“Pack your bags, honey!  We’re headed to WACO!”

Bryan loves to surprise our family with spontaneous, unusual weekend jaunts.  Labor Day weekend was no exception.

Antiquing in Waxahachie

One of our favorite things to do as a family is to go antiquing in sleepy little towns.  Although we mostly window shop, we have found a few treasures along the way.

Bryan prepares a “Treasure Hunt” list of things for Ariana to search for, and Vivian, strapped in the Baby Bjorn, is surprisingly content.

Westfest

As a child, I was indoctrinated (brainwashed???) to believe that carnival rides were not only a waste of money but were also horribly unsafe.  So, when my own precious child wanted to go on the $3/ride roller coaster-like ferris wheel at Westfest on our trip to Waco over Labor Day weekend, you can imagine my hesitancy on several levels.  The “Voice of Reason” (aka Bryan) assured me that everything would be fine.  The ride operator strapped Ariana in, and off she went . . . higher and higher, faster and faster . . . and FASTER!  “She’s going to throw up! She’s going to fall out!” Teary and terror-stricken, I rushed over and demanded that they stop the ride and let my baby off the death trap.  I was relieved to have Ariana back on solid ground, but to my surprise, the first words out of her mouth were “Aaaw!  Why was the ride so short!”

At Westfest, we also learned that Vivian’s new favorite food is a cherry snow cone.

Cameron Park Zoo

A quaint little zoo in Waco was a fun place to spend Labor Day morning.

Homestead Heritage

Call me boring . . . call me weird . . . but one of my new-found favorite places is Homestead Heritage, a traditional crafts village located just outside Waco.  It features pottery, woodworking, quilting, blacksmithing, gardening, and a 1700’s operational grist mill.  We attended their annual Sorghum Festival and plan on going back for their Thanksgiving Craft and Children’s Fair.

Our sojourn back to Frisco was far more difficult than anticipated.  At least one major accident had I-35 closed.  Bryan navigated back roads to get us home.  Knowing that delays were likely to only get worse the later it got, we opted to not stop anywhere for dinner.  Bryan dined on MRE’s (meals-ready-to-eat) straight from the foil packets (we’re still trying to wean him from some of his bachelor ways) while Ariana and I opted for granola bars and trail mix.