Roadtrip: Day 3: Dallas, TX

The first thing we did that morning was drive out to Fort Worth to watch cowhands drive a herd of Texas longhorns down Exchange Avenue. It was actually pretty cool. These are very well behaved cows. They still ask that you hold onto your children and make sure that you stand on the sidewalk at all times. And this is apparently a very big deal. It was surprisingly busy! We had no idea there were going to be that many people that would show up for this parade of cows.

After they were done, we walked over to the cattle viewing area and saw some longhorns close up. It's a very neat experience that I would definitely recommend.

Lunch: Pecan Lodge
2702 Main St, Dallas, TX
We parked behind the building which costs $5. We then waited in line for about an hour. But don't worry. It was worth it! We ordered burnt ends and brisket and mac and cheese and 3 rolls. And everything was so juicy and delicious. That was some seriously good mac and cheese. It was a little spicy, but I really enjoyed it.

After lunch, we stopped to take some pictures.
1. American Flag Mural
2730 Commerce St
It's about a block away from the parking lot behind the Pecan Lodge.

2. 30 ft eyeball
1601 Main St
You can't actually get up close to this one because it's located inside of a private fenced off area. But you can still take a picture with it outside the fence.

We thought it would be fun to ride the trolley around town. We got off at a stop to see the Spiral Cathedral in Thanksgiving Square and then rode the trolley back to our car.

Dinner: Dallas Grilled Cheese Co.
310 W 7th St, Dallas, TX
Parking was a little difficult to find, but we eventually found a place really close. We each chose a grilled cheese from their menu and they were both super good! Our son got the chili. It was a little spicy, but he still really enjoyed it.

Dessert: JOY Macarons
There are 2 locations. We went to 839 W Davis St, Dallas, TX
We ordered a mint chip ice cream macaron. It was really tasty. And we weren't that hungry after dinner so 1 was plenty for the 3 of us to share. It hit just the right spot in that hot Texas heat. We also got a 6-pack of macarons to take with us that we ended up eating at the beach on a different day of our trip. They were also super good. This little shop is just so cute! There's basically a glass box inside so that you can watch them making the macarons. It's very modern-looking. It's a little on the pricey side, but that is to be expected with any high-end bakery. They have some normal and abnormal flavors so there should be plenty to choose from regardless of how picky you are. They're open 'til 9pm and when we showed up around 7:30pm, they still had all of their flavors available which I feel like is a big deal for most bakeries.

Overall, we had a great day in Dallas.

Roadtrip: Day 2: Sikeston, MO to Memphis, TN to Dallas, TX

On the first half of the 2nd Day of our road trip, we travelled from Sikeston, MO to Memphis, TN.

First Activity: Gibson Guitar Factory Tour
145 Lt. George W Lee Ave, Memphis, TN
We parked behind the building. It cost $10 to park, but we left our car there the whole time we were in Memphis so it worked out well. We bought our tickets online which guaranteed us a spot first thing in the morning for the 10am tour. It was a Saturday, so the workers weren't there. If you prefer to see the factory when they're actually making the guitars, you'll need to go during the week. We were more than happy to see it during this off-time since we had our 7yo son with us. The factory can be pretty loud when operating, but since it wasn't, the factory was very quiet. The tour was very cool and informative. We loved learning about how Gibson guitars are different from other guitars. Plus, we just loved how they pass around pieces so you can see how it's made throughout the process. Definitely take this tour if you're in Memphis. I only found 1 downside to this whole tour: You can't take pictures inside the factory. And that's not even a huge downside! Lots of factories have that rule.

(To get this picture, you need to go to the West side of the building. It's a great photo op!)

Lunch: Pig on Beale
167 Beale St, Memphis, TN
When you walk in, it looks like kind of a dive bar, but don't be fooled. We ordered the BBQ sampler and it was simply the most delicious BBQ I've ever had! It's a small little place on Beale Street that serves amazing BBQ. I mean, if this is what Memphis BBQ tastes like, I feel like I've been missing out my entire life! I've been eating all the wrong types of BBQ. But now I know better.

Second Activity: Old Dominik Distillery
305 S Front St, Memphis, TN
We ordered these tickets online in advance as well. This tour was actually way cooler than I expected. We started with a taste of Memphis water which is apparently the key to any great Memphis alcohol. Then we were shown around the distillery and told how vodka and whiskey and Memphis toddy are made. It was very cool. Plus, there was a tasting at the end. And that toddy was the best! It is truly a drink that I could have frequently.

Overall, we had a great time in Memphis. And I learned that I really enjoy Memphis BBQ and Memphis Toddy.

Then, we drove to Dallas. We stopped at a couple roadside attractions along the way.
1. The Half-n-Half Post Office
500 Wood St, Texarkana, AR
There's a cute little photo op where you can stand in Texas and Arkansas at the same time.

2. 15 Foot Cows
1200 W Houston St, Sulphur Springs, TX
These cows are huge! And so much fun to take pictures with. Who doesn't love a big cow? Especially in Texas.

Hotel: Best Western Cityplace Inn
4150 N Central Expy, Dallas, TX
It wasn't really convenient to anything, but it wasn't out of the way. The entrance felt dangerous every time we entered because it was only 1.5 cars wide, with a sharp right off a busy highway onto a sharp incline with a speed bump at the top. And there was no elevator. I mean, we were only on the second floor, but it would have been way easier to carry all our stuff to our room. Also, there was no working ice maker. To some, no big deal. But the most annoying part about that was that my husband called the front desk and asked where it was and they said there was one by the lobby (which was out of order) and behind the pool area (which no longer existed), but they failed to mention both of those facts. So clearly the hotel staff was not very knowledgable. The room itself was okay, but nothing special.

Overall, we had a great day.

Roadtrip: Day 1: Bloomington, IL to Sikeston, MO

On Day 1 of our awesome road trip, we travelled from Bloomington, IL to Sikeston, MO. We waited for my husband to get off from work before leaving so we didn't end up getting on the road until about 3:30/4pm.

Roadside Attractions:
1. Giant Catsup Bottle (800 S Morrisonville Ave, Collinsville, IL) – This is a working watertower. There's no really great place to take a picture of it. We stopped at the gas station right next to it.

2. 15-foot-tall bowling pin (6045 W Outer Rd, Imperial, MO) – This one is right outside of a bowling alley. It sits at the top of a hill and is very easy to get a picture with.

Dinner: Lambert's (Home of the Throwed Rolls)
2305 E Malone Ave, Sikeston, MO
We walked around 8pm and were seated right away. They took our order and it didn't take too long for our food to come out. I just love the atmosphere at this restaurant. There are license plates and signs all over the walls. The staff really seem to enjoy themselves (well, most of them anayway). There was a person in the other room playing the piano. It's just fun! Plus, I really enjoy watching people trying to catch their rolls. That's right, there's a guy that walks around with a cart full of rolls and if you stick your arm up in the air, he'll throw you a roll! Don't worry, if you're not a great catch, he does walk around so he'll throw it to you from a foot away if you want him to. Otherwise, all the way across the room is way more fun! And no worries if you drop it. He'll throw another. They serve down-home cooking. And it's all delicious. Plus, there are the passed sides. People walk around with big bowls of fried okra and potatoes and black-eyed peas and all sorts of other things (at no extra cost with your meal). It's a great value. I definitely recommend it.

Hotel: Best Western Plus
120 S Interstate Dr, Sikeston, MO
Our hotel was great! We didn't spend a lot of time here because we checked in around 9pm and checked out around 8am. But the room was clean and modern. Our room was at the end of the hallway so it seemed like it was bigger than an average room. It had a king bed and a sofa bed. It was perfect. The bathroom was huge. I would definitely ask for a room at the end of the hallway.

Overall, our day went pretty smooth. We had a great time and it was just the right way to start our road trip.

Daily Walks

Last year, one of the ladies that I'm friends with at my son's school suggested that we go for a walk before the kids get out of school to keep up our steps for the day and not be completely lazy. We were arriving at the school about a half hour before school ended anyway. (If you get there early, you get a good parking spot which means you get our of there early. Otherwise, it takes 20 minutes to get home instead of 5.) Then, after a couple of months, we decided to start walking in the morning as well, after we dropped the kids off at school. So here we are, back at school, and it's time to start walking again. I love these short little walks we take. It's a time to catch up and talk about everything going on in our lives. It's a time to talk to another adult (because sometimes I don't get much of that). And it's a time to get a little bit of exercise into my day. We probably only walk about 1.2 miles every day, but that's an extra 2500-3000 steps for me. And sometimes, especially if I'm working on a crochet project or typing something all day, that's about it for the steps I get that day. Just imagine if I chose to NOT go on these walks. I suppose the whole point of this post is to share with you that if my lazy butt can get up and walk a little each day, so can you! And that it's much easier when you've got a friend that will motivate you to keep moving. So just do it!

"What Am I?" Guessing Game

If you've read any of my recent posts, you'll know that we recently took a very long road trip. And in an effort to save some money, I made a bunch of things to keep my 7yo son entertained while we spent so many hours in the car. One of those things is a little game that I made called "What Am I?" I took some photos of things VERY close up. Some of these things are easy to tell what they are while others are much more difficult! Some of them he had a real tough time figuring out what it was so I gave him some hints. If you want to download the PDF, there is a link at the bottom. And no worries, I included an Answer Key!

Click here for a downloadable PDF of "What Am I?"

Scotland: Day 12: Traveling Home and Scotland Recap

We woke up VERY early so that we could catch our flight home. It was possibly one of the most exhausting days of my life, but I was so glad to be heading home to my son, husband, and dog.

Our flight back to the United States went very smooth. However, our second flight was delayed multiple times and I ended up getting home a couple hours later than expected after our 2 hour bus drive. But that's not what's important. What's important was that we got home safe. And we all had a fantastic time. I will remember these moments forever.

Now that I've told you all about my trip, let's recap.
Scotland: Day 1: Travel Day
Scotland: Day 2: Edinburgh
Scotland: Day 3: Edinburgh
Scotland: Day 4: Edinburgh
Scotland: Day 5: St. Andrews
Scotland: Day 6: Aberdeen
Scotland: Day 7: Inverness
Scotland: Day 8: Inverness
Scotland: Day 9: Inverness
Scotland: Day 10: Loch Ness
Scotland: Day 11: Glasgow
I hope that if you ever get the chance, you will enjoy Scotland as much as I did. It was amazing and I absolutely loved every second of it.

Scotland: Day 11: Glasgow

I know that the title of this post says Glasgow and the reason for that is because we woke up in Glasgow and we fell asleep in Glasgow. However, disappointing for all of us, we didn't actually spend any of our time in Glasgow. I wish I had some things to tell you about this city, but I don't.

So we started our day by driving to Stirling where we stopped at the Church of the Holy Rude. It has the largest pipe organ in all of Scotland. It truly is a beautiful church. Anyway, we practiced and then set of to explore. Stirling is a great little town! It has so many cute shops and coffee shops and pubs. You could easily walk a great distance. After an hour or so of exploring, we had our concert. It went pretty well.

After the concert, we got something to eat and then explored some more. When our bus finally arrived, we were ready to go. And we drove to St. Mark's Parish Church of Scotland in Stirling. We had practice again and then changed into our formal concert attire. We had our last concert of the trip, which was definitely our best. And then we drove for a little back towards Glasgow to get a late dinner. It was pretty good. I'm not sure why they had us eating at so many Italian restaurants on our tour of Scotland, though. Oh well. We all had a great time. We ended up getting back to our hotel very late where we all had to pack everything up because our wake-up call was coming in just a few hours.

Snack Necklaces

This is a fun little craft to do with your kids before a vacation (or anytime, really). We made 8 of them before we went on our huge long road trip. They turned out great! I wanted to make these as cheap as possible so we went to Dollar Tree where we found some stretchy string, a bag of fruit loops, and some pretzels! You could easily use any other snack item that has a hole in it like cheerios, gummy lifesavers, chocolate covered pretzels, mini cookies, chocolate cheerios, etc. or you could use a needle and thread and go through squishy foods like grapes, blueberries, dried pineapple, gummy bears, popcorn, etc. as well as your holed snacks. Any combination of these things would be delicious. Part of the reason I chose what I did was because I could find them at Dollar Tree, which is cheap, yes, but also because I didn't want to worry about melting chocolate or candy. Plus, we were using string and not a needle and thread. So anyway, here's how we did it:

First, gather all of your ingredients.
Then, cut a length of string that at minimum fits around your head.
Slide your snacks on the string.
And tie the ends together.

See? Easy! And fun for kids to make and then later, eat!

Scotland: Day 10: Loch Ness

On this day of our trip, we spent a lot of our day in the bus on the road. We drove from Inverness to Glasgow. And in case you don't know, that is about a 3 hour drive. However, we stopped a bunch of times to take pictures and stretch our legs.
We even stopped at the Loch Ness Visitors Center. It was very interesting. You travel from room to room to learn more about the legend and how it has been disproved. It was a little disappointing that it felt like they spent the entire time telling you about how the Loch Ness Monster isn't real. For those of us that just love the story of Nessie, we will forever live with the hope that she really does exist (I'm joking, mostly).
After our tour, we drove some more. We stopped a couple times to see the tallest mountain n Scotland (Ben Nevis) and a couple other good photo op areas.

When we finally reached Glasgow, it was kind of late. We went out to get some dinner and drinks. Perhaps it was because we'd had such fun in other cities, but Glasgow's nightlife just didn't meet our expectations. I'm disappointed that this was really our only time to judge the city. The next day we spent all of our time in a different town so we didn't get the chance to see all the cool things Glasgow had to offer us.

Bubble Painting

A couple months ago, I had tried the bubble painting technique on a piece of pottery I was working on. I thought it had turned out pretty good. Then, I thought, "I bet my son would enjoy doing this!" After all, what kid doesn't like to blow bubbles in their drink. And this time, you don't even have to tell them to stop!

This is very easy. It doesn't take a lot of prep work and kids have so much fun. So first, you need to put something under your work so that you don't make a huge mess. I used a box. Then, mix together some dish soap, paint, and water. I didn't meausure anything. You need water to thin out your mixture, but you don't want too much or the bubbles won't have enough color. I mixed it all together with a straw and then let my little guy start blowing into the cup. The bubbles started flowing out after a while and made a beautiful little mess onto our paper. We quickly cleaned everything out and then tried again with a different color. And that's how we made our bubble art! Amazing!