Wrapping up Texas

*Wednesday After finally getting back to the Lone Star State we grabbed lunch with NeNe at David's BBQ. Its only the best BBQ place around the area and since I sadly don't get it that often since the hubbs isn't a huge fan of red meat I make sure to indulge in my fair share of it when I go home. You just can't go wrong with David's. That afternoon we went to visit my mom and see her new house. The people she rents from have horse stables behind her so we where able to go out and feed the horses. We relaxed and hung out at NeNe's for the afternoon and enjoyed a tasty dinner that she made. 

*Thursday we woke up early and went back to Dallas for a ride around White Rock Lake. We saw it the first time we went over there when we went to get Donuts at Hypnotic Donuts. The hubbs though it would make for a great ride being a almost 10 mile loop. We started just as the sun started to peek out which made for a beautiful sunrise.

Of course we couldn't be that close to Hypnotic Donuts and not stop in for one more visit before closing out our trip. I when plan and simple on the donut this time and got a Glazed. It was pretty tasty. I also decided to try there Maribeth breakfast sandwich - Chicken in a biscuit with house made peppered gravy and tater tops. It was so good, I've never had anything like it before. Well worth the splurge even though it was crazy messy to eat. 

That afternoon we went to visit with my Aunt Vonda for a bit followed by a stop at my Mamaw's house. Gosh I miss my family so so much, living so far away has its up's and down's for sure. My Uncle Richard and Aunt Holly live in Mamaw's house now, we went by to visit them and it was the first time I'd seen the house since Mamaw passed away. Just pulling up to the house it looked the same yet SO SO different. Standing there at the door my heart sank and tears started to fill my eyes. My heart was beating so fast and all the pain and heart ache of her passing came rushing back. Never in a million dreams did I think she would have been gone so soon. 

Still today I have a hard time dealing with the loss of my most cherished family member. She was my best friend my rock. No one was home so we didn't go inside. Apart of my was a bit relieved because I wasn't sure I could handle any more. I knew the entire inside would be different and I wasn't sure I would be able to handle it. 

We decided to get lunch at a new place called Super Chix, it wasn't to bad. I still prefer Chicken Express but I was pleased with one of their side choice's Fresh Fruit. We ran a few earns before heading back to the house to relax for a bit. The hubbs originally had a shooting match scheduled for that evening but he decided to cancel so we could spend our last evening in town with NeNe. Dinner at Babe's, one last must have before leaving the great state of Texas. If you've never been to Babe's Chicken, your seriously missing out. The food, The Atmosphere, The Staff, The Music, did I mention THE FOOD its all perfect. Endless Mash Potatoes, Cream Corn, Smoked Green Beans, Buttermilk Biscuits and Salad all served family style. With your choice of meat from Fried Chicken, Chicken Tenders, Fried Catfish, Chicken Fried Steak, Hickory Smoked Chicken. Its all so good, one of my favorite places to eat when I go home. 

We ended our evening with a late night trip to Barnes and Nobles followed up with one last visit to Braums and of course I splurged on a double scoop - a scoop of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream topped with a scoop of Peppermint Ice Cream. I'd lost count at this point on how many double scoops I enjoyed while being home, but that's ok right. That's what vacation is for. 

*Friday morning we had plans to go for a bike ride but the hubbs wasn't feeling it. Instead we decided to ride up to a little local place for breakfast. It wasn't the sweaty ride I was expecting to have that morning, but we did enjoy it. Being able to ride our bikes to various places and not have to drive has been really nice. 

We took the morning to be lazy, relax and pack up all our crap from NeNe's house (literally, we brought so much with us, you would have though we where moving in.) and decided to be lazy for a bit before going to meet up with my brother for lunch at his work. I've heard so much about what he does and where he works but I've never been out there so it was nice to finally see where he spends his days. 

After lunch we headed home to load the car and go pick up my little not so little cousin Shae before heading to the river for the weekend. We where also able to visit with my Cousin Ant, my Aunt Holly and her parents a bit while we where there. Its always nice to see her parents, I've always considered them family. A quick stop at Mamaw's house so Shae could grab something forced me to go inside since my Uncle Richard was home. Walking through the door my heart was pounding, it took all I had to hold back the tears and try not to look around to much to noticed how everything was so different. Yet it was staring me in the face. The house I once spent so much time in and that held so many memories was so different and would never be the same. 

Before heading to the river we had one last stop, we where meeting up with two of my high school beat friends and their husbands for dinner. Sadly shortly after arriving at the restaurant they both had to cancel. I was so disappointed and hurt. I had been looking forward to seeing them both and catching up since we had planned our trip home. We didn't let it keep us from enjoying our dinner though, you can never go wrong with Mexican Food and even better when there's Sopaipilla's involved. 

We had a great time in Texas and I can't wait to go back. I miss home like crazy and being back just reminded me that a piece of me will always want to move back here some day. I'm already looking forward to and planning our next trip home.