#PJTurns60

If you follow Alixa on Instagram you probably recognize that hashtag, as you saw it attached to many images of Alixa and her extended family doing fun things all over the DFW Metroplex. If you don’t follow Alixa on Instagram, you probably shouldn’t be reading this blog because I don’t think we are friends. A few weeks ago Alixa’s dear old mom became a sexagenarian. To celebrate this event Alixa decided to get all of her siblings to come to Dallas for a long weekend full of fun things. A considerable amount of time and energy was spent figuring out all the logistics. There were also more than a few close calls where someone would mention something about the event in front of or to PJ before catching themselves and escaping trouble. There was also the problem of PJ’s nosiness, which manifest itself when she was snooping through Alixa’s email and read an itinerary that Alixa had put together and sent out to the entire family. Fortunately PJ just figured it was an idea and doubted her family’s ability to put any of it into action, so she didn’t give it a second thought. But we might need to look into changing some passwords around here.

Wednesday, 4/23 was airport day. Alixa took an afternoon trip to DFW to retrieve Sam, Eva and Emmitt. Jarom stayed late after work and then swung by DFW on his way home to get Zak and Mikah. The original plan was to have Alixa and siblings go over to PJ’s house and surprise her that night, but Abe didn’t land until midnight and they thought that might be too late. So Lix called her mom and asked her to do some babysitting in the morning. PJ said she would, and the trap was set. All that was left was to enjoy an evening catching up with the visitors and to retrieve Abe from the airport. The chatting was great, but Alixa sent Jarom back to DFW to pick up Abe, which was less than ideal because Abe was actually flying into the other airport, Love Field. But eventually everyone got home, and bodies were strewn all over every bed, couch and even some floor space in our home.

We stopped by Costa Vida on our way home from the airport 

I'm not sure Abe or Mikah will ever have kids after this trip

Thursday morning Alixa set things up for PJ’s arrival. After coming inside, her kids made their appearances one at a time. It was great. You can enjoy the video. Thursday was mostly just hanging out and catching up, which was great. Friday began early for the boys, who headed out to play a round of golf. Mario was flying in from Canada and actually drove straight from the airport to the course. It was a beautiful morning. Zak retrieved a few dozen golf balls from the rivers and holed the winning chip from about 40 feet out. Everybody ate lunch and then it was family picture time. Who knows when everyone will be together in one place again, so pictures of all the families were taken. It went pretty well until Zak thought it would be a good idea to tackle Jenna. The photo shoot took place alongside a Frisbee golf course and the highlight was probably when a nice guy came through with his border collie. Emily about lost her mind because she wanted to play with the puppy so badly. So he was nice enough to bring her over and she sat still in front of the kids while they patted her for a few minutes. Also, the pictures were great.

A candid during family pictures

Saturday was an adult day. The Garza girls were all hired to come over and watch the kids and the grownups headed to Fort Worth to ride segways, see the stockyards, have a great dinner, and attend the rodeo that evening. It was a lot of fun. 

Looking sporty on the segways

Family picture on the longhorn statue

PJ loved being sung to for her birthday

On Sunday everyone got to go to church together and we had a great family dinner. We also managed to squeeze in a bonfire and burn off some wood that Jarom has been stock piling in the back yard. The kids had a great time roasting mini marshmallows and Opa was more than happy to eat said marshmallows. The kids had a great time playing together and it was nice to have a down day. 

It was a big fire on a hot night

On Monday we packed everyone up and headed to the Perot Science museum, which was awesome. It is great for kids and has some really fun stuff that Jenna and Bo loved, but it is also had a bunch of stuff that Jarom thought was cool too. After playing with the exhibits, enjoying the children’s area, and racing a T-Rex, everyone headed over to Klyde Warren Park to enjoy a food truck lunch and splash around in the fountains for a bit. In the evening Zak and Mars and Jarom went to play a little Top Golf and Alixa took her mom with her to her volleyball game.

Tuesday it was back to work for Jarom, but more fun times for everyone else. To the zoo, zoo, zoo… The crew spent a beautiful, cool, morning and early afternoon there, followed by a stop at Alixa’s favorite place in the world, Chuys. Tuesday night was spent playing games and chatting, as most every other night was.

Twinner day at the zoo

Mimi was nice enough to get the kids umbrellas after the zoo

On Wednesday everyone had to leave, including Alixa. She was headed out to Utah for an early Mother’s Day present: a 5-day weekend without kids. Since Jarom couldn’t take the rest of the week off to babysit we imposed on some of our amazing friends, dropping Bo and Jenna off with the Combs and leaving Emmy in the loving paws of Indie Halverson. Jarom enjoyed the contrast of an empty house for a few days as compared to having people and suitcases laying everywhere. It was good to have a couple of days to catch his breath before he picked the kids up on Friday afternoon after work and tried to keep his head above water until Alixa got back late Sunday evening. Nobody died, everybody made it to all of their scheduled events, and there were some walks and assorted other outings to boot. Emmy did get a little sick while under his care, but he also got her to take her first steps and did his best to share it with Alixa via face-time. So we’ll call it a win. And Alixa had a great time learning all about how to improve her marriage, her life, and herself. She got to hang out with all of her Utah friends and the female members of Jarom’s family. And she really loved hanging out around BYU and seeing all the places she remembers so fondly. And Jarom and the kids were very excited to have her back.

The ladies Winn

Best friends for ten years