So Friday was Halloween. (Have I mentioned I (heart) Halloween?) :) Once again, I was the only one dressed up at work (this doesn't bother me in the least). Dorothy is now retired but she definitely had a good run. (I did feel slightly terrible when the cleaning lady was vacuuming the office at about noon...as my red glitter would continue to "shed" for the rest of the day.) lol
After work, I headed to my cousin Kellie's house in Bedford where we would Trick or Treat with her and her daughter Alizabeth. We ended up at "Trunkfest" at a nearby church. This is where about 100 cars/trucks/suvs decorate their "trunks" and kids make the rounds getting candy at every vehicle. This was brilliant... I also got to see the cute, adorable side of Halloween with the kids. (as opposed to the sexy, trashy side I witnessed last weekend with adults. lol) We weren't there very long when Alizabeth and Jullian mentioned that their baskets were too heavy (due to massive amounts of candy) and that was our cue to leave. In and out with a ton of candy and 2 happy, hungry kids in about 30 mins!
Off to Texas Roadhouse where Criss Angel (mindfreak himself) waited on us. Followed by a RockBand demonstration back at Kellie's. Classic Halloween fun. :)
I was so planning on heading out after but the minute I got home, I crashed...hard and decided I was Halloween-ed out for this year...and it make take until next year to get rid of all the glitter in my apartment. :)
It was a good thing that I didn't stay out all night because I awoke slightly on the early side to the phone ringing, and a pretty happy sister on the other end of the line. Nena (sister in Killeen) called me asking if I could pick up Mykey from the airport at noon. Um yeah I could! For those that don't know, Mykey is my bro-in-law that's been in Iraq since June (2nd time to be over there)...we thought he'd be arriving some time mid-week, so this was a fantastic surprise and birthday present for him (it's Nov. 6th)!
Brenda (my youngest sister) and I arrived at the airport. DFW is pretty cool in that they have a terminal strictly dedicated to troops arriving "home" for R&R. The walls are decorated with signs and pictures thanking them and welcoming them home and there are usually groups of people there welcoming them. I got the privilege of being part of the "welcoming committee" a couple years back with work. It gets to ya. There's all sorts of emotions that run through you. But man, this time around was a whole different story and about 10 times the emotions occurred being that WE had a soldier in the group. They asked if friends and family members would get at the front of the line so that we could connect with out soldier ASAP and thanked US for OUR sacrifice. I'm not gonna lie there was a lump in my throat in the eyes were at the welling up point. (*I myself have not sacrificed anything...but I'll take it in honor of my sister, Nena, and my niece, Mia, that weren't able to make up to the airport on time.)
The 160-ish soldiers begin to file out. Well at least one did and then there was a good 10/15 minutes till the next would arrive. That was the hardest part...the waiting. Every time we saw a short Mexican guy come by we got excited and then immediately let down. Finally, after about 100 or so guys and gals, Mykey came down the hallway and we immediately attacked him with a hug and got on our way through the good people that were there cheering the soldiers on. Mykey's (and another guy, Brian Hall, whose flight home would not leave till the next day) first request was to head to the mall so they could get out of their uniforms.
We did just that. It was interesting to see how the "public" reacts to those in uniform. Those who did come up to them always were very cool and very proud and thankful to them.
*Half a second of me on my soap box...I don't, like probably most of you, understand the war that's going on right now, but I do know that I will always SUPPORT our men and women who represent and protect our country and or rights and freedoms. They asked me if I voted. I did. I felt extremely good inside when I learned that they voted the same way I did. I realize there's a ton of things not so great in this country money wise, etc. but my main concerns deal with human rights (straight, gay we're all HUMAN) and what is going to help our troops more or just flat out get them HOME...and I'd like to think that who I voted for shares these concerns. GO VOTE tomorrow if you haven't already! Down from soap box. :)
So they bought stuff and changed in the bathroom at Chili's they were THAT ready to get back to "normal"...if only for a couple of weeks. It was good being with them for the day. I hugged Hall as we dropped him off at his hotel and that was probably one of the best hugs I've ever received. I only met him a few hours before, but by that hug, I know he was happy and thankful to be home. We then drove Mykey to Hillsboro were Nena & Mia met us and off they went back home...as a complete family. :)
At about 10 o'clock Saturday night I arrived back home and got changed and met up with Michael and watched the last quarter of the Texas/Texas Tech game. GREATNESS!! And I don't even care about college football in the least. I was so pulling for Tech (I like to be different lol) UNTIL they rushed the field before the game was over...at that moment i wanted something so phenomenal to happen that Texas would end up winning. That didn't happen but it was still a super great game.
VS
We then proceeded to The Grapevine. It was a gorgeous night, met a new friend (shout out JD) and I even saw an old blast from the past, Charlie Contreras! (We went to the Sadie Hawkins dance together way back in the day when we went to Bryan Adams (not the Canadian RockStar) High School). We had too much fun...and being that it was the end of Daylight Savings time, we had an extra hour of fun.
Another great weekend!
much love
