adventure

This past weekend, we celebrated our eleventh anniversary!  Last year, I was eight months pregnant with Anchor so we were extremely limited in what we could do.  This year, with three little ones at home, I knew we couldn't go far. But at least I could participate!!

Kenny planned an amazing trip to the Austin/Hill Country area. I'm so proud of him for planning everything. It was one of our best trips yet!

On Thursday, we drove to Austin and checked in at the Omni Barton Creek.

We then headed out for a hike... yes, hike in 100+ degree weather! This is something I typically would have said no to. But I've been so excited for this trip, I was truly up for anything and determined I would keep a positive attitude.

I'm SO thankful I did!

We hiked at the Barton Creek Greenbelt. Most of the hike was shaded, steep, and absolutely gorgeous! Unfortunately, it was dry. This is what we saw:

 This is what it looks like when it's rained:

But the experience was exhilarating! I couldn't believe I was in good enough shape to hike in Texas in the summer. And man, what a creative God we serve!!

Next we drove to Lake Travis to go jet skiing. Many of our summers dating and as newlyweds were spent on the lake.  We fell in love on the lake, had our rehearsal dinner at the lake, and live near the lake. It was such a beautiful reminder of how we spent our time getting to know each other and that we have such similar interests.

We then found a non-chain restaurant that had great reviews. We love trying new, hole-in-the-wall places. It was called The Grove and had a beautiful, gigantic oak tree lit up with Christmas lights! We wanted to sit outside, but it was just too hot. We had yummy bruschetta, pizza, and a flight of cabernet sauvignon wine tasting. With tummy's and heart's full, we headed back to the hotel for a good night's sleep (one thing we don't take for granted anymore).

On the second day, we met some good friends for breakfast. They live in Dallas but happened to be in Austin the same weekend. We then drove to The Blue Hole and Jacob's Well but found out you can only get in with a reservation. While driving around trying to figure out where to go and what to do, we saw a new subdivision being built. Another thing Kenny and I have always enjoyed doing (but rarely time for) is looking at new home construction... especially spur of the moment!  So of course we stopped to look around and found this house, which is pretty similar in size to the one we hope to build.

We also passed at this really cool event venue that shares my maiden name... Thurman's Mansion! Maybe we can renew our vows there one day.

We finally decided to float the Comal River. I've always wanted to do this! It would've been more fun with friends and food, but it was so relaxing and just fun to be with my best friend on the water!

We definitely worked up an appetite and headed to the Gristmill in Gruene for lunch.  They have the best onion rings and burgers!  Next we headed to Hey Cupcake so I could get my favorite late night snack... I got the Michael Jackson! We went back to the hotel and had drinks by the pool.  Our hotel was really family friendly and played a movie at the pool, had a playground, and lots of kids/family activities. I hope to take the boys there someday, and really look forward to showing them a city that means so much to our family.

On Saturday, it was cloudy and we thought it was going to rain so we planned to just shop and take a slow drive home. We ate bagels at Wholy Bagel, another hole-in-the-wall restaurant. Afterwards, we drove to see Kenny's 101 year old grandmother! She suffers from dementia, but I was amazed at how she remembered Kenny. She LOVED seeing pictures of the boys. She has left such a legacy for them.  By the time we finished that, the sun was peeking through the clouds and we knew we'd regret not paddle boarding. So we headed to Lake Austin and had the time of our lives being on the water and trying something new, for both of us! Unfortunately, we left our phones in the car so I have no pictures/proof of this. The lake was calm and peaceful and oh so gorgeous! The trees in Austin are of their own breed... ginormous!! It was so therapeutic... I hope to own a board someday and go often enough that I can actually be good at it!

After paddle boarding, we went to Gueros - a restaurant that we visited often when in Austin for my doctor appointments and surgeries. It was such a different feeling being there without surgery looming over my head. I'm thankful this restaurant finally has good memories for me! We ordered the queso flameado and nachos, and of course margaritas!

By the end of lunch, Kenny was feeling pretty miserable from his allergies so we headed home. I felt so bad that I couldn't help with the drive, but I can't drive a standard... one more reason to learn how!

I was blown away by how God blessed this trip. We never fought and I completely fell head over heels in love with my man all over again.  This incredible man who took me out of my book-reading, nook-loving, rule-following comfort zone and showed me what adventure is! And I love that God has now blessed us with three boys who I know will also show me all about adventure... and I so look forward to adventuring with them!  We have had our rough times, as all couples do, but my steady, deeply rooted man has never lost his faith, always supported me, and always believed in us. I definitely married up!

I love you so incredibly much Mr. Wright. As I told you this weekend, it was so easy saying "yes" to you. Thank you for choosing me to join you on this crazy adventure and showing me how to live life to the fullest!

P.S. And a HUGE thanks to my mom and Kenny's parents for watching the boys. I loved seeing pictures of them having a great time as well. They are getting older and we loved talking to them at night and hearing "I love you!" and "When are you coming home?"  These are words I dreamed of hearing for so long, my heart is so incredibly full! Thank you again and again Lord for this anniversary trip, and the man and children you've so richly blessed me with.

tenth anniversary

Yesterday we celebrated our tenth anniversary!  I can't believe how fast time has gone by and I love that I have more memories with Kenny than I do without him.  I know I believed we'd have kids by this point, but there was no way of knowing how God would give them to us. It's been such an incredible journey (hard but so worth it) and I can't to see how He unfolds the next ten years of our lives.  I know no matter what happens, we'll walk through it together as best friends.

Being 33 weeks pregnant, our options were pretty limited. But Kenny booked us a night at the Omni Hotel in Dallas.

We dropped the boys off with Janette around 10 on Thursday morning.  Of course we had to start things off with a trip to Starbucks and then I got a pedicure while Kenny got the car washed and ran some errands. After that we drove to a dealership to look at Yukons. They didn't have what we were looking for in stock and were kind of pricey.  I love it when salesman try to pull the wool over Kenny's eyes... there's NO fooling him!  He's done his research!

So we headed to the hotel early and sat out by the pool while they finished preparing our room.

We walked into a gorgeous room, with a great view, and lots of romance... roses, chocolates, chocolate covered strawberries, and champagne! It was SOOOO special!

I gave Kenny his present, a sign from Magnolia Market that says "grow old along with me, the best is yet to be..."  He really liked it and it's a miracle I waited so long to give it to him... I've had it in the house since May and usually my impulsivity gets the best of me!

Then we headed out for lunch at Taco Diner and to see if I could find a gold ring at Kendra Scott. (my fingers are so swollen I can't wear mine and I've been wanting a gold "wedding ring" to wear with my gold jewelry).  Unfortunately, the smallest size they carry is a five... way too big!

So we went back and spent more time by the pool.  My braxton hicks contractions started coming really close together (like 5-10 mins apart) for over half an hour.  I texted my midwife and she reminded me to drink LOOOOOTS of water.  Crazy how being dehydrated causes all kinds of problems. I'm thankful they stopped... I didn't want this night ruined.

We went to dinner at Texas Spice, a restaurant in the Omni.  We enjoyed their buffet... salad, main entree, and dessert.  Surprisingly, it was all really good!  We especially liked the ham mac and cheese, fingerling potatoes, fresh veggies/salad, and cake pops.  Most of the food at the restaurant is from local sources and all of it was very fresh. We could definitely taste the difference.

After dinner, we walked over to take pictures by Pegasus, but they didn't turn out.  We at least got a picture of the view. It was really pretty!

We went back out to the pool and Kenny sat in the hot tub. There was a nice breeze and it was so relaxing! When we got back to our room, it was arranged romantically again and just reminded us of how special this night was.

We woke up at our usual time, 6:30am, but it was nice to lay in bed an extra hour and not have to get the kids up and fed. We went back to Texas Spice for a breakfast buffet that was just as good as dinner... fruit, eggs, bacon, cinnamon rolls and coffee cake, and hash brown casserole. 

Crazy to believe that we could sit outside in August in Texas! But it was a really nice morning... there was a breeze and it was only 78.  We went to the pool one last time and I put my feet in the hot tub.  I'm definitely looking forward to sitting in one again!

We packed up and headed for the GMC dealership... this time to actually test drive the Yukon XL.  BIG MISTAKE! I'm soooooo in love! It was so incredibly hard to contain my excitement. It's a beautiful car and has so many features that will make my life as a mom of 3 young boys so much easier.  I love:

• bucket seats in second row
• two DVD players
• push to start, heated steering wheel, heated/cooled seats (luxuries Kenny has been enjoying)
• technology to help me change lanes and alerts me if I'm about to hit something
• turning radius is great!
• back up camera will be really helpful when parking
• seats fold down with push of a button
• motion sensor to open back hatch, and I can open/close it from front seat
• SO. MUCH. STORAGE!

It's so hard to wait now that I know what's coming. But Kenny says "good things come to those who wait."  We'll see if that's true... I'll definitely write about it when we get it! 

To finish it off, we went to see The Man From U.N.C.L.E. at the new Moviehouse and Eatery in Flower Mound. They have recliners so even at 33 weeks I could be comfortable. 

I enjoyed every minute with Kenny and am so grateful for the 24 hours away to celebrate and reminisce. But I really missed my boys. Grandmommy took good care of them. They went to the library and the circus!  It's comforting to know they were in good hands and having a great time.  But this momma was still counting the hours until we could pick them up.

We hope to go somewhere special next year, maybe Costa Rica, to celebrate our "tenth" in a big way!  But for now, at 33 weeks pregnant, this was just perfect.  

Thank you mi amor for a wonderful, perfect anniversary celebration.  I love you more and more every day.  I'm so thankful and blessed to do life with you. Thanks for choosing me!