Back to Reality - Vacation Recap

The husband and I spent last week in Dauphin Island, Alabama.  What a gorgeous place!

We had nothing on our agenda besides relaxing.  It was a much needed break.

Sammy and Bauer made the trip with us and they loved being beach bums.

Bauer and Sammy being bums.

This was Bauer's first road trip with us and he did great!  On the way to the beach he did a little whining in the car, I think he wasn't sure why we were in the car so long.  As long as I reached out and pet him he'd settle right back down and sleep.  On the way home he was quiet and cozy the whole way.  He's a good boy.

He and Sammy did some good car snuggling.

While we were on vacation the husband and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary (and the 7th anniversary of the day the he proposed on an Alabama beach).  Romantical!

I got a little blue box containing a beautiful necklace with a W on it...love.

Good work husband.  You are too good to me.

In the middle of the week my sister, brother-in-law, and nieces joined us for beach fun.

 

Look how gorgeous my girls are!  My sister had the great idea to hire a photographer to get some pictures of all of us on the beach.  Obviously I took some pictures while this was happening too.

And a few selfies.

Sisters!

Bauer loved all the snuggles from his cousins who adore him.

Our boy is definitely living the good life now.

View from the deck of our house.

This was our first time to stay on Dauphin Island and it was wonderful.  The town is a very lazy beach town and the beach was not at all crowded.  We rented a house from Boardwalk Realty and they are fantastic! They really take care of their renters and make it super easy to check in and out. Our house was right on the water and it was very reasonably priced for a week at the beach in the middle of summer.  We will definitely go back!  In fact, can I go now?

Pelicans!

We made many trips to Skinner's Seafood to pick up fresh seafood to cook.  They had wonderful freshly caught seafood and it was all delicious!  If you are ever on the island and want to cook some fresh seafood you didn't catch yourself, go see them and they will hook you up.  Lol...hook you up.

I hope your week was half as fun and relaxing as mine!

Weekend (and more) Recap

Wow!  Life has been a little crazy here so I have been letting the dogs blog for me for almost 6 weeks.  That's a long time.  Here's what I have been up to...

The husband and I road tripped to Hattiesburg, MS.

As you might know, we have family that lives there.  This trip was special because this beautiful girl was taking her first communion.

 

That's our niece/God daughter Chelsie, isn't she a cutie?

 Trixie helped her dad barbecue for Memorial Day weekend.

We had friends over to enjoy all the delicious food.

It was a great time.

The next weekend Dave and Rachel got married.

You might remember them from David and Aerin's wedding post, that's where I got this great picture of the happy couple.

My sister and nieces came to visit.  I love seeing them as often as possible, so I always love when they come visit.  We had lots of fun that included a trip to the Downtown Aquarium.

I hadn't been to the aquarium in a long time and I had never been on the train that takes you through the shark tank.

Definitely a very cool perspective.

I also didn't know there was a white tiger at the aquarium.  Seemed a little out of place to me, but what a gorgeous animal.

I was happy to see her, but at the same time I felt a little sad for her.  The more I work with animal rescue the more I think about animal rights and welfare.  I thought she looked a little sad and lonely hanging out with everyone looking at her.  I am sure she is well taken care of, I just can't get over the feeling that a wild animal in captivity isn't happy.

This fiber glass version of her seemed just fine.

Chelsie was the only one on board with acting scared.  I love her scared face.

Around the house there has been lots of snuggling,

a little photo-bombing,

and lots of playing.

Sammy and Bauer are completely in love.  We couldn't be happier with having Bauer home with us.  I can't imagine not having him here.  He's dear.

I have been busy at home as well.  I have some new chairs and this awesome print from Sammy and Bauer's session with Mary Pasicatan Photography. 

I have some little projects to share...

...and some big ones.

I am looking forward to sharing it all with you soon!

Weekend Recap

We had a super fun weekend with friends and family in and around Austin!  The hill country is beautiful this time of year with wild flowers blooming everywhere.  Shocking that I love the wildflowers, I know.  The reason for our trip was the wedding of our friends David and Aerin.

The happy couple.

I will share lots of pictures and details about their wedding on Thursday's blog post, so be sure to stop back by the blog then.

While we were in Austin, the husband wanted to visit the Austin Homebrew Supply.  Even though I don't brew beer, I have to say it was a cool place to visit.

If you prefer to make wine, they can help you with that also.  Cheese to pair with your wine?  Yep, they have you covered there too.

Austin Homebrew has the dry ingredients for beer ready for weighing and packaging for your special recipe.  Their staff is also available to answer all your questions.

Daniel picked up a couple of items and I picked up this sticker for his brew station since I am always decorating.

You are welcome!

 
We had delicious Mexican food at Polvos on Saturday.  I had never heard of potato flautas, so I had to order them.  They were delicious as were the margaritas.

The gang

Saturday evening was the wedding and we all had a great time.

The husband and me with bluebonnets during cocktail hour after the ceremony.

Kasey and me decked out.

Sunday the husband and I headed to Palmetto State Park to have lunch with family.  In case you were wondering why it is named after the palmetto, wonder no more.

The hiking trails are pretty much cut through the palmettos.  We had a gorgeous day for hiking and lunching outdoors.

My cousin Beth and me.

Beth served up brisket, sausage, grilled veggies and salad.  Yummy.  And then we walked it all off through the park.

So pretty.  It was a fantastic weekend.

I hope you had a great one too!

Weekend Recap

It was a nice relaxing weekend.

Sammy and me - relaxing.

We finished Christmas shopping, we had some yummy food and we met these guys.

You might remember William and Daniel from these posts:

Weekend Recap - January 14
Wonderful Wednesday
Weekend Recap - November 6

I shamelessly stole this picture from their mom's Facebook page.  I was too busy snuggling and playing to take my own pictures.  Kind of a blogger fail, but snuggling and playing are great excuses I think. 

I am happy to report that I am finished working for the year.  I am not sure I have ever been so excited to say that before.  The last couple of months in the office have been very busy and a little stressful.  I am happy for the break.

What have a I been doing with my time?

The furry children are so happy you asked.

"Seriously mom?"

I am surprised the husband didn't lose an eye in this situation.

I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season!