The first "business trip"

Last week Lance and I had the opportunity to visit Dallas while he had three call back interviews for internships this summer. We were able to leave Beth with our good friends, the Grovers, and have three nights all to ourselves! Of course things don't always go as planned and we got to our hotel late, thus getting a room with 2 double beds... not what one would envision on a romantic getaway :) I didn't mind having some extra room though, considering I share my side of the bed every night with a baby :) The hotel the firm put us up in was extremely ritzy and when we walked in the lobby at 10pm that night in flip flops and a cooler we felt a bit out of place. I think the bellhops were a bit disappointed... yet not surprised, when we insisted in carrying our own luggage...as to not have to tip yet another person. There was only valet parking, which neither Lance or I had ever had any experience with. We are now very aware that there is a whole class of people that live the ritzy life that we never knew existed.
After staying there I have decided that I am more comfortable in the Best Western down the street that is 1/3 of the price, not valet parking, and free continental breakfast.
Other than feeling a bit out of place I did enjoy reading by the pool every morning while Lance went to his interviews. I slept in, which as you a ll know is very important to me, and just enjoyed having no schedule.

During our stay we were able to visit the Texas State Fair, which was a special treat to me considering I always try to attend the Utah State Fair every year that I can. You can image how big the Texas State Fair is considering the culture down here. This here is "Big Tex" and he happily welcomes you to the fair grounds. We got there kinda late, after driving 20 miles to the nearest Costa Vida for lunch, so we missed some of the things, like card stacking and the human canon ball. We were able to see the pig racing, the livestock, and eat two roasted turkey drumsticks :) We were also able to catch a little football on the big screen while we ate.






On Friday, after Lance's interviews, we were able to attend the Dallas Temple for the first time. It was so nice to be able to go and feel the peace and spirit there. I love going to the temple and was so grateful for the opportunity to go. After the temple Lance took me to The Saltgrass, one of the best stake houses in the state! Thanks to the law firm we were able to afford more than water! Needless to say I have never seen anyone so determined to finish his 22 oz. Porterhouse steak! We finished up the night back in our hotel room watching the U beat Louisville. Go Utes!

Saturday morning we headed back to Austin after enjoying a huge breakfast at IHOP. It was raining and we couldn't have asked for a better day to head home. It was so nice to get away from "life" and to enjoy a few days together without Beth (although of course we thought about her the whole trip). Beth also had a wonderful "vacation" from her parents and didn't want to come home with us when we picked her up. She was in excellent spirits the whole time we were gone and I have to wonder what happened when we came home and she sliped into her 2 year old ornery self.

I've decided that I could definitely get used to going on these "business trips" with Lance which brings me to the fact that we better have Grandma and Grandpa move down here so we have a babysitter :)

Thanks for a wonderful weekend Lance! It was great!