Meet the Parents, Part 1

It started on a cold and dreary Wednesday afternoon in Draper, UT. We (I) spent a few hours packing and preparing snacks and lunches for the long 24 hour trek to Houston, TX, while Jaymeson spent a few hours primping, (yes, primping) so he'd look good when he pumped the gas every couple of hours.

After the preparation was complete, we got onto I-15, and started driving south. Twenty-Five minutes into the drive, we missed our exit. Made a short detour, and got on our way.

Okay okay, I won't be that ridiculous about it. :)

Jaymeson and I had seven goals to accomplish on this trip to Texas. One: Eat real Mexican Food. Two: Eat real BBQ. Three: Eat Blue Bell Ice Cream. Four: Wrestle with an alligator. Five: Not get any tickets. Six: See dolphins. And Seven: Spend time on an island.

The drive wasn't too bad. Jaymeson was determined to stay awake the entire time. I drove most of the way there, and he drove most of the way back. We didn't have bad weather either way, which was nice. On the way there, I took Jaymeson on a surprise detour to the Dallas Cowboys Stadium! He was so excited. Jaymeson is the biggest Dallas Cowboys fan you will ever meet. We did a tour around the stadium, and bought a few souveniers, and had a good time making lifelong memories.

Jaymeson's now 2nd favorite Cowboys hat. (I bought him the 1st at the stadium.)

Here is Jaymeson, just working, at the Cowboys Stadium.

After our Dallas detour, we went on to Aggieland! College Station, TX, home of Texas A&M University. Four out of Six of my siblings, plus three spouses, one niece, and one set of grandparents live there. My mom, my littlest brother, and one of my uncles happened to be visiting at the same time as well. We spent the night hanging out with my family, telling embarrassing stories, and being competitive with one another. It was fun! Jaymeson really enjoyed hanging out with my family. Goal number one was accomplished here. (As well as a few other times on this trip...) We went out to dinner with the fam. to Pappasitos! My favorite Mexican restaurant.

Welcome to Aggieland!

The next day was Friday, and also my birthday! My brother and sister in law made a really nice breakfast for me and Jaymeson and we spent the morning with them. Then we went off to have lunch with my mom and my grandpa, where we accomplished goal number two! (and also goal number three) My grandpa took us to his favorite cute little BBQ place. Jaymeson was shocked at how good the BBQ was there, and he has been craving it ever since. We also had Blue Bell vanilla ice cream, which is my favorite, and the best ice cream in the world. It is only available in Utah at Carabbas and Outback Steakhouse, where you can order a 1/2 gallon for $50. ...right. Then my grandpa took us on a tour of the Texas A&M campus and stadium. Jaymeson learned a lot about the Texas A&M traditions and I think he fell just as in love with the school as I am. Maybe someday I'll get to go there. :) Then we headed off to Houston, (Just an hour and a half away) where my dad, one of my little brothers, and my little sister were. (Shannon was also in College Station, she just loves me so much that she followed me to Kingwood :) ) We spent the evening with my dad, going through old pictures and telling stories, and checking out some fun Christmas lights around the city. And then my dad took us to see the new Sherlock Holmes. We went pretty late... and I warned them I would fall asleep, but they didn't believe me. Needless to say, I'll need to see that movie again.

Heaven on Earth

Us at the A&M Stadium

Us at the famous "Santa's Village" in Kingwood

The next morning, we ate breakfast and headed off to Galveston. Which happens to be the place where I was born, and also an island! Check off number six and seven off our list. We walked along the shoreline, toured the city, and then I ate my first real seafood at Joe's Crab Shack on the seawall. It wasn't as bad as I thought either. There is just something about eating food that still looks like its alive that just gets to me. Afterwards, we toured more of the city, including the ship that I was named after (The Elissa), and took a few rides on the ferry. We rode it a few times looking for dolphins, and just as I was getting discouraged about finding some, Jaymeson goes "Watch, right before we get there, we'll see some..." And right as he said that, there they were! Swimming next to the ferry. It was so fun. Jaymeson was so excited to see dolphins, it was so cute! That night was New Years Eve, so we drove down Moody Gardens to see the Festival of Lights. We also toured the "Rainforest Pyramid" and watched a 4D movie. :) It was fun! Then we went up to the Kemah Boardwalk for a firework show. I had never been to the Boardwalk before, so it was kind of fun. Carnivals, and restaurants, and shopping. It was a pretty foggy, and humid night so the fireworks weren't that great, but it was fun to see the reflections of the fireworks on the Gulf.

On the beach

On the ferry

Crab Legs

"Gotta go eat at Joes"

Us at the "Elissa"

Me and my Dad at Moody Gardens

Next day, Jaymeson and I decided to see if we could accomplish our fourth goal: to wrestle with an alligator. We headed off to Lake Houston and scoped the area. Kingwood is a cool little community. It's nicknamed the "Livable Forest" because it is just that... a livable forest. Trees everywhere! There are also fun trails throughout the city called "green belts". We walked along the shore down the side of the greenbelts, and searched for alligator eyes. We saw some snakes, and a bunch of turtles out on the logs, but no alligators. As we were walking along side of the shore, Jaymeson saw "little teeny feet", as he likes to say, swimming underneath the leaves, he reached in and pulled out a BABY turtle. Seriously, it was TINY! It could fit into the palm of a brand new babies hand. He was so excited about it, that we decided to take it home to surprise Jayah. We headed off to a pet store (where we did see baby alligators) and got the right supplies so this little turtle could survive the trip home. That night, we spent time with my dad, visited the Houston Temple, had more real Mexican food, and watched the Dallas game. We headed off late that night, back to Utah.

See that teeny green circle in the middle? That's Rafael.  :)

Me and my Dad at the Houston, TX LDS Temple

Overall, it was a short and simple trip. It was good to see my family, and good for my family to finally meet Jaymeson. Everyone got along really well, and Jaymeson was sad to leave. He even talked in a Texas accent the whole way home. :) We're both excited to go back again sometime this Summer, and bring Jayah with us. Every time I see her, she asks me if it's time to go to Texas yet. Haha!

Here's Jayah, very excited about her turtle! :)

The bad news is, we failed to accomplish goal número cinco: to not get any tickets. Monticello police snuck up on us just after getting gas, and we got a ticket, just a few short hours from home.

Dang.