Warning: Picture overload.
So we got to Dallas late Friday night, and had almost the entire Schaack Pack together! (We just missed Steve and Alli) We got to see Jon and Lisa's new house for the first time, which was just beautiful! Lisa is so creative and had pretty much made everything in that house herself. That night, Lisa was just finishing decorating the house for Caleb's big day on Saturday. We sat up late and talked with everyone. We had a nice discussion of how many car accidents the Schaack children had been in, where we were the ones at fault. The number was slightly embarrassing, but we had some pretty funny stories to say the least. Those stories can be saved for another blog post. :)
We all woke up Saturday and had a pretty special day. It was Caleb's birthday, and also his baptism. We had a great peaceful morning getting ready, and then headed to the church. There were 16 people getting baptized in their stake that morning, so it made for a pretty long baptism. The spirit was really strong though, and it was fun to be there for his special day.
The best part of the baptism was hearing Caleb, Jacob, and McKenzie sing the baptism song together. It just brought the most peaceful and powerful feeling in the room, and brought everyone to tears. I often forget how strong spirited these little children are. They are definitely the most beautiful part of this world!
It was also really fun to meet Jon's office staff at the baptism. They all came to support Jon and Caleb, and they are all just incredible people. Not all of them are members of the church, so it was cool to have them be a part of it and feel of the special spirit there. We also got to see a few of my cousins that also live in Texas that we don't get to see very often either!
After the baptism, Lisa threw an amazing party like always. Nothing she does is ever short of amazing! Caleb's request for the luncheon was Costco pizza, so she stuck to his request (after negotiating that McDonalds was not an option). She did a rainbow theme to the party, and had all of the fruit and desserts all in the colors of the rainbow. It was so cute. Here is Caleb getting ready to blow out his birthday candles and showing off his new scriptures.
*Funny story: So Lisa made these really yummy brownie bites that everyone was eating. My dad was going to town on them, and Brad told me to take a picture. So i did, and sure enough...this bite exactly is the bite that took Jon, my dad and I into the dental office! He broke a tooth! Epic i know. So feel honored that you are looking at the picture of the bite that broke the tooth. :)
About an hour later...there we all were in McKinney Pediatric Dentistry. Jon, the dentist. Robbie, the student dentist. And me, the Dental Assistant. It was a family party in Dad's mouth.
Once we had Dad in there, it began to be a Schaack Family medical/dental super Saturday! Jon did exams on Kenzie and Brinley, and Russ was doing adjustments on everyone in the other chairs...it was a riot.
After everyone was healed, we went and played at the most beautiful park in the world. We played some tennis, played with the kids, and went on a really pretty walk around the lake there. Brad was in love with this house that is behind us in this picture. (Looks pretty from a distance, but I don't like it) So we stopped to take a picture :)
At home, all the boys always found time to play lots of basketball and have dunking competitions.
Sunday was Megan's 30th Birthday. They had to leave to go back home to Austin this day, but we still had fun celebrating her! We had a big list of 30 things we love about Megan. Lisa made this yummy dessert for her to blow her candles out too. We just had a nice relaxing Sunday!
Saying goodbye to the Jepsons!
Lisa was so pregnant, yet she does not slow down! I think this was the only time i saw her sit the whole time. In the stroller! She was still teaching all of her dance classes and everything in her house while we were there. Nothing can slow that woman down!
Monday morning we woke up and went to Jon's office, and i had the opportunity to work with him for a few hours! It was soo fun! It was just fun to see Jon in his element and have so much fun with all the kids. He is the best Pediatric Dentist in the world. It was really fun for me to assist him in a few treatment procedures and get to know his patients also. When we got to the office that morning, i went back in the break room to put my stuff down, and i found this sitting on the table.
His staff is seriously so kind and thoughtful! I have never met so many just happy people! He has Caitlyn, Jill, Angie, and Lani all working for him right now, and i just love all of them! I loved talking and learning so much from each of them. They all have such a fun and positive energy. I sure wish i could be around them more.
Here is Dr. Schaack and I working away...
Cute little Wilson eating one of the cupcakes Jill made. I sure love this silly boy!
That night we went to a baseball game. The Frisco Rough Riders!!!! They are a AA local team, but the game was perfect! We got some dinner before, and headed to the game.
Not crowded...lots of fowl balls to catch...fun entertainment...sunflower seeds...perfect weather...family...happy children....it just could not have been a more perfect night.
These are our two baseball lovers...
Tuesday we went downtown Dallas with Jon, Lisa, and Wilson. Caleb and Jacob went to school. I think we pretty much saw everything! Jon gave us the best tour ever. We went downtown and saw the JFK site, where he was killed. It is the second window from the top right where guy shot him from. It was pretty cool to see that historic site again.
Us standing on the X on the road, which was where the second bullet hit him. You can see the other X on the road behind us, which was where the first bullet hit him.
This random black dude took us up behind this fence behind The Grassy Knoll and said it was right between these two trees that JFK was shot from. He had no idea what he was talking about, but we had a good laugh!
On the downtown tour we also went and saw the Dallas Temple, Swiss Street, the American Airlines Center where the Mav's play, and lots of other famous things in that town. Dallas is one of my very favorite downtowns. The skyline is amazing, and it is just very historical and classy/business like. After our big tour Jon and Lisa treated us to some amazing Texas barbecue at Red Hot and Blue. We ate until we almost threw up, but it was seriously the best food we had ever had! I would move to Texas right now just for that food again!
We got home just as the boys were getting home from school. We just played around the house and relaxed for a while. We then went to Jacob's soccer practice at the park, and played on the playground and flew some kites. However, it was a little too windy for the kites. It pretty much destroyed them everytime we tried to fly them. So we all just played around and watched Jacob play some soccer!
Wednesday Brad and I went back to downtown Dallas by ourselves. Jon was working and Lisa was teaching dance all day. So we took the car and went and met with Brock Hansen at UT Southwestern Medical School. He is a friend of Robbie's, and also the Curtis family. He is a medical student there, and was so kind to show us around the school and give us some really good insight and advice about approaching/applying and choosing medical schools. We really loved UT Southwestern, and it made us really excited for our future! It was fun to just be in the atmosphere and see what they do everyday. We had a great experience!
After we left the medical school, we headed strait to the dental school to pick up Robbie! We timed it perfectly to pick him up during his 2 hour lunch break that day. We went to a yummy taco joint, and then he showed us some more stuff downtown. This next picture is right on the roof of his apartment complex. He lives right downtown!
After playing around downtown some more, Robbie gave us a tour of the dental school. We had a little fun playing in the sim lab. Especially on the mouths with no teeth. :) The dental school was really fun and interesting too! It is just fun to see where they spend all of their time everyday. It's pretty amazing to see what a Dentist in the making gets to do everyday!
Wednesday night, our last night in Texas! Jon, Lisa and the boys, Robbie, and Brad and I all went out to eat at Pappasito's. It was a super super yummy tex mex restaurant. Such good food again! They had a really good mariachi band playing, and it was just a fun atmosphere.
We definitely ate too much!
After dinner we went and got some killer gelato that was close by and just played around outside. It was such a blast. Seriously, we could not ask for a better trip. Our family is so good to us. It is pretty hard to live so far away from them, so we just cherish and are so grateful for every second we do get to spend together. I always learn so much from my siblings every time i am around them. They are huge examples to me, and i have always wanted to be just like them. We miss them like crazy already!
