Well, I can honestly say that I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve as I anticipated Tiff's visit. Tuesday morning I couldn't stop smiling as I got ready for the day and completed my tasks at home before I headed to the airport to pick her up! The closer I got, the more excited I felt. I made sure to get there early because I had never parked and gone into the airport to pick anyone up here. I sat at baggage claim for about ten minutes and then decided I wanted to see how close I could get to where she would come out. I found the security check point up the escalator and down a hallway, so I decided I would sit in the chairs right there where she would come out. When I saw her coming I noticed that she too could not seem to wipe the smile off of her face. I waited to stand up until she got closer and looked over and saw me. She started to cry when she did, and that of course made me cry. I gave her a big hug and we pulled ourselves together and then we couldn't stop smiling and laughing. We got off of an elevator with two older couples, as we headed to the car and as soon as we got off Tiffany gave a big BWA to Texas! The older couples turned around and looked at me like I was some freak that was beating her or something!=) I had to tell her to refrain from doing that until there wasn't anyone around! ha ha!
She has given a complete description of her trip on her blog but I will share some different photos and things from my perspective.
Tuesday night after Joe had gotten home and we had had dinner, we went over to the movie theatre here in Pearland and watched Alvin and the Chipmunks. Tiff and I loved the first one and decided neither of us would see the second one until she got here. We both agreed we liked the first one better, but it was still a fun night. Here's a picture of us waiting for it to start. I think there were about 4 other people in the theatre with us=) ha ha!
Wednesday morning we drove down to Texas City and had lunch with Joe and then we all drove to Galveston and took a ferry to Crystal Beach. The seagulls were amazing! They would eat crackers right out of our hands! We had our hoods on because we were afraid we'd get pooped on. Mom gave us both the same sweater for Christmas and we felt it appropriate to wear them together while she was here.=) Funny thing is I gave Joe a zip up jacket for Christmas thats the same color and he wore it that day too. We all matched=) Joe felt dumb at first, but he quickly got over it=)
Thursday we woke up and decided not to be lazy, and went to work out here at our apartments. Tiff was so sore for days after!=) One thing I really enjoyed about her being here, was the time we got to spend together getting ready in the morning. I have some wonderful memories of us sharing that time when we both lived with mom and dad. It's been a long time since we've been able to do that together, and I really loved it! I always had a hard time sharing my clothes and jewelry with Tiff growing up (mostly cause I wouldn't ever see it again) but while she was here I let her wear whatever of mine she wanted. She basically went shopping in my closet and jewelry drawers every day=) I told her to enjoy it while it lasted. ha ha! Anyways, Thursday we went to the Galleria and Tiff got some really cute things. I took her into Sephora to get her eyeshadow done. They did a smokey eye and it looked really good! We went to lunch at Panera Bread (which is kind of like Paradise Bakery) and she LOVED it! They have the best tomato soup. After lunch we headed back to the Galleria for more shopping. (here's us at Panera)
Friday morning we went to the Outlet Mall here in Houston. Tiff found a really cute jean skirt, and I was finally able to find some cute things too! I had zero luck at the Galleria, and Tiff was determined to help me find some cute things. I hadn't been shopping for clothes for myself in a long time and was so excited for her to come so I'd have someone to shop with. She picked out a lot of cute things for me to try on and I loved them. The best part is now when I wear them, I think of her. Here's a picture of us at the outlets.
Saturday we went to a place called Glazed Over Ceramics, where we each got to pick out a ceramic piece and paint it. They fire it, and you come back in a week to pick it up. ( I will show the end results in a later blog.) Tiff picked really cute salt and pepper shakers, Joe chose a soup mug, and I chose two little bowls. We had so much fun painting them!
After we finished, we headed to Dave and Serena's for Maggie's 2nd birthday party. Some of Dave's family was there, then us, Sharon and Bob as well as James and Shelby. We had a lot of fun visiting with everyone and watching little Maggie! She is so cute! I bought her some bows for her hair when Tiff and I went to Sam Moon, after the outlets. Joe picked out a cute dress for her at Costco when we took Tiff. She loved the bows and the dress. Here's a picture that Serena later sent to us of her wearing the dress and one of the bows, as well as a picture of her the day of her party.
After the party we went to play mini golf in black lighting and 3d!!! We had a blast! We would get sidetracked by the dinosaurs and have to pause to take a picture=) For those that are wondering....Joe won, I came in second, and Tiff......well, she came in last=) Sorry Dillan!
We had such a fun day together! After golfing we took her to Lupe Tortilla for some amazing fajitas! She couldn't get over how good they were, and ended up stuffing herself=)
Sunday morning I teared up thinking that I only had a few short hours left with her. During one of the hymns at church I noticed tears running down her cheeks and she was trying to discretely wipe them away. I knew she was feeling the same way I was, and it brought me to tears also. She had fun in primary with us. We had three visitors that day and we had a total of 9 kids in our class. After church Tiff said she was never having kids, after seeing how some of them acted=) ha ha! Joe and I feel that way at times too. When we got home Tiff ate some lunch and packed and then we headed downtown. That was the one thing she hadn't done that she had wanted to. We ended up stopping at the wall of water and taking some pictures. Joe took his sweet little time taking them, and we were soaked afterwards!=)
I knew before Tiff came out that it was going to be very hard to say goodbye to her. I had a hard time when mom and dad left, and there's just something about saying goodbye to a sister that's so hard. When we got to the gate Tiff started the waterworks, and you can imagine what followed. I had kind of pulled myself together by the time Joe and I got home, but when we walked in the door and I looked down the hall and saw the empty room, it all started again. I had such a fun week. I love spending time with my sister, and it's been very hard not to be able to do that for a few months. She is such an amazing person, and a wonderful example and friend to me! I love you Tiffany! I also wanted to say that I'm very grateful to Joe for all that he did while she was here to help make it such a fun trip. He always does his best to help make my family's trips memorable and it means a lot to me!........ We loved having you here Tiff, and we miss and love you! We look forward to our next visitor(s) to fill our empty room!=)
