We actually took a real vacation!

First, let me preface this...

Steve and I don't take vacations. It is not due to lack of desire. The desire is great. Typically we do not feel we can take the time or use the money for vacations. We didn't even really have a honeymoon. We had 2 nights in a hotel, here in town. We've taken little trips, places we could drive to in a day and stay in a hotel a night or two but that is the extent of it. Last weekend, that all changed! We received quite a bit of a tax refund and decided to use some of it to take a vacation for our 7 year anniversary this year.

Friday morning we flew down to Texas to visit our friends Mike & Sarah. We got up way too early (literally...5:30 a.m.) so we could fly out of Salt Lake at 8:30 a.m. We did this so that we could have all day to hang out. Our flight was non-stop and got us there at noon. They have a cute 9 month-old daughter, my new friend Ava, and I got to play with her the whole way back to the house. Steve kept asking me a silly question...are you ok? I was playing with a baby, of course I was! Once we got to the house we were attacked by their overly friendly dogs, Beau and Bella. They get very excited when new people come over. After we played with the dogs a bit and got settled in we spent the rest of the day relaxing and both of us took naps at some point.

Saturday we went to lunch and drove around the area to see what it is like. We looked at houses in the area to get an idea of what the cost of living is. We were quite surprised when we found a 4 bedroom, 2 bath house blocks from theirs selling for only $145,900 and in very good condition. This is not possible in our area. The best part about where they live is that it is a rural community, but within about 30 minutes can be in downtown Fort Worth or to the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. We have wanted to be able to live in a rural community for a while. Our problem here is that any semi-rural community close to Salt Lake would bring with it a rather lengthy and annoying commute. Mike has been trying to convince us that we should move down there, and Steve has really wanted to. I have been very hesitant to the idea because I love my family and I am very close to them. I can't imagine not having them close like they are now. I am very spoiled, I know.

I digress...

Saturday night Mike had to work and Steve went with him. They are in the same line of work (big surprise...they are so much alike it is scary) and so it was just like another day for Steve. This left Sarah and I to live it up without the boys...oh wait! We attempted to relax in the hot tub and we kept it cool so Ava could join us. But the jets were having issues staying on and it got really annoying so we didn't stay in very long. Ava did thoroughly enjoy it while it lasted, especially splashing water all over mom.

Sunday was extremely relaxed and low-key. Sarah had some reports she needed to finish so I took Ava and baby-sat for a bit so Steve and Mike could also hang out and get in some guy-time shooting things on the computer. Again, Steve kept asking me if I was ok...duh! Shortly after this, I learned how shocking it was that Ava did so well with me. Apparently she doesn't go to other people well. She fussed a little bit but I didn't turn around and just give her back to mom. I took her and started playing and she followed suit.

Pictures of my new friend!

Sunday night we were supposed to have a barbeque, but everyone canceled on us. So we made pizza instead. Mike ended up needing to work again. Steve went with him and his time Steve even got paid.

Monday we went to the lake. It was difficult to decide which one to go to though. There, going to the lake is like going to the mountains here. Within 20-30 minutes you have a lot of options of where to go. We had lots of fun swimming and laying around and no one even got burned. Steve got a little red in the face, but that is it. Then we went back to the house, showered and got cleaned up and Steve and I borrowed Mike's car and went to dinner for our anniversary. After dinner we drove around town for a little while and just talked. It was a very nice evening to finish a relaxing day.

Tuesday we came home. It was gloomy and rainy, just in time. The rest of our trip was gorgeous weather. Steve didn't feel well and our flight was delayed by about 2 hours. It was a long day and we were glad to be home and be able to sleep in our own bed, but we miss our friends too. Overall, we really enjoyed being able to just relax and visit with friends.