Visit to see Papa T.

Over Christmas, we made our first trip as a family to visit my Dad down in Dallas, TX. The air travel was not without a few glitches (not surprising given that we flew out on Christmas Eve and were in the middle of a winter storm), but we made it there and back in one piece. And everyone had a great time while we were visiting!

The weather was unseasonably warm (although anything above 30 degrees would have been a heatwave for us!) so we spent a lot of time outdoors. We packed in some sight-seeing, a few day-trips and even had time to kick back, relax, barbecue and watch some football! Here are a few photos to recap our visit:

Our trip to the Fort Worth Stockyards
Allie especially enjoyed seeing the cowboys, horses and watching the cattle drive.

Grandpa and Allie, showing off her cowboy hat souvenir from the trip. The hat is a must have if you are going to spend any time in Texas!
That same afternoon, we made our way to the Dallas Zoo.

Allie rode an elephant on our way in.

Grandpa made friends with a bird (who seriously would not leave him alone. All was well until it started pecking on the rim of his glasses...then he had to call for zoo-help!).

And Allie saw lots of animals. Here she's quietly watching the kangaroos.

Our trip to the Dallas Aquarium:

Allie showing something to Grandpa.

And here she's checking out the fish that were swimming on all sides of her.

After going through our photos, I was sad to see we didn't take any of Allie with my Dad's greyhound, Hemi. Grandpa was worried about Hemi's reaction and temperament with Allie. I was worried about what Allie would DO to Hemi. At first they were both a little hesitant, but after a few hours (and a few dog treats later) they'd warmed up to one another and were great friends. Alex and I are neither one huge animal lovers...so we're wondering how long we can go before we are conned into getting a pet. I'm pretty sure the clock is ticking.

Thanks Papa T. (our new name for Grandpa since Allie hasn't mastered the longer version yet) and P.J. for making our trip so special!