Fredericksburg Girls Trip

For Jessyca's 30th birthday we made a little trip down to wine country....Texas Wine Country. I had never been to Fredericksburg but have heard how cute and fun it is, so I was excited!

We headed out bright and early Friday morning. Mrs. Park graciously agreed to drive the five of us down which was so wonderful. Seriously, five hours in the car with no kids...kind of amazing. I quite enjoyed myself. Plus the ladies gave me the front seat since I was preggo. Spoiled.

Anyhow, when we arrived we headed straight to PeachTree Cafe which was adorable! We had a wonderful lunch and then headed to check out the house.

We had tickets for the Texas Wildflower Wine Tour and the kickoff party was from 6-8pm, in Burnett. Oops...didn't realize that was a 50 mile drive but oh well. Once we made it the girls had a fun time tasting the Texas wine. Around 8pm we headed back to Fredericksburg for dinner. We had planned to go to Bejas...but then realized that they closed at 9pm! Who closes at 9pm...on a Friday night?? Goodness. the only place we could find that was still open was Mammasitas. Oye. Never again. After dinner we were all ready for bed. Guess that's what happens when your 30.

Hanging with the birthday girl!

The next morning we popped up early and headed to Enchanted Rock. Although most of us went to UT Austin and this hike is only 45 minutes away, none of us had ever done it. I guess we were too busy studying...or something like that :)

It was a great little hike and we all enjoyed it. And we took lots and lots of pictures.

Celebrate at the top!

Success!

And some more pics on the way out...

These girls love to jump. 

Afterwards we headed back to the casita for showers. Since there was only one shower all six of us had to share. Susanne actually ended up using the claw foot bathtub with sprayer and no shower curtain...but the rest of us rotated through the little shower. Surprisingly we were all ready within two hours. That's kind of amazing if you ask me. Now we (they) were ready for some wine!

We started at Inwood Winery and grabbed lunch while we were there. The Wildflower festival tickets that the girls bought actually got them free tastings at all the wineries....which was pretty awesome. Inwood only gave one tasting but all of the rest gave three. Not too shabby.

We hit up a handful of others and I think we all enjoyed 4.0 the best - we had a wonderful wine host man.  Around 6pm we headed back to the house to change into some warmer clothes for dinner. We chitchatted a little bit but didn't want to get too cozy for fear of losing any of the girls. We headed out for dinner at Navajo Grill.

The next morning we had breakfast and then got on the road. The weather was horrible but we still made good time. Such a fun weekend celebrating Jessyca's 30th!

20 Weeks

How far along? 20 weeks and one day

Gender predication: It's a GIRL

Total weight gain? At my dr visit last week I learned that I was only up another 4 lbs, which I was quite happy about. I really thought that I had gained about 10lbs since my 12 week appt!

Maternity clothes? I really didn't want to buy anything new this time since I know this is the LAST time I will need it...but as I passed through the maternity section at the Gap (on my way to the baby GIRL section)I saw they had some cute stuff! I got two baseball t's (one in pic above) and two pairs of jean shorts...which I know I will live in this summer. Ok, so now I'm don't with maternity stuff. Except for maybe one dress I saw at Pea in the Pod...

Exercise: Yeah, not so much. The trainer I had been going to left so I haven't really been back to the gym since. Not really a good excuse since I'm still paying for it. At least my training sessions never expire so I can use that post pregnancy! Kevin and I have gone on a couple of small runs but I notice that it really makes my lower back start hurting. 

Sleep: Same story here. Up a few times...

Best moment this week: Enjoying a fun Spring Saturday night with friends and family dining outside!

Food cravings: Not really anything in particular. Just everything that I see I eat. 

Queasy or Sick: Everyone once in a while I will get a nauseous feeling...but overall I feel great! 

Belly button in or out? Officially out. That was fast!

Looking forward to: Celebrating Easter! Can't wait for Easter egg hunts - Ryan is super excited!

It's a....

Boy or Girl?

It's PINK!

We are so excited to be expecting a baby GIRL in September!

19 weeks

Took a pic but forgot to post! I guess I was just excited about the news of a little baby girl!

Our First Herb Garden

I am so excited that our herb garden is finally complete! My projects tend to drag on for a while and this one was no different. Once we got settled in our new house and made it though the hot hot summer I knew I wanted to get crackin' on an herb garden. The amount of basil, rosemary and other random herbs that I buy is crazy...plus I don't always use all of it within the week and then they die...you know...it just makes sense to have a little garden. It was in fact what I asked for for my birthday (back in August). Kevin laughed a little...because I am horrible at taking care of plants, but like the wonderful husband he is, he went along with it. And that my friends is when we started this ol' project...

First I found a raised herb garden tutorial online (yikes, can't remember where) and then Kevin took off with Ryan to home depot! Bryan even came over to help out with the building. These boys love a man project.

(Nov 3rd)

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It was stained sometime in January...and then we waited.

***

When the weather started warming up we decided to prep our little garden. Kevin and Ryan filled it with soil in early March.

Such a great little helper!

And last week we finally planted our little garden! The boys (and Audrey) were so excited to help!

Digging holes and planting

And of course we had to water them!

I picked up a few more herbs, veggies...and strawberries (impulse buy). And my last little touch was to add the chalkboard signs, which look so cute! I love my little herb garden! 

Thanks Kevin!

18 weeks

How far along? 18 weeks

Gender predication: ...

Total weight gain/loss? So I actually got on the scale today and was pleasantly surprised. It looks like I have only gained 3 lbs since my last appointment...but we will get the official stats on Tuesday. Guess I better try and be somewhat good over the weekend...

Maternity clothes? Yes and no

Exercise: A little cardio but no weights. We walked the Katy Trail to Company Cafe this past Sunday, even got a little run in too, but it sure left me exhausted for the rest of the day. 

Sleep: No naps this week :)

Best moment this week: Lots and lots of baby movement! He/she is a wiggle worm!

Food cravings: Nothing in particular this week. Kinda boring...

Queasy or Sick: Less and less which is awesome. Some nights I get a little nauseous when I am headed to bed. 

Belly button in or out? In but working on coming out

Looking forward to: Girls weekend in Fredericksburg to celebrate Jessyca's 30th birthday! Excited for the beautiful weather and fun ahead!

Around the house {Vandy}

I can't believe we have been in our new house for 10 months now! Wowzers! We have done so much...yet there is still so much to do :) Isn't that how it always goes?

When we bought our first house I was in such a rush to get it all furnished and perfect...but I haven't been the same with this one. Probably because building it was slightly exhausting (all those decisions). Oh, and those two kids we have...they kinda take up a lot of time :) I also think that knowing we aren't planning to move again relieves any sense of urgency...and then really, are you ever done? No. The answer is no, you aren't. With that being said, I have recently gotten the urge to get some stuff DONE. My problem is that I feel so ADD about it all. I am horrible about focusing on one area...I tend to skip around and rooms are always halfway done. It's starting to drive me a bit crazy. In addition to the decorating that needs to be done...I am going nuts over organization. I love when things are organized. It makes my heart happy. Seriously. When I organized this cabinet in our kitchen I would just stare at it with a big grin on my face. Kevin thought I was crazy, but I know he loves it. (I can't tell you how many times we have had to search for medicine or batteries...or a darn mini screwdriver!) Ahhhh...makes me feel so peaceful and happy. And the good news is that this has worked great...it's been 8 months since I did this and the cabinet is a functional (and organized) as ever.

Anyhow, perhaps its "nesting" but whatever it is, it's like a fever. All my free time is spent searching furniture, rugs and everything in between. And then there is my weekly trips to the container store...I am hoping to be organized by the time baby #3 gets here...hoping that will help simplify things. ha!

And of course I want to document it all...cause that's what I like to do. To kick off my little new segment I'll show you a sassy little project that Kevin, his dad and my dad completed over the holidays!

When our house was being built we realized the it was almost as if we had planned the view out of our kitchen sink window - I mean, we managed to line it up perfectly with our neighbors AC units. I mean, what a view.

We have talked quite a bit about sprucing this little view up and we finally did!

When my parents came back in town after Christmas Kevin and my dad headed out to Home Depot to get wood for the new screen. 

Next up - staining it! Kevin's dad graciously came over and helped Kevin stain the screen. Ryan even helped a little too!

It can easily be removed if the neighbors need to get back there for any reason. 

And while you can still see the AC units..the view is definitely less aggressive than it was previously! Yay Kevin!