RT 2008 Installment 9: Dallas

Left: the goofy faces of Sophia, Avery, Isabel & Abigail when having lunch in Dallas.

06.29.08

Sunday morning we got up and went to church with Meagan. It was fun to meet some of Meagan's friends from church. Also, she teaches Isabel's age group in Primary. Isabel was very excited to have Meagan as a teacher. I was excited, too, because then I knew Isabel would have a great Sunday School lesson! Sophia kept hoping as we got ready for church and drove there that Meagan would, in fact, be teacher for both of their classes. "No. She only teaches one class, Sophia. I am sure your teacher will be very nice, too." Sophia then responds with, "I think Isabel is confused and it Meagan is will be my teacher in Primary, not hers." I reply, "No. Meagan told me she teaches the girls that are Isabel's age in Primary." Sophia: "Well, maybe she fogot what age.... Well, can I go to Isabel's class then?!" She finally gave up the argument then just went for the 'to heck with the rules' approach so she could go to Meagan's class by whatever means possible! Nonetheless, I am the mean mother and had her got to Sunday School with her age group. Instead of attending the women's organization, Relief Society, I went to primary to observe how they function. As Primary President in my ward here in PHX, I need all the help I can get! Meagan has a nice ward and Primary organization over there in Sunnyvale/Mesquite TX. But, I think it is because Meagan adds so much to the mix!! I can say that because I am her sister.

The next day, 06.30.08, we took the girls (and ourselves) to get pedicures.

 Meagan treated us as a birthday gift for Isabel and myself. Isabel's birthday is July 10 and mine is August 11. Since we wouldn't see her on our birthdays, we celebrated whilst together. Thanks, Meag! It was great fun. Unfortunately, I didn't get to take a picture of the girls getting their fingers and toes done. I was confined to my chair because they had already started my pedi. Therefore, this is the only picture I have of the occasion. The girls finished before us, and sat while their fingernails and toe nails dried. The salon attendant took the picture, which I thank her for. But, I never like other people's candid shots as well as my own. I am just a jerk that way, I guess! I think this is the point where they get bored... can you tell?! They were all so cute. They each chose the color(s) they wanted their fingers and toes painted. They each chose very vibrant, bright- somewhat electric- colors! Isabel even got a flower painted on each of her big toes! So cool. After pedicures, we went shoe shopping. Isabel also found a few cute things for school clothes. Isabel found a green Tshirt with a rainbow on it that said, "Go Green". She quite liked it. After much deliberation, we decided to get one for each of the girls. So, all four of them wore it the day we went down town (coming up... hang on!)

The next day, 07.01.08, we went to the American Girl Boutique and Bistro in Dallas. This is a new American Girl store. They have a Boutique & Bistro in Atlanta, GA, too. These are a little different than the American Girl Place stores. I know this, only because we went to AG Place in LA for spring break. Isabel and Sophia were very excited to add another AG store to their list of stores they have visited. This brought their total to... 2! It was really fun for them because the store had life-size versions of some of Kit's items on display- such as her tree house and scooter. This is all due to the Kit Kittredge: An American Girl movie that was coming out. It began playing in Dallas sooner than in Phoenix, as it has an AG store. 

However, we didn't go see it in Dallas because the girls wanted to go with their friends in PHX when it came out. Plus, (unbeknownst to them) I had ordered them the Kit T-shirts to wear to the movie. The T-Shirt came with a matching shirt for their doll. (I know, I know... don't say it. But, you would have loved that when you were a kid, too! Admit it.)

We went to downtown Dallas and met Micah for lunch one day. This is the day they all wore their "Go Green" shirts. Avery was full of gestures, antics and faces. It was cracking me up! I don't know WHERE she gets it…

Oh, wait. I might have an idea.

But, this next face is the best.

Avery just went crazy with the rediculous faces. She's a hoot. But, this picture also captures her little elbows. I love her elbows. I call them "Charlie Brown" (CB) elbows. Let me explain. When Isabel was about 18 months or 2 years old, I noticed she had these cute little elbows; I thought "they remind me of the round-ish, chubby elbows of Charlie Brown." Sophia had these same cute CB elbows when she was a toddler. But, they outgrow them. It is but a short time that they have the CB elbows. Those elbows just happen to coincide with my favorite phase of baby/toddler-hood. Anyway, it is quite cute. We then briefly saw a few things down town. One such thing we saw was "the grassy knoll" by which Kennedy was shot. We also saw the building from which the sniper shot JFK. 

There were several other things Downtown that would have been great to see, so I guess we will just have to go back sometime!