What's Up Wednesday June 2019

Here we go for our May update!

Friday Favorites {Colorado Edition}

Last week we left Texas and headed for a long weekend in Colorado with some friends!  We had great weather in that there was lots of snow to play in and it felt like winter.  It was fun to experience winter weather but good to come home to dry roads!

Chicago, The Windy City

My sweet husband surprised me with a trip to Chicago for my birthday this year!  It was less than 72 hours away but it was splendid!

Benjamin had been before with his college roommate.  They drove from Waco straight, stayed in a hostel and did manly things like see Spamalot, Blue Man Group and Spelling Bee before heading back home.  Thankfully he did stepped it up a bit in the lodging department!

He had planned our first day and left our second day open for whatever I would like to do.  He kept dropping hints as to what our evening plans were and in the airport, as we were waiting for our flight that ended up being three hours late {thanks American}, I guessed that we were going to see the Blue Man Group!  Due to the delay in our plane, we missed the show that we had tickets for but the house manager was able to get us two tickets not far from where our original ones were for the eight o'clock showing.  This girl was as happy as a lark!  I just love the Blue Man Group shows.  They are inventive, artistic, funny and clean entertainment!

To wrap up the night, we ordered extra crispy fries with a Coke.  Why does Coke from a glass bottle always taste so delicious?!  My favorite feature of our room was the fireplace.  We had it lit both nights and in the mornings while we sat talking about whatever we wanted to!  

The remainder of our time was spent enjoying the food and sights that Chicago has to offer!

What We Ate

Y'all.  I totally want a Stan's to open down the street from me.  I had a Nutella + banana donut that delighted my tastebuds and Benjamin's Old Fashioned was what Old Fashioned dreams are made of!  We also split a Dreamsicle donut that I venture to say is the best type of Dreamsicle because it would never melt!  :)

At the suggestion of Jessica, we hit up Giordano's.  When we arrived there was a one hour wait for the pizza {what?!} so we placed our order with the hostess.  The timing actually worked out perfectly because we were seated, ate a salad and then voila!  Pizza!  I'm going to come out and say that I am not a deep dish fan.  Like not in the slightest.  I love a crispy thin crust pizza.  So I was a little doubtful that I would like what was set before us.  And man oh man was I wrong!  It was delicious!!  

Where We Went

Of course we went and saw Cloud Gate, or the Bean as it is known on the streets.  :)  It was cool to see it in person and take in the Chicago skyline as well.

We also hit up the Chicago Art Institute.  There was a Picasso exhibit showing and Benjamin wanted to see American Gothic and A Sunday Afternoon.  Plus I love walking around huge museums filled with all kinds of things labeled as art.  I like how I have developed a taste for who I am drawn to and love to seek out.  {10 points goes to who knows the artist of the 4 below!}  While there is quite a bit of it that isn't my cup of tea {I'm looking at you Degas}, I can appreciate the skill and time it took to create such masterpieces. 

And lastly we meandered up and down The Magnificent Mile popping in and out of stores as we saw things that would catch our eye {or as we needed to avoid the rain!}.  It would be interesting to know if most of the people shopping there were tourists or Chicago residents...  We came across an eyeglass store and ended up purchasing sets for both of us!  #ireallyNEEDEDanotherpair  #glitterenoughsaid

On the morning that we left, fluffy snowflakes floated down from the sky.  I'm kinda of like Loreli Gilmore in that I love the magic of snow.  It was the perfect way to wrap up our adventure together!

To find out more about how we renew our marriage, pop over and read what I have to say in the Behind the Door Marriage Series hosted by Chelsea.  I'd love to know your thoughts!

San Francisco Day 1: Pier 39, The Bay Aquarium, Boudin Bakery

We took a family vacation to San Francisco!  We were there a total of three days, stayed at an Air BnB location and took Uber cabs everywhere we went.  Since we were there in May, the weather was still a bit on the chilly side.  However, every day the sun was out and the weather was perfect for walking.  

Our first day there was spend at Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, and Ghirardelli Square.  We started at Pier 39 and walked up and down the main drag taking in the sights and sounds.  

Winston woke up at normal home time which translated to 5:30 San Francisco time.  As soon as we hit the Boardwalk we tracked down Trish's Mini Donuts.  They were a delight to the tastebuds and should be a stop sometime during your trip!  They were the perfect marriage of a funnel cake and a donut.  Just heaven!

We had told Winston that we were going to an aquarium as we headed into town and he was super pumped!  We made our way to the Aquarium of the Bay and stayed 1.5 hours.   The tanks were very well kept with a variety of fish, sharks, eels, and starfish.  {Can we also stop here for a minute as I revel in how old my little one is looking?!  He is growing like a weed and while I miss being able to hold all a tiny one close to me, there is something so special when he curls up into a little ball in my arms.  le sigh.}

The aquarium has a great hands on area where sting rays, starfish, and sea cucumbers are available to touch.  This was Winston's favorite part by far.  And still to this day there are times when he'll pretend to be petting the sea cucumber!  

After leaving the Aquarium we headed down the Boardwalk, stopping to take a few family photos courtesy of our selfie stick!  That's Alcatraz in the back left corner of the picture.  :)  

We met up with our dear friends who were also in town for lunch.  We walked with them to Ghirardelli Square and all shared a massive ice cream sundae!  I am probably going to be in the minority when I say this but, I was really underwhelmed by Ghirardelli Square.  While I enjoyed shopping at Lola of North Beach, I was expecting there to be a little more to the whole thing.

Our last stop for the day before heading back to our rental, we stopped at the Boudin Bakery.  They have an amazing glass window that faces that street allowing passer-bys to watch the artists create cool creatures out of sourdough bread!  For $3 a person, they have an upstairs area with the history of the family, the bakery, and the bread.  They have their creatures laid out and a viewing area where you can see their bread making process.  Winston loved the samples and just like his Daddy, enjoyed watching the dance between the people and machines making beautiful bread!  

We purchased a bread turtle to eat with our dinner that night, hailed ourselves an Uber cab and made it back to the house in time for Winston to take a nap.  Our first day out on in San Francisco was full of everything we enjoy: sightseeing, great food, time with friends and ice cream!

Five Reasons We Enjoyed Hyatt Lost Pines!

We have been go, go, go for the first part of the summer.  One of our adventures took us to Hyatt Lost Pines for the A.P Westfall Meeting that the Houston Orthodontic Residency puts together every year. The meeting rotates from place to place.  This year's location is one of my favorites!  My family and I visited Lost Pines the year it opened (!) and it was so fun to go back with Benjamin and Winston.

one || S'mores + Outdoor Movie

I am a huge s'mores fan!  So the Hyatt Lost Pines speaks my love language by providing s'mores every night starting at 7 PM.  The awesome thing about this place is if you have a hankering for a s'more before that time, they keep s'mores kits readily available for your family and the staff is always happy to light the fire for you!  They also set up a family friendly movie on Friday and Saturday nights as well complete with all of the popcorn you can eat!  

two || Keeper Talks and Activities

The Hyatt Lost Pines is extremely family friendly!  They have bikes available for all ages to ride at any time of the day.  They have a great kids activities through Camp Hyatt and the playground.  Along with tons of outdoor activities such as golf, bird watching, horse riding, tennis and the Spa Django there is something for everyone!  The hotel also gives informational talks on animals around the area and allows the kiddos to pet and sit on their resident longhorns T-bone and Ribeye!

three || The Lazy River

The river is perfect for floating.  For floating and relaxing.  For enjoying the sunshine and the family. Lost Pines provides single and double floats for folks to enjoy the river.  There is an adults only pool, a play pool, a sand area and splash pad for kiddos along with a water slide!  

four || The Eateries 

All of the restaurants at Lost Pines have a variety of options and are quite tasty!  The Firewheel offers breakfast and dinner buffets that are free for children 5 and under.  {Awesome!}  They have a general store stocked with Starbucks goodies, breakfast pastries, snacks of all sorts and ice cream!

five || Family Time

Once you drive on to the grounds of Hyatt Lost Pines, you never have to leave!  Everything you could need is there allowing for you to spend time with the ones that you are there to have fun with.  The trees are magnificent, the views are wonderful, the staff is friendly and you can do or not do as much as you want to.  Downtown Austin is a 30 minute drive away if you should need to do a little exploring in the city.  I just adore places where we can enjoy our time together without any rush or hurry in the world!

Linking up today with 5 on Friday: April | Oh Hey, Friday: September Farm + The Farmer's Wife | Friday Favorites: Momfessionals

Goals Recap: April 2015

April was a busy month for our family!  We celebrated Easter, took a trip to Dallas to ride Thomas and a trip to Pennsylvania to see family.  And each day in between was filled with school, crafts or just spending time outside enjoying the cool spell that came through Texas!

Social

We put together a Sunday school class outing to watch the Art Car Parade!

On a trip to Dallas, we visited with our sweet friends!

Family

 We took at trip to Grapevine to ride Thomas the Train!!

And of course we wore our Conductor hat and Thomas boots!

We had dinner with Uncle Ben and Aunt Sam while we were in town visiting Thomas!

Winston and I also took at trip to Pennsylvania with my Mom to visit the family.  We always make a stop at Gardner's Candy Store.  This was the first visit that Winston really got excited about picking out his own candy!

Winston

It was Donuts with Dad at Winston's school.  He enjoyed showing Daddy all around his classroom and building block towers with him!

Keep up with the year so far:

January

February

March

Show and Tell Tuesday: Favorite Vacation

Today's prompt for Show and Tell with Andrea from Momfessionals is my Favorite Vacation.  This one, while I had to debate a little bit back and forth, is an easy one for me to answer.  While I love every trip that we go on, whether a quick weekend jaunt or a week long adventure, there are two that tie for my favorite.

one || Honeymoon to Costa Rica {2007}
This was the first trip that Benjamin and I took together.  He planned almost all of it on his own and did a wonderful job!  Costa Rica is a short plan ride away from Houston and neither of us had visited there previously.  We stayed at two hotels: one on the coast and one more inland.

We first stayed in a little bungalow at Villa Caletas.  After one of the most terrifying drives of our lives, we arrived to what looked like paradise.  Nestled in the rain forest and sitting right above the Central Pacific coast, the views, weather and fruit were absolutely delicious!

Since this spot was secluded and away from any major civilization, our days here were spent walking around the property, enjoying the beach and the views.

Finca Rosa Blanca was our second hotel stay.  It was closer to San Jose and allowed to us do more sight-seeing and touristy activities.  While San Jose was not our favorite, we enjoyed visiting the Cafe Britt coffee tour, visiting the La Paz Waterfall Gardens as well as spending time at Zoo Ave, a place that rescues and reintroduces wildlife back into their natural environments.

This trip was special because it was the wonderful way to spend our first week as a married couple.  Away from everything, reminiscing about our wedding, learning what it meant to travel with each other and having hours upon hours to dream about the next years of our lives together!

And now just a few snapshots before trip two!

two || Family Trip to Aberdeen, Scotland {2013}

When I was in the second grade our family moved to Aberdeen and from that time on it has been my favorite place in the world.  I love the castles, the sheep, the weather, the people.  When Winston was six month old, we went with my family to Aberdeen!  My brother had not been back since we left at the end of his first grade year.  This is my second favorite vacation!

Little Bug did an amazing job the the flights.  The first leg was easy because we flew overnight landing in London in the early morning.  This helped greatly in switching his sleeping and eating schedules.

Since we went in April, we knew that the weather would still be a bit on the chilly side.  Every time we went out, Winston got bundled up in tons of layers to keep him warm!  Our first day there we walked Union Street visiting favorite stores that were still in business like Waterstone's, Nova, John Lewis, and the Kilt Shop.  Because he was warm in his Oscar the Grouch onesie, Winston got some great napping in while we were out and about.

Jamie Oliver opened a restaurant in Aberdeen so we made reservations and went there for dinner one night.  It was all Italian food and I can remember that the desserts were quite tasty!

Every meal my place setting had an Irn-Bru ready for the drinking!  It is one of the things that I acquired a taste for while living there.  The taste of it is hard to explain.  It doesn't taste anything like orange soda even though you might think it.  Our Kroger and the British grocery store in the area sells it so I am still able to taste it's deliciousness every once in a while!

The second day was spent at Crathes Castle.  It is our family's favorite castle in the area.  And since all of us were on this trip, we hired a photographer to get some family photos.  They turned out beautifully!  

That night we ate a family favorite restaurant Yu's, which sadly closed its doors this year.  I am thankful that we were able to eat there together and enjoy their delectable duck!  

Right after college I had the opportunity to move to Stonehaven for four months to work at Hunting.  It was one of my favorite times in my life.  I got to meet really great people and the Martins, who I stayed with during this time, welcomed me into their family.  It was such an honor for me to be able to introduce Winston to some of the Hunting folks that I worked with and the my sweet family!

Benjamin, Winston and I took at road trip to Huntly to see a falconry one of the days we were there.  It was a new experience for all of us!  We arrived in plenty of time to walk around the grounds and then watch {and participate!} in their flying display.  

Every trip to Aberdeen is not complete without a stop at The Ashvale for fish and chips! 

Our last full day in Aberdeen, the men went golfing at Porthlethen Golf Course while the ladies + Winston went shopping!  We met up at the ruins of Dunnottar castle, another favorite spot of mine.  We had brought along our ErgoBaby and it was perfect for this excursion up and down the steep steps leading to the ruins.  

The last place that I really wanted to stop at before leaving was The Albyn School.  When Noah and I attended this school it was a school for girls that only allowed boys to attend for Pre-K.  Then the boys were sent to Robert Gordon.  At this school I wore a uniform that in the winter consisted of knee socks and a kilt, picked up an accent, learned Scottish history and learned to swim the breast stroke.

This is my favorite trip because I was able to share a place that was near and dear to my heart with Benjamin and Winston.  I was able to visit special places again with Mom, Dad and Noah.  It was sweet because Salem was able to see the places that we have talked about and referenced in stories.  It was not just a good trip, it was a great trip.  I am thankful that we all have stories with, "Remember that one time we all went to Aberdeen...."  

And now for a slew of photos just because:

Thanks for sharing in our vacations with us!  Do you have a favorite vacation spot?  Are you traveling anywhere for this summer!  Let me know, even if its just a staycation in your hometown!  I love to hear where people's adventures take them!