Balloon Bust

When Tim moved down last fall, he told us about the Plano Balloon Festival. I've been looking forward to it all year! Unfortunately, this year was a bit of a bust. Citing weather concerns, the balloons didn't launch at all during the entire 3-day event. And by the time we left around 7:45 on Saturday, only 2 balloon were inflated for the glow portion.

Nevertheless, fun was still had. We enjoyed a picnic with Uncle Dan and Aunt Nancy, and Nigel had fun in the kids' area. Maybe next year we'll see some balloons take flight.

Dragon Boat Festival

On Sunday afternoon we went to the DFW Dragon Boat, Kite and Lantern Festival in Irving's Las Colinas. I kind of have a crush on Las Colinas's attempt at mixed use. The large lake/canal system where the festival was held is lined with housing, trails, green space, businesses and shops; DART will soon extend here, too.
The festival was really cool. We got to watch a few boat races (I forgot my camera, so you'll have to settle for a crappy BlackBerry photo), but the best part of our afternoon was walking around the lake and watching the kites while we had a picnic. We didn't bring Nigel's kite, but next year we will. He really enjoyed seeing all of the different shapes and watching the trick kites.
Of course there was also the ubiquitous festival junk for sale as well as food. Tim and Nigel had a smoothie while I cooled off with pistachio almond kulfi by Dallas-based Kaurina's. I first had kulfi in 2008 while covering an Indian wedding. It is so tasty!

Dallas Zoo

On Friday, our friend Lea and her son Oliver took us to the Dallas Zoo. It's about 35 minutes from our house by car, but there's also a train stop right in front. It was one of those rare magical days of perfect behavior. Nigel and Oliver had a great time, and Lea and I actually got to talk a little bit.

There's a really neat kids' area with things to climb on and a petting zoo. Nigel got to feed giant fish and goats, as well as ride a pony and a carousel. The magic died a few hours later at the grocery store, but it was a blast while it lasted!

Friends at Fair Park

On Friday Nigel and I joined our pals Amy and James on an outing to Fair Park in Dallas. Fair Park is where the Texas State Fair is held each year. In fact, some of the fair gear is there year-round, including the giant Ferris wheel. In 1936, Texas celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Texas Republic with a world's fair here. It's a giant complex with several museums and an aquarium.

On our outing, we took the TRE and DART, which was exciting for the boys. Then we just strolled around the park, taking in the fountains and checking out the swan boats. The boys climbed on a large sculpture that straddles a pond, and we enjoyed a picnic before heading back to FW.

James and Nigel forged a friendship at storytime. It's been a lot of fun to watch them interact. Most of the time, they're great pals... sharing, laughing and making up silly games. But there are moments that they act kind of like siblings. For example, at one point today James didn't want Nigel to hold his hand anymore. So of course, Nigel just had to hold James' hand. We'll chalk it up as great practice for preschool — and the beginning of a great friendship!

Earth Day Train Ride

After my first Texas race on Saturday, we hopped the TRE train and DART to Dallas for an Earth Day Festival. Nigel had a blast on the trains. It was a fun, cheap way (free public transpo is a job perk for Tim, Nigel was free and my pass was only $8) for us to get to the "Big, big city."

The festival was a bit lame, though. More sales pitch (think windows, cars, etc.), less tree hugging. Nigel did get to plant a pumpkin seed in a pot and take it home, though, and we learned about recycling spots for electronics and light bulbs around DFW. There were also yoga classes and speakers, but those aren't exactly family friendly things.

A Day in Plano

We spent yesterday afternoon with Aunt Nancy and Uncle Dan in Plano. We got to tour Heritage Farmstead, which had some cute animals and old farm equipment. Nigel really liked the one-room schoolhouse (he's starting to pretend he's driving to school or walking to school a lot lately) and the chickens. We also toured Plano (our next move) a bit more. Dan took us by some neat neighborhoods, enormous high school football stadiums and Southfork Ranch, which is where the TV show "Dallas" was filmed (my mom and I are touring when she visits next month). We also rode through a neighborhood of mansions and saw a home once owned by Dallas Cowboys' great Deion Sanders.

A Magical Afternoon in Dallas

We've really enjoyed spending time with Tim's great-aunt Nancy and great-uncle Dan in Plano. We've only known them for a few months, but it feels like they've been in our lives forever. They are so sweet and kind. And Nigel is smitten*.

Last Saturday Tim and I took them up on their offer to watch Nigel for a few hours so we could have some alone time. Between my mom and several trusty sitters, Tim and I were never without an opportunity to go out in RVA. But the last time we'd been out alone was July. We were overdue.

Being the planner that I am, I racked my brain and hounded Tim to come up with the perfect afternoon. We couldn't blow this opportunity. Trouble was, everything we came up with we could conceivably do with Nigel. When we left the house the only thing we knew was we wanted to go to the Ethiopian restaurant Desta in Dallas, which you can read about here.

Not having a plan was the best option, though. When Tim stayed with Dan and Nancy his first week in Texas he took the train to FW. One of the stops along the way was at a mega Whole Foods in Dallas. So of course he knew I had to go. Now I know what you're thinking. Going to a grocery store is something we could do with Nigel. True. However this was more than a grocery trip. As soon as I walked up to those giant doors I felt myself exhale for the first time since November. I felt like I was home again. Yes, I'm obsessed with Whole Foods, but I'm talking about the vibe I felt and the people I saw. For starters, Dallas has more of an East Coast vibe to begin with. If a highway speed limit in FW is 60, FW drivers go 55; if a highway speed limit in Dallas is 70, Dallas drivers do 75-80. Secondly, while FW has more blue collar companies, government agencies and cowboys, Dallas has mega corporations. So with all of that comes more diversity in Dallas. MUCH more diversity in Dallas. We saw no less than 10 Habesha people while we enjoyed our coffee on the patio, and I saw more Indian, Vietnamese and Chinese people in that one store than I have the entire time we've been in Texas. There were VWs in the parking lot; patchouli was in the air. I was among "my people."

With that recharged energy, we drove through some cute neighborhoods in north and west Dallas. Some were way out of our league, but others might be doable. We also walked a few blocks in downtown Dallas, where we saw the spot that JFK was assassinated. (Strangely enough, there isn't a marker here. Next time I'd like to check out the museum.)

After our dinner we bought some Ethiopian groceries and pastries and picked up Nigel. That's it. That was our perfect day. We both felt re-energized, but I was giddy. Not to get cheesy, but since I've had a lifelong obsession with Texas I figured that once I got here I'd see why. I mean, Texans have such strong state pride, so there's got to be something amazing about this place. Where was my "a-ha!" Texas moment? It has happened to me once before. My entire life I'd also been focused on Ethiopia and adoption, separately. Obviously, the two came together. The moment we stepped out of the airport in Addis, I felt myself exhale for the first time in a long time. I knew at that moment why I had been thinking about that beautiful country — of which I knew very little about at the time — for my entire life. It was magical. So I had assumed that my "a-ha!" Texas moment would be Texas-related... cowboys, longhorns... something to make me realize this is where I was supposed to be. Turns out, it was the big(ger) city that did it. We ended that night with our eyes toward our Texas future. We'd been planning to move to the mid-cities next fall, but now we're angling toward getting to Plano/Dallas by next spring.

Among other things, that move would bring us closer to Dan and Nancy, which brings me to smitten Nigel*. As you can see from the above picture they wore him out! They played with Play-Doh, made pudding, ate ice cream (and dinner), fed ducks and went to the playground. He honestly didn't want to come home with us. He was so tired from such a fun day that he fell asleep in the car on the way home — something he hasn't done in a long time — and stayed asleep while Tim carried him into the house — something he's NEVER done. Have I said yet that it was a magical day?