa for brunch and then went over to the North East mall. Nikki’s hubby, Chris, wanted to check out the store called Quicklotz. Here he is living his best Dad life.

Happy & tired parents with their miracle IVF baby.

One morning, I headed out by myself. Nikki had a home consult for Baby Lu and I decided to take that time to get out and explore.

This is the Weatherford court house not far from Nikki’s house.

I drove over the the North Richland Hills area to drive around my old stomping grounds.

I went by my high school. Things I recognized were the front and the field house, both of which were new when I was in school.

The back of the school has changed. Although I can only remember what part of it looked like. I know there used to be tennis courts on the back side that are gone now. Here’s a view of some of the senior parking spots that are still painted.

My senior year was the beginning of the end for our mascot and all of the traditions that went a long with it. They are now the Richland Royals.

I went by my Granny’s old house, which sold late last year.

I also went by the house I grew up in, which hasn’t been in our family for nearly 10 years now. It looks rough.

I enjoyed just driving around my old neighborhood and looking at houses where my friends/teachers used to live…or least tried to remember where they lived. I also drove by my old elementary school and some other key locations growing up.

I did a little thrifting. Actually didn’t buy anything but enjoyed going to better thrift stores and walking around. This made me laugh.

Being out on the interstate, I kept seeing warning signs for heat and bad air pollution.

On my way back to Weatherford, I stopped in Fort Worth for Trader Joe’s. We don’t have a Trader Joe’s near us so I always try to stop by one when traveling.

These were so yummy!

Back at Nikki’s, I got to see them give her a bath. So sweet to see them working together.

We ate lots of good food! Nikki and Chris cooked a couple times. For memory sake, here are the places we ate while I was there: Blue Mesa (already mentioned), Beefmasters, Railhead BBQ, Balentine’s Bakery.

I love Braum’s. That’s where I worked in high school and part of college. They have the best prices for the best ice cream. I made sure to my fill of chocolate almond shakes.

Lots of more pics of and with the baby

This baby has tons of bows. This is probably just 1/4 of what she has!

I got a quick visit with their 3 Siberian Huskeys. This terrible pic shows how excited they were to meet me.

Such a good time! We’re hoping to see each other more often now. I haven’t been to Texas since 2017, so it was really overdue!