As originally planned, our vacation last month to visit Mom & Tom (Troy’s mom and stepdad) in South Texas was going to be bookended by quick trips to OMSHville and Dallas. Our good friends Bill & Sarah moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth area about a year ago, and we were really looking forward to seeing them and their son B., who was in Annalie’s playgroup. We also had plans to get together with Jennie of She Likes Purple, whom I’d met and become friends with after I started blogging last October.

After Troy’s dad died, our plans changed. We had been looking forward to our visit with Mom & Tom for a long time, so having to leave after only one day, on top of everything else, was quite a disappointment. So we made sure to arrange our plans so that we could still go back to Dallas for the weekend before heading home. We figured if nothing else, it would give us a couple of days to decompress from the craziness of our week in Omaha.

Despite the fact that I was sick with the worst head cold I’ve ever had, it was a wonderful weekend. It started out with perhaps the cutest reunion I’ve ever seen, when we walked into Bill & Sarah’s house and B. and Annalie ran full-tilt into a hug while they each shouted the other’s name. Sarah and I pretty much melted on the spot and you’d better believe I kicked myself for not having the camera ready.

We would have enjoyed just sitting around, drinking coffee, tallking and laughing with them—and we did do that—but we also managed to fit in the Dallas World Aquarium, Taco Cabana, and a half-dozen trips to a really cool neighborhood park. Sarah and I sneaked off one afternoon by ourselves for coffee and dessert and ended up browsing around some antique shops, which we both love to do. It was so good to see our friends again, and we’re already looking forward to the next time.

We also managed to fit lunch with Jennie & Kristie into our weekend. (Since Jennie’s husband Mike had to work that day, Kristie came to lunch with her.) Before I tell you what this internet-meet-real-life experience was like, let me tell you that my cold was at its worst that day. I was horribly congested, could barely breathe, and was completely distracted by the fact that I had to constantly blow my nose just to relieve the pressure. It was plain awful, and I was in a bad mood because of it. My much-anticipated meeting with this blogger whom I admired so much was going to be ruined by a stupid cold. Grrr!

Of course you have guessed what I am going to say: that Jennie and Kristie could not have been lovelier. We talked and ate lunch and then moved on to a bookstore across the street to chat some more in the cafe over coffee and tea. We talked about our families, jobs, what kind of books we liked, having kids, college, crafts (I showed them how to make an envelope from a magazine page), blogging, and who knows what else. I love meeting internet friends. So far, it’s always been a good thing.

Seeing old friends and meeting new ones in Dallas was the perfect way to end our Texas trip. (Jamie, you’d better be free next time we’re there!)

See the rest of the photoset Dallas - Feb 2008 on Flickr.