twitter facebook instagram bloglovin google plus pinterest youtube

Monday

Trip to Texas and the Country Living Fair!



 I'm back from Texas and I can't wait to show you where I went!  Don't I look excited?


I have to start at the beginning of the trip, so be patient and hang in there with me!
(Or just scroll through until you see the frozen yogurt!)

AH (Awesome Husband) had business in San Antonio and the whole family tagged along! 


My son lost his tooth in the middle of our plane ride. 
Apparently, flight attendants take over the tooth fairy duties when flying over 30,000 feet in the air?!
Who knew?


We landed in Austin and drove to this AMAZING resort outside of San Antonio!

The rooms were beautiful and the pools were INCREDIBLE!
{Apparently this place is where they hold PGA tournaments...
I'm not a golfer, so I can't tell you how the links are, but from my hotel room they looked lovely.}


While AH (Awesome Husband) attended meetings and trade shows (poor guy), 
the kids and I played in the pools (aren't we lucky?!).


The lazy river was so relaxing, but the kids spent most of their time on the...


WATER SLIDES!

MY son went down each slide 35 times! 
He kept track, purposely making sure each slide got even coverage.
It was so great not having to wait in lines, that he didn't want to stop!

_________________________________

After spending a day in the pools, we ventured out into the city on our next day.
AH joined us (I think he skipped out on a meeting or two?).
First stop:  The Alamo.


We all got a little history lesson..."Remember the Alamo!" as we toured this historic mission.
________________________

The city of San Antonio celebrates 'Fiesta' the last week of April. 
It's their celebration honoring the heritage, culture and spirit of San Antonio.
We just happened to be right in the middle of their party!  (I guess we're party crashers?)


All the San Antonio kids get a day off of school to come out and celebrate.
We watched a bit of their Battle of the Flowers Parade.


(Notice how the girls on the float kick out their legs and show their cowboy boots under their dresses?  That's the tradition!)


My kids loved the marching drill teams...especially the ones carrying swords and weapons.
My husband and I loved that the band members wore backpacks of water with straws positioned next to their mouths...we had never seen that!  It's HOT in Texas!

And the highlight of the day--spending the afternoon with a very special person...
Our daughter's birth mother!  (She lives outside of San Antonio.) 

She and her family met us for a stroll down the Riverwalk.

{We adopted our daughter at birth over 11 years ago.
It was an open adoption that has turned into a wonderful friendship for all of us.
We try to visit each other every few years and we communicate through letters, e-mails and pictures.}



The Riverwalk is so pretty! 
We loved passing by the restaurants and stores right next to the river.
___________________

The next day, bright and early we were in line at Fiesta Texas-Six Flags!


Our daughter's birth mom and family joined us for a day full of rides!


Of course some were scarier and wetter than others!
AH got drenched!


The driving ones are always our daughter's favorite!
(She's always in a hurry to grow up!)


What a fun, exhausting day we had!
Our favorite 'beat the heat' treat...


Frozen Yogurt with toppings!
______________________________________
Now...  Last month as I was reading through a Country Living Magazine, I saw this ad.

A Country Living Fair in Austin, TX
I was going to be in Texas on those dates! 
Would it work out? 
I asked AH (Awesome Husband) if I could spend an hour or so at the fair before our flight home.  Well...Guess what?

He said "Yes."  (I told you he's awesome!)

The family dropped me off and went on a tour of Austin's capitol building,
while I had 2 hours of fun at the fair! So, are you ready to see???  Of course you are!


2 big buildings full of vendors!

Lots of booths packed with--Antiques,
Handmade items,
Vintage jewelry,
Displays,
Furniture,
Gardening Supplies,
Ah... I'm loving these vintage white pieces and glass domes!


And look who I ran into!  My high school friend, Dixie of Junk Salvation!
(Yep, we're both from WA state and somehow meet up in Texas?!  Crazy!)

Dixie and her sister had just finished hosting a 'Junk Salvation Show' in Austin.
I was sad I didn't make it to her TX show,
but you can click here and here to see their WA 'Junk Salvation Shows' I've been to!  So fun!
Check out these boots!  Whooowheee!  Cost: $300.

Now, I will say that the prices were a little steep...isn't everything 'bigger' in Texas?
Maybe the prices were inflated because everything looked like it came straight from the pages of Country Living Magazine...or maybe because these vendors had traveled across the country to be here and needed to make back their expenses?  I talked to some vendors from New Jersey, New York and Ohio!  They had loaded up their trucks and drove all the way to TX! 
(And I thought the plane ride was long!)

So, I bought a few little gifts and tucked them into my carry-on.  I wanted to buy everything in sight, so I guess I should be thankful that I had to fly home with my little roller suitcase. 
(I did see a shipping booth there...maybe next time?)

My 2 hours was up before I knew it, my family was waiting...time to catch the flight home.


Goodbye, Texas!  Thanks for a fun time!