Texas and Back

I can't believe how many states I am visiting in such a short period of time. My flight to Texas wasn't exactly how the crow would do it. I flew to Philly first and then to Dallas. Two 4 hour flights. I stopped in O'Hare on the way home and now today, I will be driving to Nebraska. I was really glad to be back on the mainland. My family reunion was a blast. I saw a few cousins that I haven't seen since I was a kid and a few others that I may have never met before. We camped out on the family property and got caught up with everyone. Dad did a ton of fishing. I love to fish and would have had fun going with him, but they have water moccasin's and they freak me out. For some reason snakes scare me more when they are in the water. Brett rode around on his cousin's dirtbike and went to a waterpark one day. He also got a haircut and a cowboy hat. Dad gave him his cowboy boots and now Brett thinks he is a real cowboy. He still has a thing or two to learn about riding, but he just might get there.

The last night we were in Texas, we all stayed with Cat and her Dad. It was so good to see Cat, Steve, and Jill. I wish Laurie would have been there too. Laurie was on a business trip to Chicago. Dad and Steve hit it off and talked about cars most of the night. I wish we would have had more time, but we got stuck cleaning at the reunion (it was amazing how fast everyone disappeared when it came time to clean up) and Dad and I didn't want to leave Grandma and my great aunt to do all of it. Even if it was a short visit, it was wonderful. I miss my Catherine! I was struggling toward the end of the night. None of us had slept more than four hours the whole time we were in TX and it caught up to me. We were all talking and I kept doing the head bob. Somehow I managed to make it until about 1:30, but we were up to go to the airport at 4:40 am. I honestly don't remember taking off from Chicago to Milwaukee. I woke up as we landed. Dad was struggling to stay awake the whole drive home.

I only saw Wendy for about an hour when I got back. She was heading out for a horse show in Roscoe, IL. They will be there all weekend. I still haven't seen Dean at all. I think he went straight there after he was done with calls. Nicole is here all weekend taking care of the farm and working. Nicole, Jim, Brett and I went to go see Pirates of the Caribbean last night. It feels so good to be home. ...for a day anyway.