Amarillo, ODO: 580 miles

We left the house at about 6:15 AM to begin our journey to Eddy, TX (just south of Waco).   Ralph and Cathy were kind enough to let the kids ride one of their horses (Cash) and feed us a little snack.  It was a REALLY fun stop, 3 hours into the trip.  

As always, Brady's a natural on a horse.  Anna Belle struggles with a small fear of animals.  She loves them, but when she gets close, it makes her nervous / fearful.  She was battling her own emotions, but finally decided to give it a try (after watching Brady and knowing that Mama would be there holding her leg).  The first time, she just sat on the horse.  She did well, but we pulled her off pretty quickly, which she seemed grateful for.  After watching Brady ride for a few more minutes, she wanted back on.  That second time, she rode all over and we had a really hard time getting her off.

We took a 2 hour stop (which was probably a mistake) at the last Chick-fil-a opportunity, which was only an hour from Eddy.  That left us with about 5 + hours of driving to Amarillo.  Long story short, we arrived at the Big Texan at 8:30 PM, left at 10:00 PM and THEN checked into the hotel, bathed the kids and went to bed around midnight.  Here's the post from when we did a similar day 2 years ago.

I really liked that the Big Texan had the little trio above serenade the guests.  Brady felt embarrassed, and Anna Belle mostly just ate it up. 

For the last half of the drive, we told the kids (particularly Brady) that we would go to a fun restaurant where he could shoot guns and get a giant lollipop.  

The kids meals came with these hats.  Anna Belle likes hers a lot more than Brady likes his.

This is my first time to stop and take pictures at the Aggie Barn in Reagan, TX.  It was a fun stop, even though the sun gave my children squinty faces for pictures.

Today, we drive to Colorado Springs.  We're actually going to Triple B Ranch in Woodland Park, CO. Hopefully the fires and the smoke won't be too bad.  It's 7 hours of driving today, and I think we're going to get a later start (after our late night).