Evie goes to Houston!

Evie has been so patient. During the time that Jim lived in Houston, he started a tradition of taking each of the kids down to Houston on a special weekend to his condo. He took Annie....then WIll.....then Callie......and THEN.....we hit a spell where for one reason or another, life was a little crazy and it was hard to get Evie's visit scheduled. She was SO patient but once every couple of weeks, she would calmly remind us that she hadn't gone to Houston yet. So when Jim came home and we decided to sell his place.....we knew we had one final shot at getting her there!
The day finally came.....last Friday. Jim picked up Evie from school at lunch, and she got to play hooky for the rest of the afternoon. She had already told her softball coach that she'd be missing a game, her teacher that she HAD to miss school.....and anyone else that would listen that she was going away for the weekend with her dad. She had a good lunch and then slept all the way there (good girl!) Jim's condo is in the Galleria (see the arches in the background? They are all over the streets in the Galleria.) The first thing they did was run to Nordstroms, and Jim bought her a new dress, a sweater, and sandals. This was a pretty big deal for my sporty, shorts and tshirt wearing girl, that refuses to shop at Justice because the clothes are too sparkly. They found a non pink, non sparkly dress and she was BEAUTIFUL , and all ready for their big plans of the night......
DINNER AT MAZROFFS. This is Mr. Mazroff. He and his son run the most amazing restaurant in Houston, and this restaurant is very special to our family! We spent Thanksgiving there two years ago, and always would go there when we visited Jim. I think it may be the best restaurant in Texas! Evie had a very special date with her dad. She ordered duck, and ate THE WHOLE THING!
The next day they went to an art fair in the park and ate breakfast at The Daily Grill. Jim says he thinks they walked about eight miles!
Saturday, after all of the kids games were done, I drove Annie, Will, and Callie down to meet Jim and Evie, and we spent our last night at the condo! I have no idea why I didn't take pictures of the place, but here are some phone shots from dinner......
We had to wake Callie up for this picture, and it still makes me laugh!
Annie giving Will a "dimple".....
And last but not least, my favorite boys in the world. I will ALWAYS love Houston. That is where my first two babies were born and we made wonderful friends there......

Great memories, great times....very thankful for this past weekend and my all of a sudden, grown up, kids!