We had fun on our flight to Houston to return Kayla (sniff, sniff, we miss her) and visit Kevin, Kerry and Luke, the handsomest boy ever. We also got to go to Luke's baptism (very sweet) and visit Kevin's church (very impressive).
We also got to meet Kayla's best friend, Anna.
At a small gathering of friends after Luke's baptism, the Henson kids and their friends took turns giving neck massages to the adults, and Kayla practiced her deep tissue massage skills by standing on Kevin's shoulders.
The Henson men concentrated deeply on the Women's World Cup soccer game, which the U.S. sadly lost (but to some fine Japanese competitors).
Next, we spent a day with Bob's sister Janis and her man, Jack, in Bastrop. Janis is a talented interior designer, and Jack is an incredible builder. He showed us his shed/workshop which is actually more like a house, complete with three rooms and windows.
And then, on to Austin! We spent most of our time with Lindy and Chris getting to know Riley. Lindy put Riley's hair in cute little pigtails for the occasion.
And in case there was any doubt in your mind that Riley is the most beautiful baby ever in the history of the world, I give you this.
And finally, we visited the Lieou family in Dallas. We were able to see a fantastic dance recital (hip hop/jazz/tap) featuring Olivia.
While Jordan was at horseriding camp, we took Olivia to INSYNC, a wildlife rescue center in Wylie, TX that takes care of large cats (tigers, lions, cougars, leopards, lynx, bobcats and servals) that have been mistreated by irresponsible private breeders. Can you believe people try to breed these animals? The visit was educational and the animals are amazing, but it was a little freaky to see them so close. One recently-rescued cougar kept his gaze focused on Olivia a little bit too long, and after we heard one really loud roar (at the woman cleaning its cage, I think), we decided to move along a little more quickly--mainly to avoid being eaten. Afterwards, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant in beautiful downtown Wylie.
The Lieou's have a cool cat named Shadow. I tried to take a picture of him, but he moves too fast! Maybe you can get the general idea:
On Friday we visited Jordan's horseriding camp where she and the other girls in her class demonstrated their horseriding skills. She rode a horse named Paris and they both performed flawlessly!
On Saturday Olivia, Jordan and I made cookies in the morning, and then Jordan, Bob and I went to see the movie Rio--highly recommended!
It was a wonderful vacation even though Texas is HOT HOT HOT this time of year. Next time, I think we'll try to visit in December. Thanks for the visits everyone. We love you!
Wow! I'm amazed you don't visit Texas more often with all the family in the area. And when did those kids all get so big? I swear they were just toddlers. Sounds like a blast, though.
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