New Nails, who dis?

I was in meetings so much that I had time to do my nails into glow in the dark! Perfect for camping.

I had little surprises in the mail like a Saint Arnold’s voucher which I don’t have time to use, and Mercedes and Sebastian’s baby shower present for winning a game. Their little one was born this weekend and he is precious!

June and I did our daily walks up until we left for Dallas.

Thursday: there was a 20% off for Tiff’s Treats so I ordered some to Brudda’s house so that when I arrived, I had some to snack on. They ordered Viet food for the family but I opted for just eggrolls and ordered from Lebanese Grill, enough for leftovers.

I haven’t held Ethan since March. He was probably questioning who this random lady is. And he cried BIG, GIANT tears when I held him the first time. You can see it on the top right picture. He started warming up to me though.

Friday: Emmy ended up sleeping with me. She had a great kick playing with my glow in the light nails and kept wanting me to tell Alexa to turn on and off the lights. When we woke up, we took some pictures and silly videos.

Then it was off to see the wizard. Just kidding. Brudda, SIL, Emmy, June, and I picked up McDonald’s and headed to Glenn Rose, Texas. Emmy is living the life. Oh to be a kid again.

We finally made it to Fossil Rim Wildlife Center. We picked up our cup of feed and drove towards the animals.

Emmy came up to the front to sit with me while we went through the place. She had SO much fun feeding the animals and made all these animal noises. Brudda got pecked by an ostrich which was funny but not. Emmy is probably scarred by ostriches now.

We were warned that since it rained so much and the temperature dropped, the giraffes and rhinos may not be visible. We didn’t see a lot of variety but we still had a lot of fun. We saw a giant moose scratching himself with his antlers, and two deers bucking. It was so quiet you can hear when they clash.

After the safari, we headed to Brookshire Brothers to pick up a few things (mostly for the restrooms) and as we drove, we saw Jenny, Le, and Joey speeding past us. It was perfect since we didn’t have signal and couldn’t contact them.

When we checked into Dinosaur Valley State Park, we packed up the wagon and made our way to our campsite. Before and after our tents were set up. I opted for a cheaper tent that wasn’t a pop-up since I didn’t know if I’d like camping. I was super proud of us for setting up the tents very quickly! The only thing I’ll need to get for next time is a tarp for easier cleanup.

We did some sightseeing. One of my hands had more light and so as it turned dark, one hand glowed! So freaking cool.

We also did some walks in the dark to the car so that we could drive to the public restrooms since Emmy isn’t used to popping a squat.

The many faces of Emmy. She was pure entertainment.

Thanks to Le for cooking our dinner. Cheeseburgers, steaks, and sweet potatoes. We had Turtle chips while we waited and before you freak out, they’re not made of turtles! We also made S’mores. Emmy loves them.

Once it got dark, we all retreated into our tents and bundled up. I watched a movie I had downloaded and played some games before falling asleep. The weather was in the 40s. Thanks to my ski jacket, double layer leggings, wool socks, sleeping mat, and sleeping bag, I was SUPER warm. I can’t say the same for the others.

If you know me, waking up randomly through the night is my norm so when I finally saw Brudda get up, we both went to take some pictures of the landscape/sunrise. It was nice getting one-on-one time with him as we rarely do nowadays.

When we got back to the campsite, everyone was awake and Emmy was not a happy camper. Pun intended. She was cold and hungry. Once we packed up everything and got back to the car, she was happy to have Pringles in her lap and back in her car seat.

Overall, my first camping trip was a success. Even though it was only for a day, I had a lot of fun. I finally get to cross of camping from my list and I hope I get to do more of it in the future.

Anyone down to camp? Glamping is allowed. I just need more nature and hikes!

When we got back to the house, Sammi was nice enough to order and pick up food from Bull Daddy Noodle Bistro. Fried rice, fried tofu, green onion pancakes, and fried chicken. Nothing fancy but still good to satisfy our hunger.

I put in some Ethan and Emmy time. She fell asleep and I find it super adorable that Rizzo fell asleep next to her. Pluto also came into our room and slept with June and we all took a nap together.

Then we got ready and headed to the studio for Christmas pictures. I went to help and snuck in some pictures just so I can have it for memories. I pulled her around on a sled and she loved it. I wonder if she’ll love real snow.

On our way back to the house, I sat in the back with Ethan and there was a moment where I left my hand in between the seats and Ethan and Emmy both grabbed my hand. My heart. #neverletmego

Sammi went and picked up Boiling Crab while SIL picked up some Chinese food. SIL’s parents were coming over to hang out with my parents and Jenny and Le came over as well. We drank some Skrewball which is AMAZING and ate some delicious snowcrabs and shrimp. We talked and caught up for hours and hours before everyone left. Emmy slept with us again and when she woke up she wanted to leave with us.

Sadly that wasn’t the plan as we planned to take Ethan home. But in two weeks, we’ll be switching kids and I’ll get Emmy! We got Whataburger and listened to podcasts the whole ride home. Ethan didn’t have too many fusses on the drive. I can’t wait to see how he is during these two weeks. #dontleaveme

Today marks two years. I’ve learned so much about myself since that day. I had all these expectations of experiences with someone so we had all these memories for when we grew old but I was too mousey to speak up on what I truly needed/wanted. But being single has helped me not to care as much and to just do what I truly want to do. So many experiences are still out there for me to conquer and I am ready. I just hope if I ever love someone again, they’ll be willing to do some outdoorsy stuff because I am loving all the mother nature I’ve been getting these couple of years.