The rest of our Texas trip was all about spending quality time with family and friends.
We were so honored and thankful to be able to attend my Opa's memorial at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio. He would have absolutely loved it...there was an honor guard present, they folded and presented the American flag to my Oma, then there was a 3-shot firing squad followed by the playing of Taps. It was a mild, sunny day and the breeze blew the entire time and I felt so incredibly grateful for the man my Opa was, his legacy to our family, and his service in the Navy.
It was really moving and I'm so glad that Xander was able to experience that moment with me.
The next day was the 4th of July! This was Xander's first time experiencing it in the U.S. Unfortunately, we were both sick so we spent the majority of the day sleeping but we found some time to sneak outside and enjoy the family BBQ!
Xander loved playing in his very own swimming pool that his Papa set up for him!
Filling up the bucket to replenish all the water he splashed out!
We tried to hard to get a picture in front of the American flag but he wanted to roam!
But he looked so cute in the 4th of July duds!
The next day I satisfied another craving...Frozen Jack & Coke from ChaChos! You guys, I'm telling you now...you haven't lived until you've indulged in one of these babies!
Xander also enjoyed an entire bowl of queso and was much too busy for picture taking!
We spent a few fun afternoons at the pool with the VanEss clan (minus Peter)...it's always a blast to spent time with our BFFs! :)
Sadly, our trip was quickly coming to an end. My mom joined us in Houston for our last night before we flew back to Norway. Xander loved reading the cool new book from Brannon!
And just when we thought we were going to have a tearful goodbye before security my Mom charmed them into letting her through with us! That's right...she got some sort of family pass to come through security while we waited for our flight! If you know my mom this is not a surprise! :) Since our flight was delayed it was really nice to have the help in the airport before we set off on our own!
We had such an amazing time in Texas and our time went by MUCH too fast! We both gained weight from all the yummy food and went back full of love and great memories!
The flight back alone was a little rough. He did OK through the afternoon and dinner time and then fell asleep around 8pm Texas time. Unfortunately, our flight landed in Amsterdam around 1am Texas time so he only got about 3 hours of sleep and was SUPER cranky during our layover in Amsterdam.
I tried to keep him happy by finding an empty corner to let him roam but he was so tired that nothing at the point was really making him happy...I can't blame him because I pretty much felt the same way!
Finally...one last flight back home to Norway. Thankfully he passed out during our 50 minute flight and we were touching down before I knew it. I was SO happy to see Arthur as the doors opened from baggage claim...pretty sure Xander and I both shed a few tears of exhaustion and happiness!
Home at last...sleeping like a baby! Until next time Texas!
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