Everything Really Is Bigger in Texas

We're back! Did you miss us? We got back from our vacation last week. Yes, it's taken me this long to get around to posting pictures. Once we returned, we hit the ground running in getting some things done around the house. I'll save that for another post since we have big changes happening around here!

Now back to our vacation. We had a great time visiting Clay's family, celebrating his birthday, seeing good friends and we even fit in some site seeing too!

On our way down to Georgetown, we stopped and had dinner with our good friends the Daniel's. Their daughter, Alayna, is three weeks older than Courtney so it was fun seeing them interact. Last year both of them just sat there, but this year it was GO, GO, GO! The girls got along great and had fun playing.

Here they are torturing their dog, Belle. She was a good sport!

They loved climbing all over the couch!

A little break from playing to learn about Texas Tech. Look how intently Dr. Daniel is listening! : )

After dinner we finished the last leg of our trip and made it to Clay's parent's house. The following day, Courtney and I went with Grammie to do some shopping at IKEA and then met Aunt Cara for lunch. Courtney loved drinking from a big kid cup!

Courtney loved wearing the Mardi Gras beads that Grammie gave her. Don't you love how she wears them Han Solo style? She also loved playing in the fountain water.

Saturday was Clay's birthday. He and I headed to downtown Austin for the afternoon and stayed overnight. Who knew that a full nights sleep would be the greatest birthday gift! Clay and I decided to pay a visit to the Texas state capital. It's the biggest one in the U.S. (see, everything is bigger in Texas) and was really interesting to hear the stories from the tourguide. The Texas state congress was in session so we got to go in a listen to some of the bills pass. An FYI, Texas now mandates that the prisons be notified if a new prisoner has some mental problems. Good to know...

It was a beautiful day in Austin!

That night we had dinner at Stubb's BBQ and walked 6th Street. We decided that those bars weren't really for us and we decided to hang out in th hotel bar. Cara and Shellie came down and had some drinks with us. Here we are in front of the lobby fountain.

The next day we visited the LBJ Library. I know what you're thinking, "How boring!" It really isn't. If you're into history, especially during the radical 60's, this is the museum for you. And better yet, it's free!

After our time in Austin, we spent the rest of our time with Clay's family just visiting and hanging out. We did hang out in the hot tub a couple of evenings. Courtney loved hanging out in her floaty and splashing in the water.

On our final day, we drove out to Lake Travis and had lunch at The Oasis. What a fun place! We were there on a Tuesday, but I hear it's a hoppin' place on the weekend. We had lunch outside and enjoyed watching the boats go by.

Our vacation was a lot of fun. The weather was great, the food was great and seeing our family was fabulous!

Hope everyone is staying cool and enjoying the summer season!