Dallas (Plano & Fort Worth)

It has been some time since an update so here we go. We finished at Oak Hill on a Saturday afternoon, packed up and headed to Plano in Dallas. We arrived at Phillip and Pauline Bellingan’s place just before tea or should I say dinner so as not to confuse anyone.

Phillip and Pauline are friends of Steve and Beth Crow who are from Dallas and have moved to New Zealand to co pastor at our church in Hamilton (City Bible Church). That night we met their children Dylan 21yrs and Megan 18yrs. Megan kindly gave up her room for Chris and Janine and the kids slept in the family room. As we ended up staying two weeks the sleeping arrangement did change a little.

On Sunday we went to church at Chase Oaks with Phillip and Pauline. What a difference from our small church. It was Easter Sunday so it was a great service and we met lots of Steve and Beth’s friends. We went home after church and Pauline cooked us lamb for late lunch. It was almost as good as having it at home!!!
Our first week with the Bellingan’s was quiet. Chris was unwell for about one and a half weeks. Stomach pains, feeling tired and not feeling good at all. The kids did lots of school work. We went ice skating at a rink in a shopping mall and went to some $1 movie theatres.

On the weekend Pauline took Janine to a women’s conference, Spaghetti for the soul. The speakers were Kathy Torvelle and Ellie Lof. They were great. Funny too, Janine hadn’t laughed so hard in so long.

On the Thursday night we went out for tea with Phillip and Pauline. We went to a place called BJ’s. Chris ordered a rack of pork rib as that is one of the dishes he was told he must try. Think of the big fish story, the one that got away. The ribs were so big they hung off both side of the plate. The potato that went with it was the size of a football and stuffed with bacon cheese and butter. That went down well on a sick stomach...not. He took half the ribs home and barely touched the football!! It was a nice meal but the Americans like to do it big.

During our time we had meals with Bernie and John, Frank and Sue and their family and morning tea with Jim and Lisa. So we had a real good time getting to know folks in Dallas. We spent a bit of time with Steve, Dylan’s friend. He is a very keen rugby player so Chris and him had a great time talking.

Once Chris was feeling better we went to the stock yards in Fort Worth. We watched the bulls being herded down the street. Josiah and Joel ride the mechanical bull, Josiah was off it so fast it made me wonder how he rides a bike so well, and Joel lasted a lot longer screaming ,”Stop let me off” the whole time.

All the kids sat on Big Jake (see pics) and we did some shopping. Sarah got herself some black cowgirl boots. And when we were looking Janine saw Bill Paxton, the actor in the movie Twister.

We continued our day at the Cowgirl museum, where the kids dressed up and rode a bucking horse in the Rodeo, we will try get the video coverage on the blog. Friday just gone we went to the first Rodeo for the season. The best part was watching Joel ride in the mutton competition! Riding bare back ram. What a laugh. He managed a second with score of 77, the winner 79. It was heaps of fun watching the competiton and the fiesty animals bucking their riders off. Sarah got a hat to go with her boots so with jeans on she fits right in.

On the Saturday we were off to the Supercross with complementary tickets form Pam and Dirt Bike Mike. We even got pit passes. Thank you guys!! We got there early so had a day of it then real enjoyed the fireworks through out the night. The boys enjoyed the Super-x best but I think Sarah and I really liked the Rodeo. We had a great time at both.

Sunday we got up and hit the road. Thought it was about time to move the RV from the front of Phillip and Pauline’s as one visit from the local authority was enough. It was sad saying our good bye as we had such a great time with the Bellingans. Thank you guys again for taking us in and making your home a home for us.

The next part of our trip is at Mike and Pam's and then down through the south of the USA.