Girl Weekend in Houston

I have so many wonderful memories of girl trips with my Mom and Ashley. The ones that really stick out were when we got to stay in a hotel! We always had such fun and it was such a huge treat. This past weekend, Ashley, Emma and I took a little trip and started building our own scrapbook of memories. We were headed to Houston to see our dear friends the Sellers and the Smiths. We decided to stay in a hotel and it was not only a treat but so fun to experience it with Emma! Isn't it just so fun to see the world through the eyes of a child!

We were able to do lots of visiting with friends, went to a Children's Museum-which was just a small one in The Woodlands but the perfect size for the kids to run and play and there was hardly anyone there so it made it extra nice! Kade and Emma had such fun! (Even I had fun playing with Emma and putting on a puppet show!)

We ate lots and lots of yummy food, went shopping and got to meet Shelli's newest little one, Kellan. What a sweet baby boy!!!

Shelli and Linda not only had great food cooked for us to enjoy but also took Ashley and I to Tommy Bahama's for a joint birthday lunch, and that place was SOOOO fun!!!

It was pure delight to watch Emma, Paityn and Kade playing so sweetly together. They don't see each other but once a year but they get along so well.




Emma was SO excited to stay in a hotel. She made us laugh so hard as she was so delighted over everything! When we checked in, she loved riding on the cart with the bags

then we got to the room she was so excited about the two beds! She jumped on one and then counted them...one bed and two beds! Then she looked up at Ashley and I and said "three girls...two beds" and then sat down on her bed and said "Emma's bed".

When we got back to the hotel that night, she was just jabbering because she was so excited. When I was putting her PJ's on her, she was standing on the bed, and just kept repeating..."I am just so excited, I am just so excited". It was so priceless! The last morning there, we ate breakfast (which was another complete delight as Emma thought the "free breakfast" was such a "Big Restaurant". Then we let her swim...

then checked out of the hotel and made a couple of quick stops before heading to see one of Ashley's sweet college friends. Chelsie and Steve have a new baby girl and it was so fun to get to meet her. She is adorable and so sweet natured. It so fun for me as a Mom to see these girls I grew to love as they were going through college together, as Mom's and seeing them taking their role so serious! Makes my heart sing! We stopped by a couple of shops on the way out of town and then headed back to Mansfield. Emma crash, poor little girl...she was so tired!

Ashley and I enjoyed some good talk time while driving. I think David was glad to see his girls when we arrived home. I spent the night, just to break up the trip and also because Ashley has asked if I could help her with Emma's three year old pictures. ( I will put some of my favorites at the bottom!) We got up Monday and headed to the park where we got some really sweet shots of our Emma-girl! So fun. Then it was time for Honey to hit the road. It was a wonderful trip and I am so thankful for the relationships God has placed in my life...both family and friends.

Here are a few of MANY favorite pictures we took...she is growing up way too fast!

A sight I thought I would never see...

The Eiffel Tower. Have always loved pictures of this little jewel in Paris. But never ever dreamed I would see it with my own two eyes. So as you can imagine, I took a few (hundred's) pictures of it. I promise not to post all of them. But before I show you more...let me back up to where I left off...

So after we had seen pretty much everything on our sightseeing list...we made our way back to the Hotel to freshen up a bit and then headed back out for dinner and then to walk to the Eiffel Tower. We were SO tired of walking so we opted to pick from one of the many cafe's right in the area of the Hotel. We enjoyed a nice dinner (except for the guys smoking next to us...it made me realize on this trip how much I love our no-smoking rules in restaurants, etc in the good old U.S.A.) and then took a leisurely walk to the Eiffel Tower, which thankfully was only about 2 blocks away. It was about 10 when we arrive so we started taking tons of pictures and walking closer and closer to the base. We had really hoped to take the tour to the top but we had learned early in our planning that only one lift was open and the lines were terribly long. Like 3 hours or more. We just didn't feel we had that kind of time. I throughly enjoyed it from the outside anyway, it was more than I could have hoped for!

When we were walking up to the base, snapping pictures and enjoying it to the fullness, Larry asked me what time they turned on the "twinkly lights". There was a large crowd gathering in all the lawns around the tower...waiting. I told him I couldn't remember exactly, I thought around 11. Well, you guessed it, about the time we got RIGHT under the tower, they turned on the sparkly lights. Of course, you can't see them under the tower...so we ran out from under and started running back down the path so we could see it better, get some pictures and videos...and of course share a kiss! I mean after all, how often do you get to kiss your sweetie by the Eiffel Tower..,

I had waited 36 years for that kiss! :)

We took videos, pictures and enjoyed it immensely then started walking back to the Hotel. It was late, dark and I was a little nervous, but my hero took care of me! Our Hotel staff had warned us to be "VERY CAREFUL" so I was very glad to see our little Hotel sign come into view. This was a very fun day but I don't know when ever we both have been this weary from walking...

but it was worth every single step to see as much as we were able to see.

So after a 20 hour day...we were ready for some shut eye!

The next morning, though I think we could have both stayed in bed for awhile, we knew the clock was ticking before we would have to head back to the train station so we hit it.

We packed up and made our way next door to the bakery. Oh so many decisions.

We shared several different pastries but our favorite...Beignets! We have heard of these little lovelies but it was our first time to taste one...or three. :) Nearly as good as the Nutella Crepe...but not quite!

It was so fun to walk down some of the streets in the area we were staying which was called Rue Cler. It was amazing. Here are just a few of my favorites:

These are meringues! Can you believe you big? They would serve them by knocking a hole in the middle and fill it with cream and berries. I know this is hard to believe, but we didn't have one.

What were we thinking????? 

 Bread...EVERYWHERE...have I mentioned I have a real weakness for good bread.
Oh dear.

 SO many lovely little shops and cafes

 And fresh fruit markets everywhere too.

And flower markets everywhere as well...oh my the flowers were incredible! 

 And cheese. AMAZING cheese stores. Larry is checking one out. 

 Did I mention how much I love bread.

Crusty bread.

We walked back to the Eiffel Tower so we could see it in the day.

Just as lovely. What an incredible structure. I wasn't expecting it to be the color it was...

but I loved the color. Kind of a bronzy brown. Very nice.

Then we hopped on the bus. The great part about being on the bus was getting to see so much of the city. Plus we knew this way if we saw something we wanted to check out, we would just hop off! 

We decided to check out some of the amazing parks so we had been walking a while when low and behold...look what appeared!

Our Crepe Lady!!

The sweetest thing was she looked up and saw us and gave us a huge grin and said,

"Ahhh...you are back!" We tried to talk her in to coming home with us.

She was making these hot dogs on baguettes so we decided to try one and oh it was so good and then of course we had a Nutella Banana Crepe once again...which I would like to go on record as saying my husband nearly ate all of it while I walked back to get a picture of her. I dare him! :)

We grabbed our meal and headed to 

the most lovely Jardin du Luxembourg.

I love flowers. I love gardens. So this was a feast for my eyes.

Eating an apricot...from one of the fresh fruit markets. So good. It had flavor!

Everywhere you look...beautiful patios and gorgeous flowers.

The streets are just amazing.

Crowded...colorful...and so very fun.

We spent our last hour just walking around all the wonderful streets of Paris.

We could have walked all day as there are just one right after another! 

But it was time to head back to the train station (sniff-sniff) to catch the train back to London.

This is a very busy station but a really pretty station.

As we were sitting waiting for our train, it hit us both at how hard we have pushed it the last 3 weeks. We are both exhausted...but it is a very good tired. 

We have so many wonderful memories to cherish.

We have been extremely blessed to be able to go to the Ukraine and work along beside

Jeremiah's Hope and then to have the opportunity to come to London and Paris.

What an experience.

What a beautiful place.

What a very fun thing to do with my sweet hubby!

So it's back to London then get luggage and get on the Tube and head to Heathrow.

We spent the night near the airport.

Got up the next morning and took the shuttle back to the airport and got checked in.

Airport was quite busy...lots of people arriving for the Queen's Jubilee.

Loaded and began our 9 1/2 hour trip back to DFW. 

I watched several movies, looked through pictures while Larry slept a bit.

David, Ashley and Emma were waiting for us when we arrived.

What a wonderful sight to see loved ones.

As much fun as we had, there was nothing much sweeter than seeing our kids and grandkids!

We went to David and Ashley's house for the night and then Emma and Ashley brought us back to Abilene.  It was good to see home.

It was good to see our loved ones and sleep in our own bed!

Thanks to everyone who prayed for us while we were away.

We felt your prayers and are so thankful for all the ways God took care of us!

If you are ever totally bored and would like to see more pictures...I have 100's! :)