Weekend Recap-Girl's Trip!

Last weekend, almost all of my Waco girlfriends and I took a road trip to Austin to spend the weekend together and see one of our friends who currently lives there. It was one of the best weekends I had in a while!

Friday:
Cara and I spent the day bumming around the house, watching Mickey Mouse, reading books, going to HEB for a few groceries for her and Chance for the weekend, etc. She "helped" me pack, which means she watched Mickey Mouse on the iPad while I packed my bags.

She also requested "puhpull toes", so she sat on the potty while I painted them. She liked the outcome!

Cara went to bed, and I picked up the house, prepped them for the weekend, and Chance and I watched some episodes of How I Met Your Mother (We started season 1 again in June and are already almost through season 8!).

Saturday:
Chance had to work, and I had to leave town, so we asked one of our favorite babysitters, Tara, to come play with Cara. I got up early to get ready, finished packing, made my breakfast portion to take to the girls and left Cara and Tara to have fun. :)

At Ashley's we met up, left our cars and ate breakfast together. Before we loaded up in cars, we took some group photos.

These girls bless my life so much. We were excited for a weekend together. We split into 2 cars and set up a photo stream sharing account for all our pictures--including some car selfies!

Our first stop was IKEA in Round Rock. Several of us had big things to buy, and we needed to send them back in Nikki's car since she was driving back that night. Nine of us descended on IKEA, walked through the whole place, picked up lots of fun knick-knacks, and I found one of Cara's birthday presents-a little table & chairs set. I also got some things for my classroom and kitchen.

After our big pit stop, we headed into Austin to pick up Kayleigh from her house. She was our Austin tour guide and social chair, and then we went straight to Zocalo's for lunch. We had the freshest Mexican food and good conversation all together.

After lunch, we drove to Congress Ave. to walk and shop. It was REALLY hot outside, and a lot of the shops didn't have fully-functioning A/C, so it was kind of a gross 2 hours. But we saw some cool shops and got yummy Amy's ice cream to help cope with the heat.

After the ice cream, we walked to our cars (blasting A/C!) and drove to a few famous Austin murals that Ashley had found for a scavenger hunt activity. Austin definitely has some cool sites to see.

We were so hot and sweaty from our mile-long trek in the heat, so we went to the hotel to check in and freshen up. I had stayed at this same hotel for a conference at school a few years ago, and it's really fun! Free breakfast, suites, pretty lobby, etc. We all changed clothes, fixed our hair and makeup and spent some time in the lobby before we left for dinner.

Kayleigh took us to a little French-ish bistro called Blue Dahlia, and it was awesome. Big wooden tables, low lighting, open air concept. We had such delicious food, but I didn't get to eat all of my plate.

The heat got to me from the day and the evening, so I needed some fresh air and water outside after we finished eating. I just felt so sapped of energy, and it had been a long day. We went back to the hotel, and I rested while some of the girls played cards until we all went to bed. Half our crew drove back to Waco after dinner, so there were just 6 of us in the hotel room. I slept really well after a full day of fun!

Sunday:
We slept in reasonably late and took our time getting ready before we went downstairs for breakfast. It was a great one--omelettes, French toast, fruit, cereal, oatmeal, sausage, potatoes. I didn't eat all of that, but what I did eat was yummy!

We took a few more pictures together and then checked out of the hotel.

On our way back, we stopped in Round Rock again to go to the outlet malls. I got some back-to-school clothes and another birthday present for Cara from the Disney outlet. It was a successful, and also hot, afternoon! Thanks for the paparazzi shot, Kelly. :)

Our final stop was at Steak 'N Shake for lunch--and of course shakes for everyone!

We piled all our shopping bags and luggage in Jordan's car and drove back to Waco. I was ready to see my family!

Meanwhile, during the weekend in Waco...

Cara had a blast with Tara, eating breakfast, playing, reading, and eating lunch. Tara manages to always get the best pictures of her when they are together!

Chance took her for errands on Saturday, and of course she loved spending time with her Daddy.

On Sunday, Chance got her ready all by himself, and even let her watch one show on the iPad while he got ready. The bow on her head is the icing on the cake!

When I got home, our reunion was sweet! I got lots of cuddles, lap time, kisses and silliness.

This weekend was one of the best in the longest time. To be able to spend some time with some of my closest friends together, doing carefree activities, laughing and eating yummy food was just such a blessing. I'm grateful to all the husbands and daddies for letting us go and be together. We got to know each other even better, made memories and definitely laughed a lot.

I feel so fortunate to have a wonderful, solid group of friends who can share daily life together and celebrate ups and downs with dedication and faith. I know life changes a lot, but I sure hope we hang on to these relationships always.