One thing to the next

What a crazy couple weekends in a row!  After returning from the Hill Country with the kiddos, M and I returned the next weekend for a trip with our Sunday School class.  It was nice to be able to do the grown up things without the kiddos running around.  I think that we both made comments on Friday night at dinner, how we had forgotten what is was like to eat a meal without interuptions and finish while the food was still warm!  How we appreciate the little things! :)  We had the chance to listen to some live music on friday night at the German restaurant we were at and just relax on the patio.  It was great! 

The next day we had decided to start off with visiting some wineries.  We started off at Becker Vineyards, which also has a lavendar farm.  It was beautiful, and they had built a new HUGE tasting room since the last time we had been down.  We were able to take a tour of the wine making process while there.  It was so neat to go down and see everything from start to finish. 

The next winery we stopped at was nice, but I think we all enjoyed the last one, Grape Creek, the best.  It is a beatiful Tuscan style winery with outdoor seating and an awesome view!  We did a little tasting then went out to the patio to enjoy some fire-grilled pizza, hands down some of the best pizza I have ever had!!

After the wineries, the girls decided it was time for a little shopping downtown.  We went up and down Main Street, while the guys enjoyed a classic car show in the square.  On Sunday we headed out early to pick up the dogs and the kiddos at a decent time.  I think the kids had just as good a time as we did considering they were spoiled by the grandparents all weekend! :)

Trying to recoup and get back into the swing of things took a couple days, but the house is mostly back in order and I even managed to make a couple new shirts, which I will be posting to the etsy site soon! :)

It was an eventful Memorial Day weekend. We left out of town on Friday to go visit family down in the Hill Country. It was a milestone for me taking a road trip on my own with the kids. (M was at a bachelor party for his friend getting married this summer.) My parents were caravanning down with us, so I wasn't completely on my own, thank goodness! :) It went relatively well, and I have to say that the attachable dual headrest DVD players were one of the best purchases I have made in the past couple years! The kids loved them so much that they sat in the car Thursday night watching a movie while we cleaned out the car. It made for an easy chore! We watched the movies most of the way down and the only whining was due to Miss B not getting her lunchable as quickly as she would have liked. ;) Once at our destination point, the trip was great! The kids got to play with their cousins , which they have anticipated and asked about almost everyday for the month prior. I got to enjoy the shopping and atmosphere of the hill country. We all got to enjoy some great home cooking from my aunt!! :) I think that may be one of the top things I look forward to when we go, along with seeing everyone of course! Our first morning out, we went to a pick your own fruit farm, where the kids enjoyed picking their own peaches, blackberries and strawberries. B did very good at asking about the blackberries "Is this one good? Is this one dark enough?" We ended up with a pretty small bag, but apparently it was the end of the season, and I am overly picky when it comes to things like that. A helped pick out some great peaches but got bored after a couple trees and wanted to make sure that his cousins didn't leave him behind.

After the farm, we went back and the kids got to swim in the pool next door. A is a very timid swimmer (even in the bath, he does not like any water on his face), so I was shocked to walk to the pool and see him in water wings going all around the pool by himself! I am pretty sure that will be our next purchase. B put on all the gear, water wings and goggles, but decided that these were more fashion apparel rather than useful and just sat in the shallow water and watched the kids. After swimming the kids and grandpas napped which allowed for the girls to do a little main street shopping. I was trying to limit my shopping because I knew we would be returning again the next weekend with some couples from our Sunday School class and would be spending money again! :) That evening I was able to relax a little bit in the backyard to a beautiful view (picture included).

We went out for pizza one night where there were live singers. They were pretty good, and B seemed to really appreciate the singing. After finishing eating, she wanted me to take her closer, so she and I moved up to a table right in front. It was a nice moment as she and I sat there snuggling listening to the music. I don't get those very often anymore because she is on the go 99% of the time. The singers saw her clapping for every song, so the dedicated a song to her and sang Puff the Magic Dragon. After this, they invited her up to sing with them. She wanted to go, but only if I carried her. They started singing Old McDonald and let her pick the animal sounds. The requirement was that the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins make the sounds of the animals. It was pretty comical, especially when she chose monkey (obviously, we don't go over farm animals that often). By the end she was actually singing into the mic. Her first karaoke experience?

We had a bit of craziness on the way home, but all in all, we had a great weekend, but were very glad to be home Monday night! :)