Do You Museum?

Every city is unique. Discovering a city's personality involves exploration, both inside famed walls and outside everyday crossings. While we had walked our neighborhood streets and driven through many city pockets, we had yet to visit any of the big city attractions. 

After yet another delicious taco dinner, we went to the Dallas Museum of Art with our good friend, Synder. The DMA is free to the public (save one rotating exhibit) and open every day. Synder told us weekends were fairly busy, so we chose a Thursday to visit. It is also the only weekday that has visiting hours until 9pm.  

Leaving the museum at nine o'clock. See how light it still is? 

The DMA hosts many fun events, including summer camps for kids and free jazz night in the atrium. We caught the tail end of this fabulous quintet. 

 

There are three floors to explore, and we feel like we barely scratched the surface in an hour. The best part? We live here, and it's free to visit - no need to rush it! If you spent a half day, you would probably cover everything. (Sorry it's not The Lourve - I really think you'd need a lifetime of everyday visits to even somewhat absorb that magical place.)

Looks as if the boys are sending secret signals - maybe expressing their opinions discreetly?

Beautiful pottery that is thousands of years old.

Mom wanted a photo of me, too! Here you go! I love this design. 

The American artwork was so fascinating! It is something I know very little about, so I enjoyed the learning experience. 

Tiffany glass and pensive observers. Did you know that Winter Park, FL has a little-known Tiffany Museum? Also worth the vist.

Love these! There we huge displays of miscellaneous kitchen and serving pieces   I photographed a few of my favorites. At this point, we were practically the only visitors on our floor. It felt as if we had the entire museum to ourselves. Eerie, but wonderful!

There is a (very) small section on modern art, and it had some really neat pieces! 

Becoming Dallas residents and learning about our city is fun! Can't wait to go back! A little learning and culture never hurt anyone, right?

Date Night: Cycle

We live close to a lake. A big, beautiful lake with a bearably long lakeside trail. Perfect for long runs! Distance running is currently a solo activity, until Brooklyn is conditioned, so Tyler and I have resumed a common hobby: cycling.

It is becoming a weekly date night. When he gets home from work, he loads up the bikes and the gear, and we head out! I try to do my dinner prep ahead of time, so that we're not grumpy, starving, and an hour away from much-needed calories post ride. As it is, we usually don't eat until 8:30 on Date Night: Cycle. 

Once upon a time I was avidly cycling with my good friend, Erin. She was the "super cyclist" (as Ty calls them as they swoosh by us with their speedy sleekness), and I was the tag-along learning the ropes. I picked it up while training for a sprint triathlon. Again, once upon a time. 

Orlando has a few good bike trails, but after Ty experienced the Greatness of the Nashville trails, he was ruined. I am happy to report that he is regaining his love for his self-propelled bike. I am a rookie all over again, but I don't care. This is our together time. Our joint hobby. Team Welsh. 

Tyler and I have been laughing at just how incredibly unprepared we must appear to the "super cyclists." The first time we rode together recently, my gear cable snapped, and I was unable to shift out of high gear. A few days at local bike shop fixed that, but I'm afraid even a good mechanic can't solve all of our (read: my) rookieness.

Still don't believe me? Let me explain.

1. My bike computer is out of battery, so I record our distance on my GPS running watch. 

2. He doesn't have a computer. 

3. We have a single water bottle that we share, even though we have three holders between us. And we may have left that single water bottle on the counter last time...

4. I have no bike shorts. This, friends, is the ultimate no-no, and for good reason! Comfortable saddles don't exist (at least in my price range, though I'm not sure they do at all), so the butt padding is highly necessary.

5. Ty is a champ, but I am getting smoked by the hills here. (Don't laugh; Orlando had maybe one hill. Singular.)

Conclusion: I am a runner and a wife. Cycling is a fantastic way to cross train and spend time with my husband. 

(Yes, I made it around the lake in running shorts. Handicapped much? It was painful, but 100% worth it!)

As you can see, I'm the real issue. I'm quite certain that Ty would ride much easier and faster without me. But I'm so glad he encourages me and encourages our date night rides! Here's to hoping we can guard this memory-making activity!

Monthly Musings: June

Howdy, folks! We're one month into Relocation: Dallas. I'd like to try something I'm calling "Monthly Musings," which will be my way of reflecting on life learning each month. It may be a single lesson that I'm continually learning, or it may be a host of observations of God's Goodness. Who knows? Hopefully a commitment here will remind me that it is necessary to take time to reflect on life and not just try to keep up with it. Let's see if I can find a way to do this without making it an additional item on the to-do list. :)

1. God always provides for His children. 

Whether it's a job, a church home, friends, food in the fridge, license plates for the car, etc., He is looking out for us. As a planner, it is hard to accept that sometimes I can't crunch the numbers so they make sense or that I'm called to give when I'd rather save (read: hoard). But He is faithful to supply all of our needs and more!

2. Everything will not be perfect. 

Duh, right? Dallas was a dream-world for so long that I've had to be careful not to idealize it in my mind. I'm learning that everything is much more wonderful when I have an attitude of humility instead of entitlement. I want to hold onto this when I begin classes next month. 

3. New community will not replace old community, but it is necessary for us to put down deep roots.

As we navigate the waters of knowing and being known in a new place, specifically in a church community, we have a choice. The easy option would be to just dip in our pinky toes and not fully commit to the deep waters. After all, we have great roots in Orlando. Praying for wisdom to continue tried-and-true friendships while cultivating community here. 

4. The Lord is after our hearts, and our seemingly pressing tasks and looming deadlines - while legitimate - are way down on the priority list. 

In other words, my daily "achievements" of practice, exercise, studying, or cooking mean nothing unless done from a heart of love and servanthood.  

5. I can prepare food, and I can enjoy the process! 

We want to be hospitable with our time, resources, and especially our home. I have so enjoyed the opportunities we have had to feed friends after church and host a couple of game nights. I even cooked at Matt's this last Sunday. And I enjoyed feeding our little group. Crazy, right?

6. The Lord loves to bless us in little, surprising, unexpected ways. 

These blessings have come in the form of mailed letters, ice cream cartons, wifi passwords, gluten-free communion bread, wedding planning coffee dates, unexpected phone calls, board games, ice skates, and other wonderfully bizarre shapes, all meant to remind our forgetful hearts how much He loves to bless His own. 

7. I love my little family all the more!

From cycling dates and CFA ice cream runs with my hubby to running with Brooklyn at the lake and watching Star Wars on the loveseat three-in-a-row, I can't get enough of them! Ty and I often talk about "Team Welsh," and I am so grateful he picked me. :)