Wedding and B&B

This past weekend my old college roommate, Sandy, got married!!! My parents offered to watch both kids so Bryson and I were able to enjoy a kid-free, just us 24 hours....it was much needed and so much fun! 

We travelled to Austin and met up with the Murphy's and Eacho's and headed to the wedding. Sandy was also involved in Cru with me in college and now is working full time on staff with them. So it was fun to catch up with the South Texas Staff team and old college friends! The wedding was very sweet and full of so much joy for Sandy and Dan.  

Bride and Groom 

After the wedding a group of us went to Trudy's for dinner and enjoyed the weather on the patio. We enjoyed plenty of their famous Mexican martinis and yummy mexican food. We had the best time talking about old college memories and new ones we never new about! I hadn't laughed that hard in a while!! 

Kimberly, Jessie, Me and Jana 

Bryson booked us a cute little bed and breakfast near University of Texas. The Star of Texas Inn has 3 buildings and we were in building 2.  We have stayed in a few other b&b's before and they are just so cozy and homey!! 

Our room 

The room was very spacious and felt like home. Our room was located upstairs in house #2. We had our own bathroom, tv, couch and king size bed! There were ear plugs on the bedside tables, which came in handy around 3am when we heard 2 fire trucks and then later rowdy college students in the street! Haha! 

In the morning we literally woke up to the smell of bacon! We quickly got dressed and were greeted to a lovely and delicious homemade breakfast: bacon, quiche, almond cream crepes, coffee, bagels, cereal etc! The dining room was so pretty, but we opted for the front porch. It was a beautiful crisp morning. 

Dining Room 

Front Porch 

After breakfast we took a long walk around the neighborhood and on campus. I miss taking long walks with Bryson! We use to do this a lot before kids! So it was fun we had the chance to spend time together and enjoy adult time! 

We had a great weekend! 

Easter Surprises

We spent Easter with Bryson's family in Ballinger this year. Violet and Parker love playing with their cousins!! The older cousins are so good with the little ones that we barely see them while we visit because they play so well together (most of the time!). We all went to church together Sunday morning. The kids loved watching Nana play in the praise band. 

The Owen Family

Owen Cousins 

It has rained Easter morning so we had the egg hunt up at the band hall. And Parker dominated opening the eggs and eating all the candy! It was so funny to watch! 

He loves the m&ms! 

This past month two of my best friends turned 30! A few weeks ago Kimmy and I planned to surprise Kim at St. Arnold's for lunch. It was so funny to see Kim's reaction when she saw us! She was very caught off guard and surprised! We enjoyed the yummy lunch and cold beer It was so fun to celebrate Kim! Love you!! 

Happy Birthday Kim!! 

Next surprise was yesterday in Austin! Grace was my old college roommate and is the queen of celebrating others. It was her 30th Golden birthday! This took a lot of emails and careful planning with her husband. But we managed to pull it off!! She was out on a family walk and came home to a house full of food and friends!! We had a relaxed time hanging out and laughing! 

Happy Birthday Grace!! 

We have a busy month of May ahead...I'll try to keep y'all posted! 

Favorite Things Girls Weekend

In February I got together with my best girlfriends from college.  Every year we try to get away once or twice from our everyday lives and spend a weekend together! We have SO much fun!! 

This year we met in Wimberly at Corrie's parents cabin. It was so cozy, with a actual logs running through the house, a loft, a wrap around porch, its next door to an equestrian center and on a few acres!  It was so relaxing to enjoy the quite, watch the horses and catch up with friends. 

Wimberly cabin 

I met up with Amanda and Corrie on Friday afternoon at the San Marcos outles. We shopped, talked and ate! 

Saturday all the girls and I had planned a "favorite things" party. Nothing too extravagant but everyone was to bring 7 of the same favorite thing to give to each girl that was there! It was fun and cute...and a surprise pregnancy announcement was included! (Not me!) 

My loot 

Here is what was given: Dry Shampoo (Nikki), Sharpie markers (Amanda), EOS lip balm (Kim), Tea and chia seeds (me), tea bag buddy (Corrie), pesto sauce (Jessie), and Lindt chocolate truffles (Grace). 

We spent the afternoon touring our old stomping grounds of our alma mater, San Marcos and Texas State.  We ate at a favorite college restaurant, Grins, went to our favorite coffee shop, Mochas and Javas, and drove past our old apartments. 

Mochas and Javas 

Kim doing an amazing herkie in front Alkek library on campus 

Of course we stayed up too chatting around a campfire and laughing our heads off! I love our long weekends together! I'm so excited to welcome 3 babies this year into this group of friends, which means we will get to see each other soon! 

December

I'm not a super crazy Christmas person but I do love the season. 

I love the lights, the cold weather, the non stop Christmas music on sunny 99.1 for a month, advent, Christmas programs, Christmas carols, Jesus birthday and more.

This December has been filled with many memories:

Violet's first Christmas program:

Isn't she the cutest reindeer?? She had so much fun singing on staged and waved at us so many times. It was so cute to see her and her little classmates together! 

Bryson's installation at Brazos Bookstore:

Bryson was asked to install a sculpture at a local bookstore for their annual Christmas party. This was a huge answer to prayer for him. After months of planning and building the "oh tennenbaum" it turned out gorgeous! Bryson was I inspired by a fir tree root system to create this piece. He wanted people not to only think "oh it's a tree", but to consider what are the real roots of Christmas. We were so bless to have many friends and family encourage and support Bryson with this project! 

CYP girls:

Kim, Kimmy and had our annual CYP girls Christmas! Yummy food and fun together! 

Leaves:

We had all our leaves fall off and the kids went wild playing in the backyard jumping in piles! 

Christmas Cookies:

The 24th annual Strobel cookie exchange was once again delicious and fun! 

Countdown:

Since V is almost 4 she was super interested in all things Christmas this year. It was fun to watch Christmas movies, read Advent readings in her bible, have a "happy birthday Jesus" party with friends, and talk about Santa. 

Babies:

My sister had a Christmas Eve baby girl! Im so happy for them and can't wait to meet her!! 

Christmas:

We celebrated Christmas this year at our house with Nana and Papa. It was sweet, chill and relaxed. Violet woke up early and came and snuggled in our bed. She started crying and when we asked her what's wrong she said "Santa didn't come last night" we reassured her he did and she had not even looked under the Christmas tree....it was so honest and cute. Once she saw the presents she was back to excitement mode with the magic of Christmas in her eyes 

Cousins:

Bryson's sister and kids came over the day after Christmas. So we have 5 adults and 6 kids under 6 years old in the house for a few days. It's wild and crazy but also a lot of fun to be together for an extended time. 

Hope you have enjoyed the month of December!  

Week of Chill

The beginning of December was super busy! We had something everyday or night. All were good things; Bryson's sculpture, Violet's Christmas program, MOPs, running errands, christmas parties, play dates, grocery shopping...I was tired!! While I loved all the events and seeing friends I felt like we needed a week of rest and reconnecting as a family!

It was so nice to look at our week ahead and have nothing on the calendar!! Nothing to do but play and stay home! Everyday Violet normally asks "what are we going to do today?" Or the night before "what are we going to do tomorrow?" It was nice to just say stay home and play! (Don't get me wrong we still ran a few errands/went grocery shopping. But for the most part stayed home). The weather was pretty chilly this past week too, so we bundled up to play outside or we snuggled a lot on the couch. 

We had an impromptu "make Christmas decorations" since I didn't bother with telling Parker "no" every 5 mins. We made a couple homemade ones. These little artists did a great job

My aunt made these smocks for V a few years ago! Parker was so proud to wear one too! 

While V was at school one day Parker and I had a lunch date with Bryson. We love visiting his office and chatting with his co-workers before we go to lunch. But never have just the three of us gone out to eat! So it was fun to have this special time with Parker together. 

It was such a quiet lunch with just us three! :) 

The chilly weather brought a lot of wind and flooded our lawn with leaves! We didn't mind it though!

Leaves!! 

Every year since my jr or senior year of high school my best friends from the CYP try to get together to celebrate Christmas. This year we last minute planned a dinner at Kimmys! Kimmy made us a delicious dinner and I brought crave cupcakes! I love these girls and glad we have kept this tradition for so many years! 

CYP girls Christmas

My parents came over Saturday for my Mom's birthday. Since my dads recent knee surgery we haven't seen them as much so it was a nice time to catch up and visit. 

Happy Birthday Gaggy! 

It was a great restful week relaxing and enjoying time together as a family. I cooked some really good dinners and even managed a few desserts too! Hope we can always remember to take time to reconnect and rest. 

Friday

After a really rough morning of time outs and my children pretending their ears/hearing didn't work, we finally made it to our morning destination: Aunt Kimmys! Everyone really needs an Aunt Kimmy in their life. She's fun, creative, giving, has awesome toys, a good cook and has yummy snacks! 

We had a great time at Kimmy's house! She was watching Charlie for a few hours so it was fun to see him too! The kids played and jumped and fought and read and ate lots of snacks. 

Snack time 

Reading Thomas the Train 

Also we got to see Ryan's mini Kyle Field in the backyard...

We got home and got everyone down for a nap. I was able to eat lunch and enjoy watching last nights episode of parenthood. Before Parker woke up, we/Violey watched Pocahontas in the tent while I napped beside her :) 

 Glamping 

Can we talk about where the cold weather went? After Parker woke up we went for a walk and played in the backyard and all were sweaty (and full of mosquito bites!) Cold weather come back and make these Mosquitos go away!!

We ended the day with dinner and game of slap and a long overdue cleaning of the bathrooms. I loathe cleaning bathrooms but once it's finished, I feel so accomplished! Bryson and I enjoyed a little nightcap:

We've had this vodka for over a year and finally finished it! 

Happy Weekend! 

Favorite Friday

I know what you are thinking...."where is foodie Friday?" Well this gal needs a change every once in a while and motivation to blog too! 

Thanks to Kimmy at TheNewmanWay blog, every now and again Id like to do a Favorite Friday. This weeks favorite is: Memorial Park! 

After living in Austin, Tx for two years I grew very fond of walking Town Lake a few times a week. It was centrally located, great trails and pretty views. I have always missed this about Austin. Buy Houston does have trails you just have to look a little harder. Memorial Park is central and only 15 mins from my house. The trail is 3 miles and is great for people watching. While the view isn't as pretty as Austin, it still is a great place to exercise. 

Now that the weather is a little cooler, I've been trying to get outside more. And I've been lacking in the exercise department.  So this week I made a point to exercise!  Our first trip we met up with our good friends Allison and Madeline. Violet and Madeline had so much fun riding together. We let them walk/run a few times which was pretty hilarious! They were all over the track and would scream everytime someone came running towards them! They were greatly rewarded for their good behavior by getting to play at the park afterwards!

Violet and Madeline 

Parker and I went two more times this week. He napped while I walked...oh to be a baby! When he was awake he waves at everyone that walked by and said "dog" to every dog! 

Me and P

If you didn't know I tan very very easily! Also meaning I get the most random tan lines...And walking outside 3 times this week hasn't helped. 

Excuse the crazy look but check out thr tan lines after day 2....day 3 was worse. Ha! 

I hope to make walking memorial a habit, especially with nicer weather approaching! 

Road Trip

Our original plans for this weekend were changed due to a busy week for Bryson. I decided I would be (brave) adventurous and take the kids on a little roadtrip and Bryson could later meet up with us. 

We last minute packed our bags and hit the road! First stop: Austin, Texas!  I have never travelled far with both kids by myself. But I figured it would be fine, they normally well on road trips. We made it to Austin only stopping once! Let me tell you, taking Violet potty while holding Parker and then holding Parker for me to go potty is quite comical and a workout! 

Anyways we met up with my college roommate and BFF Grace. She has a little boy Parker's age and a baby girl on the way! We had a fun afternoon of lunch and naps! Though it was a quick visit, it is always good to catch up in person rager than on the phone. 

Me and Gracie 

Second stop: Horseshoe Bay, Texas. (We normally stop here on our way to San Angelo. It is a half way point and good excuse to see our friends JP and Amanda. JP and Bryson were college rommies and Amanda lived upstairs from me in college. We are all Bffs too! Ha!) We arrived just intime for delicious dinner Amanda made! Chicken with grapes and olives! Y'all it was so good! 

Me and Amanda and our Riesling 

I had a tough time putting Parker to sleep. He's way to long for the pack in play, but doesn't know how to sleep on the floor/bed yet. So I just think we was uncomfortable in the pack n play. Eventually we all got to sleep after long chats and ice cream. 

Today we are waiting to see when Bryson would arrive and we would continue to San Angelo. So we had all morning to play! Thankfully Amanda lives on the resort and we took full advantage! We walked to the dock, played in the sandbox and later ended up at the pool! 

Sand sand everywhere! 

Amanda and V swimming! They had a great splash pad that Parker and I played in. 

It was such fun morning and really spontaneous! The kids took an amazing nap...which Parker is still taking!  Bryson should be here in a few hours too....stay posted! 

Happy Fourth!

Violet woke up saying "Happy Holidays!!!" The night before Bryson told her he didn't have to go to work because it was a holiday. She was very excited! We got ready for our neighborhood parade in our best patriotic threads:

I can't handle it! Aren't they cute!?! And Parker reminds me of an old time boxer! 

Bryson and I sported amazing flag hats I purchased the precious day. We were styling! 

It was a fun and short parade with my kids having melt downs at the end. We headed home for an early lunch and everyone took a long nap. 

We then made out way to Tomball for the evening to celebrate with the Smullens. They had family over and it was fun to have the kids all play together! We had a delicious spread for dinner, grilled chicken, burgers, chips, jalapeño poppers, cookies and a cherry cobbler! Mmm! I was stuffed! 

Charlie, Cooper and V enjoying dinner on the porch after a long swim

Me and Kim (she is 36 weeks pregnant and we are excited to meet little B2!) 

The boys started to pop fireworks right as we were leaving. I think this was Parker and Violets first time to see them and the LOVED them!! It was fun to see them look up and marvel at the sparkling lights. 

We changed the kids into their pjs bc we left about 8:30 and they normally got to bed at 7:30. They stayed awake the while way home and we saw so many fire work shows on our drive home. AND right by our house was a huge firework show! We arrived home and sat in the backyard and watched the sky light up! 

Happy Fourth of July! 

A very long much needed weekend

We have had a never ending much needed long weekend! It was so relaxing, fun and quality. Bryson took Tuesday off for a mental health day since his job has been so crazy lately. We got 4 whole days with him and it was so enjoyable! We even squeezed in two movies after the kids went to bed! We haven't finished a movie in forever!

We did a little of this and a little of that:
Our apartment complex has (3) beautiful pools that we took full advantage of this weekend.  I also took my first swim of the season! (Though I was only out there for 45 minutes, my tan lines are here! #browngirlproblems)  Bryson said "how does it feel to be in your natural habitat?!" I grew up swimming all summer long! We celebrated Lindsey's birthday, had brunch with the Eacho's and Tita Jessica, went to church and took lots of naps.

Parker just catching some rays

Happy 27 Lindsey!

Our Sunday school class, InsideOut, had our monthly ladies night on Monday.  We got fantastic pedicures to start our feet off right for summer! I really love these women and thankful for new friendships and community!

Pedi Party

InsideOut Ladies

On Tuesday we took full advantage of everyone else working and headed to The Breakfast Klub. It was so nice not to have to wait in line!! I enjoyed a delicious plate of their famous chicken and waffles! (followed by swimming is not recommended, but totally worth it!)

More Please!!

Then last night Bryson's sister, Jill and her family, came in for a doctor appt for Cannon. They came over for breakfast today and we played and played! It's always so fun to see them!

Cousins

So thankful for much needed quality time as a family this long weekend!