Carson's sister Elaine was in town this summer for a few days and one night she convinced us that we needed to take a trip to see her and her family before the summer was over. We talked to Clinton (her dentist husband) who said he could fit us in for an appointment, booked some tickets to Dallas, and it was final.
Just FYI - flying Southwest from Salt Lake City to Dallas is cheap, but not efficient. It takes forever, but it does give a lot of opportunities for peanuts and drinks.
We had a layover in the Denver airport, so we visited Hope's Cookies. This is Carson's dad's favorite cookie shop and we figured we better try it. We bought a cookie each, then got one for Clinton, Elaine, and Carson's dad. After we asked for five different cookies the lady at the counter blankly said, would you like the six cookie special? Did she even have to ask? Yes! These cookies were actually really good. If you are ever in the Denver airport you should give it a try.
Carson's entire family are huge BYU fans, and his brother Dallan (who also lives in Dallas with his family) is no exception. His little boy has a BYU room complete with a huge Y painted on the wall. We surprised them with this "rise and shout" wall decal. It looks perfect in Oliver's room.
Apparently, Dallas is kind of famous for the amount of restaurants they have. Carson had been there before and had a list of restaurants he wanted to try. So, in the four days we were there, we completed what we like to call the food tour of Dallas. Let's begin.
Fried alligator at Pappadeaux.
Steak fajitas at Joe T. Garcia's in Fort Worth.
Waffles at the Waffle House (where else?)
Carson was in Waffle House heaven.
Chimichangas at Christina's.
Pit barbecue at Hard 8.
And cupcakes at Sprinkles.
Twice.
Somewhere in there we went to Grimaldi's for pizza too. Did I mention we were only there for four days...and one of them was a Sunday. Yeah, I think I gained 15 pounds while we were there but everything was delicious.
Don't worry, we did some touristy fun stuff too.
We went to the Dallas water gardens which are really cool. This one was our favorite.
Don't mind the girl modeling in the background.
Also in Dallas is this statue. Or series of statues I guess. Either way it is very Texas.
Oliver and Claire, Dallan's cute kids.
We took a trip out to Forth Worth to see the stockyards.
They walk the long horns down around the block (for tourists) every Saturday. It is really cool to see these big bulls up close. And some of them have crazy horns.
Despite the horns Carson was not afraid.
Claire even summoned her courage to touch a little pony that was hanging out in the stockyards.
While walking around the little town they had set up around the stockyards, we found this candy shop. This shop had a wider variety of candy than I have seen in any one store. Carson was in candy heaven.
The best part about being in Dallas was spending time with family.
Me and Claire outside the Ranger's stadium.
Sweet baby Ella.
Me and Oliver.
Another one of Ella because her smile is just too irresistible.
Carson and Ella taking a swim (a very smart thing to do in Dallas because it is very hot there in August...in case you didn't know).
Oh yeah, remember how one of the biggest reasons we went to Dallas was to go to the dentist? We did that too. Clinton was so nice to set aside an afternoon to take care of us. If you are in the Dallas area and you need a dentist, go see him. He and his staff are awesome.
Carson hadn't been to see a dentist since before his mission, so we took bets on how many cavities Clinton would find...and we all lost. The result...just one!
We owe a huge thank you to Clinton and Elaine for letting us stay with them, for driving us all around Dallas, and for stuffing their faces with us. And to Dallan and Bethany for having us over several times and for joining us for a lot of food as well. It was so much fun to see all of you and your kids. Trust us...we are planning a trip back there very soon.
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