A sister is a special friend - yes, she is!!

For those of you who don't know, our mom died when I was a Sophomore in high school. I was the baby and my sister, Becky (the middle child!) was already working at South Central Bell but she was living at home. We became very close over those years and then when we were pregnant at the same time and our children are only weeks apart, we became even closer. Back before cell phones and a million long distance plans, the only really cheap plan was where you could talk all you wanted on Saturdays or something like that. For years and years, Becky and I talked on the phone every single Saturday morning while we make pancakes for our kids and did the laundry, etc. Now that we have cell phones . . .we talk several times a day :-) Becky just had a BIG birthday on Wednesday, April 7. Matthew is away at UT Austin (I don't think that is how he says it) and I didn't want her to be alone on her birthday. So I booked a flight that left in the wee hours of the morning - it was still very dark outside - and flew to Houston Hobby airport where she picked me up. We drove straight to Keemah, Texas to eat lunch on the boardwalk. Actually, we didn't drive straight there - we got a little lost first. We finally arrived!! (good thing because I was getting a little car sick!!) We walked around and looked at stuff. I felt like I was on vacation at the beach. I went "for" her but I cannot tell you what that few hours on the boardwalk did for me. I NEEDED some sunshine and my body seemed to soak it up.

I took lots of pictures of Becky since it was her birthday. A professional photographer was roaming around and he took the best ever pic of us. I'm afraid to scan it and post it since it is obviously a professional . . .don't want to get in trouble. But I'll tell you that it is so good of us - we look so happy to be together!!

We ate outside on the boardwalk at a Mexican restaurant. I think it was Cadillac something or other. This was my plate. I was able to eat maybe half of it. It was a HUGE plate of food. That little blue bowl is some kind of bean soup - we don't have it at the Mexican restaurants in Birmingham.

I told the waiter two different times, "we are here for her birthday - I just flew in from Alabama." He took the hint and showed up with this incredible dessert below. It had ice cream and whipped cream and cinnamon and sugar. Oh my goodness - I took a bite - yummy!!

After we finished eating, I was still soaking up some sun and we looked over at the recently vacated table next to us and this bird was sitting there eating chips. It was so funny. He would grab a chip out of the basket and eat it and then grab another. I guess it is true for birds also - you can't eat just one!!

We went in several of the little shops on the boardwalk and enjoyed walking around. There was a roller coaster - which is my favorite of all time rides - it was even a giant wooden one - but I was afraid to ride it after consuming Mexican food :-) We loaded up in the car and headed back to Richmond (suburb of Houston where she lives). When we arrived back at her house, there was a note on the door. We had just missed the florist. We waited until they came back and they delivered this beautiful surprise for Becky.

That night, we rented The Blind Side which neither of us had seen and we made roast beef sandwiches. Becky remembered how our daddy made them when we were kids and we made them that way. I know that sounds silly to some of you, but our parents have been gone so long that it was really neat to do something that we "used to do." We also popped some popcorn and went to bed at a decent hour since I had been up a loooong time!

On Thursday, we shopped and I found a cute skirt and top and Becky (ever the big sister) bought it for me for my birthday (which is not until June). Then we went to What A Burger - never been there before - it started in Texas!! Then we went to the neatest place. It is called The Enchanted Forest and it is in Booth, Texas. It is a plant nursery and it is the most spectacular place I have ever seen. There are little houses (see one in the background) all over the property and they have all sizes of metal things - like the pineapple.

They have areas set up and landscaped so you can see how it would look at your house. It was truly an enchanted place!! They had these yellow poppies and I don't have a picture of them. I had never seen them before and had to ask what kind of flower they were. They are a winter flower we were told and they were so pretty and happy looking. Look at the pretty end-caps to each of the tables with plants on them - like a little roof shape and you can also see another of the houses in the background.

This basket made me smile and I would love to re-create it here at home.

All too soon, it was time for Becky to take me back to the airport. What a whirlwind trip - I flew in one day and out the next but we crammed some great time in those hours. From my words, can you tell that I love my sister? I do! I really do!!