Texas Visit

Here are the rest of the photos from our Texas visit.

We went out to my Aunt Nancy's property in Bowie. We also did some sight seeing and some wine tasting.

I got to have an incredible girls night at my friends ranch where we ate a lot of chicken and drank a lot of wine.

Really missed these girls, and loved seeing them love on Anneliese.

We watched the sunset, Anneliese discovered her love of tortilla chips.

We tried taking a group photo.

In the morning we made a fire to enjoy the chilly morning.

We finshed the trip off with a ride around the ranch soaking in the beauty.

I got to hang out with these lovely ladies some and drink tea.

We spent the night at Jack and Pat's. Pat fixed us an amazing dinner and they have adopted Anneliese as their pseudo great-grand baby.

 Matthew's Texas family got to meet Anneliese too, more good food was involved.

My sweet friends Marlee and Christopher drove to Dallas from Abilene to meet us for brunch one day.

It was so great seeing them! Marlee is pregnant and her shower was while we were in Texas so we got to go. Such a lovely time.

We went to Oklahoma City to stay a few days with my brother.

Steven had fun teaching Anneliese to game.

And Anneliese became best buddies with Steven's dog, Zelda.

On our way back to Dallas we stopped at Turner Falls.

 On our way to Marlee's baby shower we stopped to see Matthew's family. We really crammed a lot into this trip so everyone could meet Anneliese.

And on our last day we went shopping so Anneliese could have her own pair of boots.

Read More

Baptism

Last month we went back to Texas so that Anneliese could meet all of our family and friends there. The first Sunday we were there, Anneliese got baptized at the same church Matthew and I were married at.

My dear friend Larissa became Anneliese's godmother.

 

Other than some yawns, which was probably due to the jet lag, she did great and didn't cry.

My sweet friends came to support us as well. I miss these girls so much.

We had some delicious barbecue at my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Larry's place after.

Read More

Kauai

After Thanksgiving we took a vacation with Matthew's parents to Kauai. It's the island that Matthew's parents moved to when they first moved to Hawaii, right after hurricane Iniki, and it's also where Matthew's younger brother was born.

We prepped Anneliese the night before our flight with a book about planes, since it was her first flight.

Selfie at the airport!

She did great on the flight, slept the whole time. We rocked a minivan for our rental car. I got to admit, they're pretty dang comfy.

Customary Hawaiian lei when checking into our hotel.

Me and the babe relaxing on the lanai (patio).

Off to check out the pool.

Anneliese was not terribly impressed with it even though it had its own 'beach'.

Spent one day driving to the end of the road on the island.

And Anneliese entertained herself during the trip by figuring out how to get her toy into her mouth on her own.

Fun fact: Kauai is the only Hawaiian island with navigable rivers.

It has some cool caves as well.

On the way back we stopped for some shave ice. Anneliese was excited but too bad she's not old enough for any foods other than her milk.

Then one day Matthew and I spent by driving to the other end of the road on the island. Well, really to see Waimea Canyon. The Grand Canyon of the pacific. View of the coast along the way.

Volcanic red dirt.

The Waimea Canyon! Apparently we got really lucky with the weather. Janet was telling us about how cloudy and overcast it normally is so you can't really see the canyon.

At the end of the road, Na Pali coast. So pretty.

The next day Anneliese went to the beach for the first time! The same beach Matthew grew up on.

And on our last day before flying home we drove around and saw a few more sights. Here is the view of Hanalei Bay from the St. Regis Hotel.

It's also the beginning of whale season here and there was a pod off in the direction Matthew is looking.

My amazing Mother-in-Law, Janet.

Such a gorgeous Christmas tree, I had to stop and take a photo in front of it.

Love this photo.

Some waterfalls.

The wild pig that was hanging out in the parking lot of our last stop before the airport. He was surprisingly friendly though. I think he's used to the tourists and knows that they'll give him food. He kept wagging his little tale at people and my father in law kept throwing him some popcorn.

Yet another gorgeous sight.

I had such a good time. I would love to go back and visit Kauai again. I told Matthew that we would have to do a helicopter tour though because so many neat sights (like the waterfall that's featured in the Jurassic Park movie) can only be seen by helicopter.

Read More