Riley & Olivia's first day in Texas

My nephew and niece, Riley & Olivia, arrived this afternoon from Salt Lake City, Utah to spend six days with us and we are all so excited. After collecting their luggage, we headed over to the Rainforest Cafe in the Grapevine Mills Mall right by the airport. The cafe was a bit too much volume wise for Oliver, but Riley and Olivia really seemed to enjoy it. I have been to one in Denver with my Aunt Jerry before, but I had forgotten how lush and beautiful it was. The food was good and ample. When we had finished, we headed to the gift shop and picked out some souvenirs and then we did some birthday shopping for Riley at Tommy Hilfiger. We then collected our purchases and made the hour long trip from the airport to Plano in rush hour traffic. No one seemed to mind the extra time we spent in traffic as we were all enjoying each others company in the car. Riley and Olivia brought Oliver a special gift in their suitcase that Oliver just loved: it was a huge fire truck that even has sound effects. Oliver has played with the truck every day since then. We had a light dinner and after we got Oliver in bed and the dishes were done, the kids played some games. That marked the end of our first day, here are some pictures we took of the day:

The pictures on the left of the collage were taken while we were waiting for the plane to arrive. Since Rye and Liv were unescorted minors, we were able to go through security to the gate to accept guardianship of them and Oliver had no problem passing the time watching airplanes, tractors, police cars, etc. Oliver warmed right up to his cousins and let Riley hold him without any questions.

I loved this picture of him snuggling into Riley

waiting for our food

some of the scenery at the Cafe

reading the instruction book for a strategy game -- Riley's favorite type of game

Riley & Olivia playing Go