travel


Josh took last Friday off of work so that we could have a little vacation before the three become four. We decided to visit the Texas hill country since we haven’t been yet and have heard so much about it. Full well knowing this is going to make more than a few of my Texas friends upset, I still have to say it. The Texas hill country is one of the few things we’ve found in Texas that truly lives up to its reputation. It was wonderful and amazing and I think we’re already trying to sneak another trip back in before Sprocket comes along.

We rented a place to stay through our old stand-by of VRBO. Now that we have a child (almost children) staying at a hotel has become the opposite of vacation and so we love to rent VRBO. We’ve used them for stays in New Orleans and San Antonio and now Boerne and have yet to be disappointed in a rental. I’m not linking to the place we stayed though, as we want to keep it a secret for ourselves. :)

We weren’t the only ones enjoying the property either!

His ears were ridiculously huge, by the way.

The weather was so amazing when we were there. We were able to eat breakfast outside on the porch both mornings.

It was somewhat cloudy while we were there, but no rain (thankfully.)

And this is the motivation for the whole trip

Peaches!

Because, you know, we haven’t picked enough fruit this year

We went to Marburger Orchard and had a fantastic time

They had four varieties to pick from that day

We went with the Harvester variety, a freestone peach good for jam making and canning.

This is the third fruit we’ve picked this summer, and I think probably the most toddler friendly

The trees are pruned so that they grow fairly low to the ground, making it easy for littles to reach

She was very proud of her work!

I’m pretty sure parts of heaven are going to smell like tree ripened, sun warmed peaches

The hill country is truly gorgeous

Peach picking makes for a very tired Widget!

But not too tired to have fun with Dada!

(Almost) 27 weeks pregnant. Oh yes, I still have 13 weeks to go!

Enjoying the fruits of her labors

After peach picking, we headed up to Fredericksburg for lunch and a little window shopping. We had lunch at Rather Sweet Bakery & Cafe on the advice of my friend Shawnda. It was absolutely delicous, even if Josh was the only man in the upstairs dining room while we were there. :) It get’s crowded, especially on the weekends, so get there before 11:30 to get a good seat with no wait.

After lunch and a little browsing, we headed back to the ranch we were staying at for a family nap and a restful evening.

Sunday morning, we said goodbye, but we know we’ll be back soon!

When we drove up Friday afternoon, we came up through San Antonio since Boerne is between SA and Fredericksburg. Coming home, we decided to run by the Wildseed Farms and drive home through Austin.

It was very, very warm but still a cool place to visit.

Look at all those butterflies on the Blue Mist (I’m pretty sure that’s Blue Mist.)

The Hibiscus blooms were as big as her head!

The sunflowers were as big as Josh!

We had planned to stop by Kerbey Lane Cafe on the way back through Austin. But someone has decided not to sleep in a car anymore, and of course, fell asleep 20 minutes before Austin. So we drove and ate at McDonalds when she woke up. Oh well. At least we can strike “visit Austin” off our list of things to do in Texas, haha!

So two weekends ago today, we were just arriving in New Orleans after, shall we say, a less than pleasant and quick trip.

They say the best laid plans … and so our Friday and Saturday went.

That pretty much sums it up.

There were a few smiles though.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom, just a little bit of grey skies.

Luckily, our Sunday was much, much, much better.

Oh yes, the reason we were in town in the first place!

Run Dada! Run!

More specifically, run the New Orleans Rock N Roll Marathon

Oh yes, no piddly 13.1 today!

This is the whole 26.2 sheebang. I love my amazing husband :)

We stayed in East Carrollton after a last minute change of plans and it was a wonderful change. We were within walking distance of the race course and the Audubon Park & Zoo.

So I took Marion to be eaten by dinosaurs while Josh finished up the rest of the race.

We saw her favorite elephants

Even this little guy

Who was just her size

She was greatly amused

These guys were gorgeous!

And pretty lazy

And her favorites, the goats!

She tried to gather some wool for me to knit with I think …

Some days, you just want to curl up in a feed bucket.

That is a look of being up to no good!

And let me just take a minute to say how AMAZING the Audubon Zoo is for kids. It was fabulous and really made me wish it was our home zoo! In the space of five minutes, Mar got to pet a snake, a guinea pig and a rat! If you’re anywhere in the vicinity – go!

Sunday afternoon was spent recouping (even though Josh ran 26.2 miles, I walked over five miles, and pushed a 25lb toddler!) with a family nap. Sunday night was fantastic. Dinner at Mother’s (surprisingly and pleasingly kid friendly on a Sunday night). We let our dinner settle by a walk around the French Quarter, followed by beignets and Cafe Au Laits at Cafe Du Monde.

Despite a rocky start, it was a wonderful family trip!

This is what you call a beautiful morning

And this is a wonderful place to spend such a beautiful morning

This is what you call a beautiful evening

And this is a great way to spend the time between such a beautiful morning and evening

And this

This is why we miss living in Georgia so much

Amicalola Falls has a very special place in our hearts

Please see year 2003

We did a little bit of hiking

Like no other backpack I’ve ever hiked with before :)

Because you’re never too young to drink from a Camelbak!

Day Two was what we had been looking forward to for so long!

Christmas morning with just the three of us and taking our baby girl on one of our favorite hiking trails!

First up, “Christmas” morning

Josh’s “completed just in time” stocking!

Lots of pictures because I’m proud of this thing!

Helping daddy open the present from her

Yay! More books!

Including everyone’s favorite “The Foot Book!”

My present from Marion, Josh said she picked it out all by herself!

We didn’t forget about the pups!

Not for Marion!

I’m pretty sure she didn’t get a lick in …

Trying on her new mittens from Mama

It’s the mitten monster!

New hair bows too

The best things are always at the very bottom

An Elmo book!

Oh yes, the Elmo obsession has begun

We call this look cabin casual!

Sorry for more boring posts, but lets face it, January is a pretty boring month. So a recap this week of our post-Christmas family vacation (the only one we’ve taken that didn’t involve visiting family or running a race since we moved to Texas!)

We rented a cabin for five days through Blue Sky Cabin Rentals and got the Mountain Solace Cabin. To say it was fantastic would be an understatement!

Just makes you want to say “ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh” doesn’t it?

Good evening to you too

and (pretty) happy to be in the land of wifi and Starbucks.

Even if that land is in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

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