Best anniversary gift EVER!

So I have this amazing husband and for an anniversary gift he surprised me with a trip to New York City...and North Carolina....and Florida! How did I get so lucky, you might ask? Well, first of all my husband is very thoughtful and loving, and second of all, he had to go on business to these locations and he got me a ticket to go along. I wish I'd taken more decent pix but here are a few:

 Oh my, I love New York City! Fourth trip to the Big Apple...

 At Love Field in Dallas...super excited for the trip.

 This is me at the Met. Since Eric had business I had to get myself for the hotel in Queens to the Met. I managed to do so and I was quite proud of myself. BTW, I am selfie impaired. I need to take a class or something.

 The Metropolitan Museum of At

 This is a piece of spray paint art that we had done in Times Square. If you haven't seen it done before you should definitely YouTube it. Its amazing!

 The artist who did it for us was this kid from Ukraine whose been doing it for about 2 years. He said he watched the YouTube video, came to the US, found a person who knew how to do it, was tutored for 2 days and now he does it on his own. Heck yeah, I'll buy that thing!

 This is the 9-11 memorial. I loved the design. It was very reverent.

 Max Brenner, chocolate restaurant!

 Times square. What a jungle.

 We went on a bus tour. It was a great way to see more of the city.

 A piano washed up on the bank of the Hudson. So there's that.

NEWSIES on Broadway! Happiest day of my life!

 The next leg of the trip was to Durham, NC...one of my favorite places and home for 4 years while Eric has in school at Duke. Eric didn't accompany me on this leg of the journey. He had business in Philly, I believe.

 Me in front of my old apartment. I just cried when I saw it. I love this place so much!

 At the Q Shack, our favorite place for North Carolina BBQ!

 Nom. nom nom. Although Texas BBQ is delicious, I think NC bbq will always be my favorite. Give me that vinegar based sauce every time!

 Me and Melissa Garza, my wonderful friend who hosted me for my short trip. We were in the branch together in Dallas and then her hubby ended up doing his residency at Duke so she got to move out to our old stomping grounds. It was so, so great to hang out with the awesome Garzas. I love NC. I would live there again in a minute.

 Last leg of the journey: Ft. Lauderdale Florida. Eric and I united again in FL for some awesome sea food and swimming in the ocean. Oh man, it was beautiful. Don't you love the background of the above pix?

 Gorgeous beaches

My photos are a little lacking in Florida. This pool at the hotel was so nice to swim in. We realized after we'd swam that there are windows in the sides of the pool that opened up into the bar downstairs. Sorry to everyone who was looking at my legs for an hour. Embarrassing! 

I'm so thankful for my dreamy husband who planned this romantic getaway for our 9th anniversary. It kind of makes me wonder what 10 will bring!

Utah Trip

I had the opportunity to drive with a friend and her kids to Utah when Bryant came home from his mission in Nicaragua a few weeks ago. We didn't tell Bryant we were coming and I think we gave him quite a shock when we showed up. Ha!

 On the way we stopped for a quick breather at Wilson arch in southern Utah.

 Bryant and moi.

 Libby playing with some of Daddy's old toys at Grandma Washington's new house in Heber. I love this picture!

 My poor Libby managed to get stung on the lip by a bee. Poor girl!

 Eating at Home of the Train in Heber. My kids are obsessed. (And I might also be.)

Playing at a park in Orem. Utah has so much natural beauty that I miss being out in Texas. But I don't miss the winter!

Fourth of July Weekend

Our Fourth of July weekend consisted of going to Houston to see the battleship USS Texas and swim in the lovely Texas ocean water. Here is what some of that looked like:

Unfortunately we didn't get any pix at the beach because I didn't dare take my phone out by the water. But it was great! Not exactly picturesque, but warm water and lots of sand. Which is what we were going for!