That OTHER Place...

Normally, Austin would not be among my top favorite places and we all know why that is! That place is covered in burnt orange ~ yuck!!! But every once in a while, you have to overlook certain faults and enjoy what a place has to offer :)

And it just so happens that Austin turned out to be the perfect location for a much needed Labor Day girls' weekend! I won't lie and say I wasn't a little nervous and maybe more than a little sad about leaving my sweet girl overnight, but I knew she was in good hands with her Daddy. Surprisingly, I actually handled the overnight away pretty well ~ I didn't even bombard Kevin with texts and phone calls!!! Seriously, that is an accomplishment worth noting! By the way, thanks Honey for agreeing to keep Peanut so I could go have a relaxing and fun weekend :)

I am very blessed to have such great friends ~ friends who are willing to escape "life" with me, friends who love each other, can joke around, laugh, share secrets, ask anything and get an honest answer, encourage trying new things and most importantly will be there no matter what. (Including flying home to Texas from Virginia! Holly you are amazing!!!)

Holly and Logan flew in on Thursday evening and stayed with us until we left Saturday morning. Sophie seemed pretty entertained by precious Logan ~ I can just imagine her thinking, "How does he walk around like that?" And if you know my sweet girl, she is bound and determined to surpass every milestone as soon as possible in the mobility department. By the time Holly and Logan come in for Christmas, she might very well be giving that kid a run for his money (even if it's only on all fours)!

Saturday morning we left around 8:30 to pick up Jaime (and make a Jamba Juice run). We had a great ride up to Austin and thankfully Logan is a pro at car rides! Once we met up with Khyle, we went to Chuy's for lunch ~ how I do love me some Mexican food :)

From there, we went to attempt to kayak ~ remember how I said friends who encourage each other to do new things? This would be one of those things! Is it bad when you aren't even sure you can get in the kayak without falling overboard? Because seriously, this was one of my greatest fears! But mission accomplished, and we all set out to tackle our fabulous kayaking skills :) Ok, fabulous might be a tad bit of a stretch, but we did actually do pretty well, even if I do say so myself. I wish we would have had more time so we could have relaxed a little more, but I wasn't about to miss our pedicure appointment! What would a girls' weekend be without pedicures??? Oh, and one more thing, I'll admit it ~ Jaime was right! We totally should have worn swimsuits, but we convinced her that we weren't going to get wet. I mean we are in a boat right? Barring falling overboard, why would we be wet? Um, yeah. Not so much! For future reference, one should definitely wear swimsuits or at least fast drying clothes when kayaking!

As for the pedicures, ahhhh, imagine a sigh of contsentment. After being out in the heat, working out (yes, kayaking is a workout!), and getting lost only a few times, our pedicures were pure bliss. We went to this cute little place and got our feet and toes all pretty! I think we all picked shades in the same family ~ we were trying to go for a little more of a fall color palette ~ even if it was still 100+ degrees outside. Wishful thinking perhaps :)

After our pedicures, we went and dropped Khyle off so she could head back home to College Station and her sweet Cayson. Originally the plan was to go to The Oasis for dinner. It is supposed to have an amazing view of the sunset over Lake Travis. However, while we were getting our pedicures, the ladies there unanimously agreed that the food was NOT GOOD! Apparantly, you don't go to The Oasis for the food but rather the view and experience. Well, while I appreciate a good view and God's creation a great deal, the three of us remaining girls were tired and in no mood to get dressed up and go to dinner, especially knowing we wouldn't even like the food. So the next best option? Relaxing in the whirlpool spa at the hotel, going down the block to Zax for carry out, and back to the hotel to eat in our room and talk about everything under the sun. Oh, and then we just had to order desserts from the hotel restaurant. Yes, I said dessertS, plural, as in more than one! What can we say? It was girls' weekend :)

Sunday we slept in, if you can call it that. I don't think "sleeping in" is actually a fair representation seeing as how we didn't go to sleep until Sunday morning anyway! Anyway, we leisurely got ready and then headed back to "real life."

While I was quite thrilled to return home and see my little Peanut (and Kevin too of course), I also realized how very important it is to get away on occassion and just reconnect with friends. While I love being a Mommy, I wouldn't trade our girls' weekend for anything and I'd be more than happy to do it again :) Hint, hint girls!

To my girls, thank you for a wonderful weekend! I love you all very much :) I couldn't ask for a better group of girls to share my life with ~ you are all amazing women who I cherish dearly. Here's to girls' weekend round two!!!