Heidi's Dallas Visit, I

So, almost a month ago, I took a trip to Dallas to see my family again.  It was my first time to see everybody since last Christmas, so I tried as hard as I could to carve out special time for each family.  Of course, it wasn't really enough time to see anyone very intimately...the bitter-sweet of a half-glass-full when you're reallythirsty.

 Nickie always has bacon for me.  Our regular breakfasts in Dallas always included the bacon and the coffee with cream and usually the fresh fruit, too, that make up the Ideal Breakfast.  And lovely conversation!

Look at those sweet blond curls!

We spent a little time, the three of us, over breakfast.

And the cat.

 Sweet James, eating his breakfast, too.

 And the cat.

 And then we went shopping at Nickie's favorite thrift store where I found some very pretty shirts.  I got to keep James in my basket with me...he let me know from time to time how his game (on an Ipod?) was going.  Randall had a friend with him, so I didn't end up seeing much of him...he's getting so big and so old!

Carrie came to get me later in the afternoon.

 So we all sat together awhile and chatted.

 Well, the Grown-ups chatted.

 And then I played a little catch with James.

 My only regret is that I didn't get to talk to Randall much (he's already 10!) or see Ryan...and, of course, that our time together was so short.  And, of course, that Dave wasn't there, too.

That evening, Carrie drove me back south, and we went to dinner at Asian Mint (ooooh so delicious!), and I am kicking my last-month-self for not getting any photos!  We even stopped for a little shopping at some fancy Allen boutiques on the way home (I still  want a maxi dress because of that trip).  Kicking myself...not any photos!

Kimie and I got a little time together the next morning.  We had a lovely coffee and chat, and I got to give Lucy her lady bug ball present for her first birthday.

I really wish I'd taken these photos in RAW format, because the above photo is totally sweet and really hard to fix without the flexibility of RAW.

 Lucy loves doing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" right now...

 ...what a precious laugh!

  I can't tell you how gratifying it is when a child loves the present you gave them...happy 1st birthday, Lucy!

More photos from the trip to come...I know, I know, I should've done these sooner, but I'm kinda behind the learning curve on Photoshop, and it's eaten a lot of time (I had dozens of gigabytes worth of RAW photos I'd taken on the faith that I'd be able to edit and convert them easily into jpegs - hahaha >:| ).
And I had other projects to finish that had priority (for one reason or another).
And I've been traveling a lot.
And I discovered Ebay.            I'll tell you about that later.