"Take Your Family to Work" weekend

We're on day 3 of "Take Your Family to Work" weekend and we're having a great time! At least as much fun as you can have in Falfurrias, TX. It's doesn't exactly make the top 10 list of best vacation spots in TX (might be listed on the top 10 list of places NEVER to visit). There is nothing here. I mean NOTH-ING! So what brings up to Falfurrias?? Well, as I alluded to, we are here with my husband for work. So let me back up for a minute...

Chris flies a private jet for a husband and wife out of Houston. He has been with them for about 13 years now and I like to call him their fourth child (they put a lot of trust in him to navigate that huge hulk of metal all over the world so they've gotten pretty close). They are great to him and our family! Many times he takes them to exotic places like Costa Rica, or beach resorts in Mexico, or mountain retreats in Colorado...the list goes on and on. But, the majority of the time they spend their time away from home at their 18,000 square foot home on their hunting ranch in Falfurrias. (That was not a typo folks...18,000 square feet it is!) Usually they stay for two or three days but this trip happens to be 10, long days. So, they invited myself and the girls to come along. I was a little hesitant at first, thinking "how are we going to entertain these girls for three days on a hunting ranch!" Remember how much there is to do in Falfurrias....NO-THING! But, I thought at least we would all be together and they do have a swimming pool so if all else fails we'd just hang out at the pool all day.

So, on Thursday we hopped on the airplane (just in case your wondering it's a Lear45 - if you're a girl like me that's means nothing to you just like it did for me a few years ago) and I was a nervous wreck. Would my girls be whining, crying, disrespectful, ungrateful, or the worst...talk incessantly about absolutely nothing!!! They turned out to be perfect little angels. Whew!! After we landed and said to goodbye to the Lawrences' (the boss and his wife), they invited us to come over to their house and play in their game room (it's like nothing you've ever seen before - at least not at a private residence) and swim in THEIR pool. (the pool I referred to earlier was the guest pool). Now I was getting excited!

We arrived at our modest (but very clean with plenty of room) accommodations just down the road from "the mansion". We were totally surprised when we noticed that the Lawrences' had asked their assistant to bring over the "Good Girl" for us to drive around. The "good girl" is the equivilant of the "Bad Boy" golf cart, equiped with seating for 6 but this one is painted in pink camo. Josie has had a great time steering us around the property and most of time she actually keeps it on the road. I know she'll be begging her daddy for a "Good Girl" come December. Not gonna happen, kiddo. She'll have to be satisfied with her pink Barbie caddilac escalade.

Yesterday morning we drove the Good Girl down the road to the mansion and walked the 100 yards from one gate, to the pool at the other end of the house (starting to understand the enormity of this place?). And all I can say is WOW! From the landscaping to the interior decorating, this place is simply phenomenal!! We swam in the pool, all by ourselves, until my shoulders turned pink. It was great!! Then we visited Mrs. Lawrence in her kitchen (double WOW!) as she cooked up lunch with fresh vegetables and herbs from her garden. She showed the girls her new kittens and asked them for suggestions on names for them. We did other things that day but being at their house was the best part.

Now you know that my husband's boss and wife (we lovingly call HER the REAL boss) own their own private jet and one really stinkin' big house. But, what I haven't told you is just how sweet these people really are. Maybe you started to come to that conclusion when they invited us to ride on their jet and let us drive their Good Girl, but seriously, you couldn't convince me that there are people (with their net worth) that are any more caring and generous than these two. You see, usually this business that my husband works in really isn't all that desirable. Often the people that private pilots work for are demanding, arrogant, rude, and simply just too good for ordinary folks. The Lawrences' are far from any of those things. We have been so blessed by God with this job and these people.

Gotta run! The Lawrences' just invited us for lunch...yummo!!