The first ice cream cone

After the long drive from home to Albuquerque and from Albuquerque to Magnolia, the four hour drive back to the Dallas area seemed like no time at all! Seb and Sam and I had a layover in Dallas last summer, but other than that we have never been to Texas and even the views out the car windows were interesting. The north Texas countryside is greener and more tree-covered than I would have expected, though perhaps not as green as the part of Arkansas we were in. On the way in to Dallas we stopped at the horribly-named Buc-ee's (my kids corrected me scornfully when I spelled it that way in a text, as they were unable to believe this would be a spelling anyone chose on purpose. Alas, someone did). It's a huge gas station that holds a strange fascination for certain people, apparently, with its weird beaver (groundhog?) mascot and branded Buc-ee's merchandise. We really liked the sandwiches and cheese puffs we got there for lunch, and I guess enjoyed getting gas at one of their thirty gas pumps?

I did get this picture of Gus by some Caw glasses

While we were eating our lunch at a park, Sebastian called and said that he had landed at Dallas Airport, so we sent the kids off to our next rental house in the van while Sam and I drove Abe's car to pick up Seb. The toll roads in Dallas are a confusing nightmare, but we will pass lightly over that and just say that it was so great to get to the house and have everyone safely together again! Not that I'd really worried about Seb flying alone, but…it was just nice to have him with us. We were excited to have a swimming pool! This was the burst-pipe rental house for which the owner had found us an alternate place, so we were actually very grateful to have a house at all.

Two of my brothers had also come to Dallas for the eclipse so the next morning we arranged to meet Philip's family at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden. I do love a good botanical garden.

And this was a good botanical garden! It was next to a little lake (I never knew there were so many lakes in Texas! All man-made, Abe says) and had a nice view of downtown.

We found this cute little caterpillar…

…and then saw huge swarms of caterpillars all over this tree! I keep meaning to look up what kind of caterpillar they were and what they might have been doing here!

After some waiting around and searching for each other…we found the cousins! It was fun to be with them as we walked through the garden.

Seb had brought his real camera (I'd left mine at home) and took a lot of good pictures, especially of his favorite little darling sister. My goodness, that boy loves Clementine.

Clementine was mad here. "Don't want to stand by the pyetty flowers!"

Gus running to catch up

We liked these big floral backdrops that appeared at intervals throughout the garden

Rare Abe and Ky sighting

Ziggy and Joseph

We spotted a bunny! Can you?

Cute Goldie. And Clementine, mad again.

The children's garden was really fun and we spent a long time there. Gus liked these bubbling mushrooms quite a bit!

Hungry baby bird

Another baby bird

I loved this area covered with Japanese maples in different colors.

They have the prettiest, fluffiest foliage!

Waterfalls

Baby turtle this time?

Opening his mouth for a worm anyway

And even more worm-begging babies!

They liked this little playhouse, too

And perhaps the best place of all was this treehouse platform with high nets to walk and jump on!

Clementine's favorite thing, by far, was walking up these stairs to the treehouse area, and then riding the little elevator back down to the bottom. She did it dozens of times and Sebastian patiently followed her round and round and helped her push the elevator button. So cute!

There she goes up again!

It was a beautiful day to enjoy the Arboretum. We got a picture of everyone (except Sam who had gone to get the car, and Philip who was taking the picture) at the end. Such a fun time with cousins!

Afterwards Abe suggested we eat at Braum's, whose chief virtue for missionaries (and big families) is its Bag o' Burgers for $6.95. You get five hamburgers in the bag, and they're pretty good! When we drove up to the restaurant, Gus saw the big ice cream cone on the sign and gasped, "We're getting ice cream cones? I've never HAD an ice cream cone!" We discussed this shocking fact for a few minutes and realized it was true! He hasn't! When we all go out to eat, we share, as a rule, and the few times we have gotten individual cones Gus has been too young for his own! We felt it was high time to remedy this oversight, and (since the ice cream is cheap at Braum's too!) got each child his or her OWN CONE. It was worth it for the sheer delight on Gus's face when he got his ice cream!

Table full of boys

I would like you to note Malachi's expression. I don't know if he didn't want to be photographed or was just fed up with everyone's nonsense, but it shall be treasured in our memories either way.

Our rental house also had a game room in which the kids had lots of fun. I wish I'd been able to get a few ping-pong matches in, but what with one thing and another, I didn't.

Here the girls are hysterical with laughter over something in "NBA Jam." I came in to check on them when I heard them shrieking. But I still don't understand what set them off. I rarely do! Serves me right for all the times I did this with my friend Rachael, I suppose.😄

After the Arboretum, we had a good warm afternoon for the pool, though Sam and I were meeting friends (my dear friend/former YW counselor and her husband!) for dinner, so we didn't get to swim. Abe went off with Malachi to meet his friend Jack that afternoon too. Philip and Allison came over with their kids and played and swam and helped watch everyone, bless them.

The only sad thing about this house was that we discovered, upon packing up, that Goldie had lost her little Taggie (a blanket she's had since she was a baby) somewhere. We looked everywhere in the house. Everywhere in the car. We talked to the lady at the previous house and she looked for it there. But Taggie was nowhere to be found. Goldie cried, and I cried for her. She does love that little Taggie! We kept hoping it would turn up but it never did, not even after the trip. We think it must have fallen out of the car at some point…or been translated into heaven. :) Poor Goldie!