Trip to Lubbock

I was born and raised in Dallas, but there are still two other places in the world that make me feel like I'm at home. The first is Kentucky, where I spent every summer as a kid. Those summers usually involved making my grandparents watch me put on a one-kid show. One year it was toy horses making death defying leaps. Another year was a choreographed dance to Baby One More Time. Being an only child (sort of*) makes you resort to really strange things to keep you entertained.

The second is Lubbock. It always feels like home, and it's not even my family. Maybe in-laws are best served 300 miles away, but I love visiting Ian's family in Lubbock. This weekend was his (step) great grandmother's 100th birthday. Here's a photo of her and all of her Great Great Grandchildern. That's our niece Shelby holding Richard.


I also had a lot of fun spending time with my nieces. They're in college and way cooler than I am. We ate dinner at a cajun restaurant and gossiped about our family.

On the way home, Ian and I made the mistake of discussing politics. It ended with me staring out the window with my arms crossed refusing to speak. And Ian claims that this fight was the reason for the next thing that happened.

We ran out of fuel. On the interstate. Ian said, "Oh, I'm out of fuel." And I figured that just meant we'd have to stop and get some. No, he really meant he was out of fuel. The car was no longer running. So we coasted to an IHOP off the side of the road, and Richard and I went in for coffee while Ian walked to the gas station.

Fortunately, we made it home. I lovingly told Ian when we climbed into bed, "I love you even though you're a heartless conservative." To which he replied, "Don't forget that we kill kittens, too."

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*I have two half sisters, thus the reason why I have nieces, but they never made the Kentucky trip with me.