Blanco State Park

On our way down to Houston Jeff and I thought it'd be fun to spend a couple days camping. Jeff found a killer spot on the Guadalupe river.

Good call, babe.  We went to Blanco State Park in Blanco, Texas.  This place was so pretty.  We hiked, swam, and pretty much spent 2 days just hanging around the river and taking naps. 

That little winding road led to a cute little "wild life observatory."  Saw quite a few songbirds.  No squirrels. 

Saw quite a few cows.  This Mom made sure she gave her little one a good bath...

I thought it was sweet she licked her snot after she bathed him and not before.  That's a good Mom.

This was the view from our cabin.  We originally thought we would tent camp, but couldn't help it when we got there.  It was so beautiful along the river!  At dusk the fireflies would come out, there weren't any mosquitoes, the park was nearly empty because it was the middle of the week... we were right by the pavilion, the river, the playground, the volleyball court and the river.

The park has this cute little pool.  Well, cute until we saw all the "wall worms."  Or more commonly known as leeches.  Oh, they were so gross.  Teeny little tiny black ... squiggly pieces of disgusting, just clinging to the wall til they were big enough they could drop off and find something to latch onto.  Gak.  Gives me shivers thinking about them.  Gross critters.

This is how Tristan spent most of the time we were there.  A spoon.  Some rocks.  Some dirt.  Kissing the pavement with his nose and head.  Taking naps.  Then playing in the dirt some more.  He does really well when I drag him places.  The first night we were there I wondered how it would be getting him to sleep without a confined area for him.  I laid down with him and he slept until about 4, when he decided to get up and get his sippy cup.  Then when I held my arms out to him, he came and laid down next to me and spent the next two hours happily sleeping on my neck, stomach and arms.  I'm glad one of us slept... the next night we did the same thing, I laid down with him til he fell asleep and then went to our side of the cabin.  He did the same thing, woke up about 4 and came to cuddle with me.  As soon as he fell asleep I put him back on his sleeping bag, where he slept another 2 hours and then came back and wanted to cuddle again.  How do you resist a cuddly baby that just wants to lay on your chest and tummy and sleep there?  You don't.. you just become a human pillow.  Overall I think he did great.  He's such a happy go lucky little man.

The flowers outside our cabin.  They attracted quite a few butterflies, but they were always too fast for a photo.

Our cabin was also right by the park.  How cute is this face!  He loves swinging.  I'm glad I took this before he got nailed in the head.  Tristan took quite a spill on a cement slope.  He caught himself, but that big ol noggin of his made him fall-and he stopped himself with his nose.  It was pretty bloody and his goose egg was the size of a large marble.

 

Can you tell how much this little boy loves his Dad?  Loves Jeff.  Just loves him. 

Later on we went hiking on the nature trail.  If you ever camp here, I will just save you the trouble and tell you that this is the view, and this is where all 8 million mosquitoes were hiding.  I hate those things.  I read once that 26 kinds of song birds count on mosquitoes for survival, but I'm to the point I think we could go without a few birds if it means no mosquitoes.

It was a beautiful break and just what Jeff wanted to enjoy before he goes back to school for the summer. 

Baby Man's Photo Shoot

Finally got around to taking some pictures of Tristan for his first birthday! Finally, right? Then in the hussle and bustle of things I forgot his cute candles and party hat. I am still kicking myself for that. Grrrr. I had a cute banner for the background, but as soon as it went up the wind ripped it :( Such is the life in Lubbock! But, I think they ended up cute.

My cupcake stand is still in the mail-so I borrowed my sweet friends.  She came along and helped take pictures... gotta love that girl.

Tristan is just the dang cutest little man I have ever met.  I love that little face.  He loved the balloon until he saw the cupcake.

I thought he'd dive right in like he usually does-but this time he was probably more tired than hungry.  He wanted us to hand feed it to him.  Tristan would lean way over and wait til we got it for him. 

I think he is trying to keep his belly out of the frosting.

Oooh I love that little chub.  He is so sweet.  I love how he comes up and hugs me.  I love when he kisses me.  I just love this little boy.

Can you see the glare?  He did not love sitting here!

The BEST Soft Sugar Cookies EVER

I was in the mood for cookies the other day, and my daily 4 o'clock suggested Sugar Cookies.  Jeff seconded the motion.  Best idea of the week!   So, I found this recipe for the softest, most delicious sugar cookies EVER.

Oh. My. Gosh. They're so dang good. They're soft, they're good, they're delicious, they're soft... I ate myself sick on dough, then ate myself sick on cookies. I never even got around to frosting them, I just ate them warm as soon as they came out of the oven. When I did I want frosting, I just dipped them right into the batch of frosting I made while they had chilled.  Sick, I know.  That's how good they were.  I decided I had to take a picture the day after I made them, so the frosting got a little clumpy when I tried to ice a couple.  Oh well. 

For the cookies you will need:
4½ cups all-purpose flour
4½ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. salt
1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature (I used salted because it was all I had, and then used a smidge less salt than called for, tasted great anyway)
1½ cups sugar
3 large eggs (room temperature)
5 tsp. vanilla extract

For the frosting:
5 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/3 cup (5 1/3 tbsp.) unsalted butter, melted
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
7-8 tbsp. milk (plus more, as needed)
Food coloring (you don't have to, but it's cute)
Sprinkles (if you're into that kind of thing)
Directions:

To make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats (or just spray them with Pam). In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt, and whisk together to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat together on medium-high speed until soft and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the bowl as needed. Blend in the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated and evenly mixed. Lick the beaters clean. Cover and chill the dough for an hour.

If you can keep yourself from eating all of the dough, roll it into balls. I found that pretty much whatever shape you put them on the cookie sheet, they stayed in that shape. I scooped a spoonful out, rolled them into balls and gently flattened them. Bake them about 8-10 minutes, taking them out of the oven before they have brown edges. Brown edges=no good. I found with the first batch that if I could just barely touch the top of the cookie and it wasn't doughy, they were perfect. Whatever I didn't shove into my mouth when they came out of the oven was left to cool on the cookie sheet.

Sprint Doghouse Triathlon

Saturday was the triathlon we have been training for.  It was just a sprint, so a 500 meter swim, 17.6 bike and 3 mile run.  But still, we felt pretty accomplished for doing it.  We got there early, I had to worry about a flat tire that morning and a couple other mishaps but everything worked out in the end.  I was up by 5am because I couldn't get to sleep, so I made myself a big breakfast.  Remember when I did the Huntsville Half Marathon and decided to eat a full hot breakfast from our hotel the hour before we started the race?  Like waffles, eggs, biscuits and gravy, fruit, 3 juices because the first 2 tasted bizarre.  Yeah, that didn't go over well.  This time though, I had a giant bowl of oatmeal, a boiled egg, some toast, and juice.  And, it was 3 hours before the race started.  Muuuuch smarter choice.

The swim was my favorite part, mostly because I took it way too easy.  I did a triathlon years ago, and being in the pack while everyone was clawing their way to the front made me feel like I was going to drown.  So I opted to stay in the back and take my time.   I will mention that the water was 66 degrees, and the air temperature was only in the low fifties, too.  And, my wetsuit was too big.  It just filled up with water like a balloon.  I almost took it off and went without but it was way colder without it, and I think it helped with buoyancy.  In the first 100 meters the guy next to me started to drown, thank heavens the boat help was 10 feet away because I don't I would have been any help.  The wind was also incredibly high-and it created a lot of awful waves... and, at one point I realized I hadn't actually made any progress because I was being blown sideways.  Awesome.

The biking part was rooooough!  The first half was straight into a horrible headwind.  Honestly, it felt like it didn't matter how hard I pedalled because I wasn't getting anywhere.  And it was awkward because there was this girl that I kept beating on the hills but she'd catch up on the flat part and we'd do this weird yo-yo passing thing.  "Hey..."  then we'd say something like, "Hey again..." and then "Hey, again..." It got weird. These are my snacks I stuck to the bike for the halfway point.  Mmmm... never has a chewy bar tasted so good. 

The cheer squad-they were so dang cute!  Ava and Caleb are so sweet.  I love that our babies were all born within 3 months of each other.  Sooo cute.

Finally at the finish!  It was hard to believe that it was over-we have looked forward to this for months it seems and then suddenly, it was over and done with.  Emma took first place in our division, she did ah-mazing!  Ariel would have placed, but the guy giving directions during the bike portion failed and sent her a few miles out of the way.  I am proud of her for not running him over on the way back.  I would have.

I was glad that I finished!  It was fun to train for and fun to finish. 

Don't we look awesome and strong in this picture?  That's right.  That's right, we totally do.  And in 20 years we'll show our kids this and they'll be like, "Wow Mom!" ....haha right ;)

Wimberly

Last weekend I went down to Wimberly to visit my parents.  They were in town from China.  When I say, "In town" I am using that term very loosely.  Somehow my Dad figured that Wimberly was halfway from Lubbock to Houston.  Um.  Sure Dad.

Ben used the same logic to get us there.  He asked me if I could see a shortcut on the map.  I said, "Yes, but it looks like a very small road, you sure it's not dirt?"  He assured me that his Iphone doesn't pick up dirt roads.  Um.  Liar.   We ended up in the middle of nowhere on curvy, potholey, dirty dirt road.  Thankfully we eventually got to where we were going.... and Ben is never allowed to give suggestions when driving.  That is how I have these pretty pictures of the middle of nowhere.

We stayed in some cabins right on the river.  I thought I'd go down and see the friendly and cute geese.

They were neither friendly, nor cute.  The psycho geese chased me all over the place.

Seriously!  They were crazy.

When they get really mad they put their heads down and charge.  I was tempted to stick around and see if it hurt, but .... I'm not into pain.

Finally my brother came along, and they heard how great his road trips were and they took off, fearing the same fate.

Aside from the crazy geese, the place we stayed was beautiful.  This view of the pool was right out the cabin door.  And this has nothing to do with the picture, but the second night we were there a HUGE thunderstorm rolled in.  The lightening, thunder and rain were crazy.  Just crazy.  I was worried Tristan would wake up, but super champ baby slept through the night both nights, despite being in a new place and having thunder loud enough it set off every car alarm and made you feel like you were in a scene from Jurassic Park.

They had a cute little playground, a place called Pioneer Town full of cute old buildings, and dirt. Lots of it.

Tristan spent the entire weekend covered in and eating, dirt.  He played in dirt. He ate dirt. He sat in dirt. He wore dirt.  He is more boy than any boy I've ever met.  He loved, loved, loved all the attention from being around extended family.  I was super sad Jeff didn't get to go-taking a trip the day before finals is not ideal for him... so he stayed home and studied.

Whitney didn't force feed anyone ice cream, and is somehow weaseling her way into the "Favorite Aunt" spot.  Not cool.  I am going to have to up my game and stop beating the children.

I haven't seen Sierra or Katie in forever!  I am glad they came.  And it was nice to have Sierra there because these two....

Loved seeing their cousin.  They played, played, played and played the whole time.  Pretty cute.

We also spent some time at the Wimberly Days market.  It was a beautiful outdoor garage sale type venue.  There was a lot of really unique and cute things.  I found a plate in an antique shop that I had when I was a kid. I mean, it wasn't the EXACT plate but you know, close.

The girls found a double rocking chair and took turns hanging out in it.  I don't know why Sadie looks like she is crying-she really wasn't. 

Ben asked for a refill of Dr Pepper and we think it came out as Diet Coke.  How gross.  Actually, I don't know why he is making this face.  Whitney took this picture.  She would know. 

While we at lunch Dad entertained Tristan with a game of... "Where'd the bottle cap go!?"  It was never ending excitement.   Lunch was so good-delicious brisket and live music.  The man sang, "Mama's Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys"... (and don't let your cowboys grow up to be babies!) to Tristan.  It was cute. 

This is how I felt after being in the outdoor market for 3 hours when it got to be 100 degrees. I finally threw a fit and we all went home. Ben never did find his Dr. Pepper sign, but I suppose it just wasn't meant to be. Tristan is actually crying in this picture because he has sunblock in his eye.

This is how I felt after being in the outdoor market for 3 hours when it got to be 100 degrees.  I finally threw a fit and we all went home.  Ben never did find his Dr. Pepper sign, but I suppose it just wasn't meant to be.  Tristan is actually crying in this picture because he has sunblock in his eye.

Eventually the sunscreen came out and he had a blast chasing his applesauce container around the river.

I am encouraging my parents to retire somewhere like this.  We had fun taking a walk around the river. 

Tristan enjoyed everyone carrying him around and being his friend.  He loves big kids.

Whitney caught a turtle.  This was the best picture I could get holding Tristan, who was super helpful in the picture taking department.

We didn't have room in the tiny, tiny car we drove so I couldn't bring a stroller.  Or a baby carrier.  But that's OK, I didn't mind carrying Tristan around the entire weekend.  My back isn't sore at all.  So glad we didn't take the van though.

Tristan, Mom and I all wore neon green so we'd be seen in case Ben decided to lead the group anywhere and we required search and rescue.

And that was our weekend!  It was a lot of fun.  I foresee many  more future trips there... hooray!