Wishing Winky Could Stay Longer!

Winky's visit this weekend was too short! On Friday, she was visiting us and Jack Ranger asked to ride with her to dinner with the family at the Truck Yard. As they left the house, he suggested to her that she go back to California, get her things and come back! Good idea JR!

We managed to find a good spot to sit at the Truck Yard and the kids had a good timing roaming around while we chatted. The only incident was a small bloody nose from Colton after a fall from the chair, but he recovered quickly.

Doesn't Cadie look like she could be Winky's little girl! I always tell Cadie she is lucky to look so much like Winky because Winky is beautiful. We miss you Aunt Whitney!

Missing the Gallet's

I stopped by CJ and Ryan's house this morning on my way to work right after I dropped off Jack Ranger at Scofield to give my sister one final hug before she and Ryan headed out of Dallas in their RV. I cried all the way to work and had to explain my puffy eyes and watery nose during my first meeting. The rest of today I have had a knot in the pit of my stomach and I feel like I have said good-bye to my best friend.

Having the Gallet's come to Dallas was amazing and our time together over the past two years has included tons of movie nights for the boys, family dinners at our house, swimming at the Gallet's house, holidays together, having someone close that loves you that you can call to help you at any hour of the day or night and just being there for each other in our marriages, with our children and in our faith. I will miss them so very very much. Oh boy, here come the tears again...

They have purchased a huge RV and Ryan will be working remotely and Courtney will be doing a traveling nursing program as they drive across America. Their first planned stop is in Seattle where Courtney already has a job lined up for the next few months. They will be parked just about 10 minutes from Eric and Anna's house.

Thank you God for my sister, for Rhino, for their love of Grant and I and our children, for their adventurous spirits and for their desire to learn how to love each other better and for their brief but sweet time in Dallas. Keep them safe as they explore the world you have made for us. Please let this experience bring them closer together and closer to you. Give them stories that they can share with their children and laugh together about as they remember. And, if possible, please bring them back to Dallas.

Community Partners of Dallas

After the kids wrapped up their Sunday afternoon backyard tea party, we went to the Change is Good event at Brook Hollow Country Club benefiting Community Partners of Dallas. It was a kids party on steroids and we had a blast! We bounced, danced, ate, made crowns and mad-hatter hats, entered (but didn't win) for raffle prizes and caught up with friends Rebekah, Mike, Jacob and Kate Feather.

Istanbul, Turkey

I am sitting right now at the Istanbul airport waiting for a 5:55am flight home. I arrived on Monday to attend the Europe Change Practitioners training and it has been a very productive week getting to know our Europe team, gaining a deeper understanding of change methodology and discussing change and transformation programs. Enough about work...

My hotel, Doubletree by Hilton Istanbul Moda, was just lovely and I had an incredible view from my room of the Marmara Sea. On Tuesday night we had a team dinner at the Villa Bosphorus and the view over the water could not have been more stunning. The sunset, sparkling bridge, mosques, water and even fireworks.

Wednesday evening a BIS colleague from Barcelona, Mario Morales, and I ventured to Bagdat street. It just happened to be Istanbul Fashion Night out and there were DJs and events all along the street. We had a nice dinner and even though we didn't buy anything it was a fun experience.

I had a bit of time on Thursday to explore and equipped with instructions from local PepsiCo teammates, I took the boat from Kodikoy to Eminonu to the old city. I walked through the Spice Market and then had quite a hunt to find The Basilica Cistern. I was getting really confused and a sweet girl went out of her way to walk me much of the way to the cistern.

After the cistern, which was beautiful, I went to the square, which was packed due to a cruise being in port. I ended up tagging along with two tourists from Sweden, Camila and Dubius, on a tour of the Hagia Sophia Museum led by Omar Cakirca. He took us right past all the lines and charged us only $10US for the tour. Very worth it.

I spent the rest of my time Thursday at the Grand Bazaar. I loved it as much as the last time I was there in 2011. I had so many sacks that my hands were hurting on the way back to the hotel. I had to rush to make it to meetings, but the running was worth it to be able to spend some extra time shopping. I know Grant would not have been pleased with my independant Istanbul adventure, but I had a great time.

And now, I am happy to be going home to Grant and my babies! Bye Turkey, I love your history, water views, shopping and culture.

View from my hotel room

Christos Manolis and I at our team dinner.

Blue Mosque selfie

In Turkey, the hotel closet includes a copy of the Koran.

Disney: Going Home

On our flight didn't leave Florida until Monday evening so we hung out in the hotel room until 11am checkout. At 11am Nina and Papa headed our for their drive back to Georgia, Christy went to the airport to catch her flight and we headed to the pool. Our hotel had an awesome pool with a beach entry, 2 waterslides and a really great splash park. The kids and I loved it! We played for almost 3 hours and then we showered in the locker rooms and headed to the airport. It was a long day and the kids (and Grant and I) were very tired by the time we got home. Thankfully I had taken Tuesday off work for a recovery day and we all rested most of the day. Cadie, in fact, stayed in her room almost all day on Tuesday listening to music and books on tape. Poor baby girl needed some downtime after all the fun. I am thankful for such a fun trip and even more thankful for the amazing family that God has blessed me with.

Disney Day 4: Last Night and Stories with Belle

After rest time, the 5 of us, Christy and Nina and Papa headed to Magic Kingdom. We ate dinner there but it was POURING rain and so after dinner Papa ran through the rain to take Colton back to the hotel. Everyone was sports and we just went around in the rain and managed to ride quite a few rides including Pirates of the Caribbean (again) and Monsters Laugh Floor (so funny!) and we also went to Stories with Belle. Grant was a knight, Jack Ranger was an ottoman and Cadie was Chip the Teacup. Cadie felt a little nervous though so mostly I was Chip. Jack Ranger was the hit of the show and he charmed Belle completely. She even kissed him and afterwards one of her assistants told me that Belle only kisses the very cutest little boys. JR certainly qualifies.

We stayed to watch the projection show on the Castle and the fireworks. Tinkerbell flew right over where we were standing on the bridge. It was the perfect ending to a great trip.

Disney Day 4: Rest Time and Good-bye to DD and Big John

After brunch we all went back to the hotel to rest and also to say good-bye to DD and Big John. We were sad that they had to leave a day earlier than we did, but they needed to get back to work. Since DD and Big John were gone, Nina and Papa moved into our room for the night.