Spring Break

We were a week late to the Spring Break game, but we definitely made the most of it when it got here. I dropped the kids off with my MIL on Wednesday morning, and she and my FIL took them out to the Davis Mountains for a few days of fun, mountain air and mud puddles. Jeff was working in Houston, so I was truly on my own. So, after dropping the kids off, I headed to Belton to visit a friend I've had for twenty years. You heard me right; I said 20 years. Is that crazy or what?! It was a wonderful visit, and such a bonus to get to see, not only her, but her lovely family, too! Afterward, I invited my mom to share in a big Sam's trip, so I would have company and another set of hands for pushing the other shopping cart! Then, I had dinner with my parents before heading home to a very silent house. I can't remember the last time just the three of us had dinner together. It was nice.

 I had to work on Thursday at CC. I was filling in for the director, who was out of town, in addition to tutoring my regular class and facilitating the afternoon program for the little kids. It was a busy day, but still very enjoyable (and a little odd, since I didn't have my own crew to keep up with). I just love being a part of that community! My mom had planned to sleep over on Thursday night, so she was waiting for me when I got home. After a little chit-chat and a couple of glasses of wine, we headed in to Marble Falls for pedicures, followed by dinner at a fun little wine shop/bistro Jeff and I had recently discovered on a date night. The dinner was wonderful, and the company was delightful!

We slept in on Friday morning, had some coffee and then headed in to town for breakfast at the French bakery, one of the Watts family's new favorite places. The atmosphere is fun, and the food is absolutely to die for! With our bellies full, we decided to get down to the serious business of shopping. There are quite a lot of cute local shops and boutiques, and Mom and I had so much fun poking around in all of them. The find of the day may have been the western-style, zebra-striped matching rain boots, at 70% off, that we bought for Ruth and me. I think we had gotten our money's worth out of them before we ever even got out of the store! We finally took a break mid-afternoon for some lunch at a wonderful, local deli. After lunch, we drove over to Johnson City, where we popped into one cute little store, drove by LBJ's birthplace a couple of times, and visited the dollar store, before heading back to the house, so Mom could get her things together and be on her way home. It's been a really long time since just my mom and I had so many uninterrupted hours together, and we had a blast! Shortly after Mom left, I threw together a couple of appetizer plates, and joined some of the neighbors for Friday Fun Night--a weekly neighborhood gathering out in the street. We hadn't made it to one of these events in a while, and it was nice to get to catch up with some of the neighbors and enjoy the incredible weather.

I spent almost the whole of Saturday in a classroom, doing a training class for CC. And when I was finished, I was pooped. So, I came straight home, warmed up some leftovers, and watched The Blind Side. That movie is so good. Every. Time.

Sunday was an absolutely gorgeous day, and I wasn't interested in wasting it indoors, waiting to be reunited with my family. So, I took myself over to Wildseed Farms in Fredricksburg, where I listened to live music, enjoyed peach ice cream, bought some herbs, and took no less than 200 pictures of the amazing flowers. It was a heavenly day! And by the time I got home, in the middle of the afternoon, I only had to wait about 30 minutes for my peeps to walk through the door. There were hugs and smiles and stories all around. I loved my little vacation, and they loved theirs, but it was so very good to all be back together again!

Beauty...
(poppy field at Wildseed Farms)

...and the beasts!
(the big boys, after a mud bath)