Wedding Weekend in Wimberley

This last weekend we got to spend a lovely time in Wimberley at Tess's sister's wedding.  These days I am feeling about the size of a house and walking in a full out waddle.  Gone are the days of the cute little bump and fleeting are the memories of breathing normally.  Oh well.  I'll take it for another month.  Still, as we prepared for a little family trip to the hill country, I was wondering if I'd be able to make it.  Luckily our midwife gave the green light at Thursday's appointment and so we picked up Rylin, who had been at my parents since Tuesday, dropped off Mr. D, and hit the road on Friday.  We stopped in Austin and had lunch with Tess and then took her the rest of the way to Wimberley.  Although it's a sweet little town with plenty of things I love, it's not exactly the most kid friendly vacation spot.  We ended up spending most of our free time at the Blanco river.  Most of the local swimming holes don't open until after Memorial Day, but we knew about one place we could have access to the river for fairly cheap, and thank goodness!  Rylin loved swimming in the river and even though it was just warm enough to be enjoyable, there still weren't many other people crowding the area.  On Saturday afternoon we headed to the outdoor wedding set on a hill under an abundance of shade trees and a nice breeze.  Every detail was perfect for the setting and very fitting of Oren and Jordan.  It was great seeing some of Tess's family again after a long time and meeting new people too.  We laughed later at how many times we had to answer "so how do you know Oren & Jordan?" and our surprising answer of "we adopted Oren's nephew".  Most people had heard about us in one way or another but still we had some great conversations about open adoption.  So very cool.  We really experienced one of the great aspects of our relationship this weekend and though Rylin is still a little young to understand, he LOVED getting to see Tess (who he'll now tell you is whose tummy he grew in) and was the life of the party at the reception.  We felt so grateful they let us share in their special day.

Small Fry Soccer

Jordan has been counting down the months until Rylin was old enough to start soccer.  He was quite the soccer player as a kid and just knew that Rylin would be great too!  Oh, but three year olds have a way of humbling you!  We had three weeks of practices and then three weeks of games.  In six weeks we learned a few things...Rylin is pretty coordinated and not so bad at making goals, but he is definitely more interested in socializing during plays and turning a "boring" game of soccer into a full contact sport.  Man am I glad this season is over!  I have discovered I'm one of those yelling moms.  You know the kind that can't control themselves.  And when your kid is getting into trouble a majority of the game, you tend to yell more.  Of course Rylin LOVES to watch the videos I made and laugh at all the things Mommy and Daddy are yelling.  He does his best impressions..."stop flirting with the girls on the other team", "the ball!  the ball! we're playing soccer here!", "Rylin, no tackling".  Oh this boy.  He did look pretty dang cute in his soccer gear though:)

Wines Family Weekend

I am way behind but I'm working to catch up!  A few weeks ago (in the aftermath of all that happened in West) we got away for the weekend to our favorite not so little cabin on the lake.  It was a relaxing time with family that I think we all needed.  I was on bed rest (now happy to report to be free) so it was especially laid back for me!  I'll let the pictures do most of the talking...

 The kids quickly found things to entertain themselves...bugs and the hot tub.

 I did some fishing with Emily and Shelby off the new and improved pier.

Then Saturday night the boys and girls split up for a friendly scavenger hunt challenge.  Each had a list of items they had to find outside around the house and tasks they must photograph to send back to me.  Everyone was very involved and the pictures were quite entertaining!  Here are just a few...

 Two team members using shells as accessories. (Mitchell and Luke with their eye patches)

 One team member mimicking a yard statue. (Dad and his best duck face)

 Spell out the answer to this riddle with rocks: What rocks but doesn't roll?

 One team member with an acorn doing his/her best squirrel impression. (Richie has clearly practiced this)

After everyone had gathered back at the house, we watched a slideshow of all of the "answers" and had some good laughs.  The boys beat the girls by one point but we all celebrated with a little dessert.

 Rylin with his smores cone.  The recipe I got here.

 We also tried out some Maple Dark Chocolate Bacon Ice Cream...ehh, not so sure about that one.

 On Sunday morning, my brother Richie made his own crazy concoction: Fattys.

 Dad and David smoked them and then we devoured them!

Bacon wrapped Sausage with potatoes, peppers, onions, eggs and a bunch of other yummies inside!

At the end of the weekend it was sad to leave.  We are blessed to have such times with our family and thankful for my parents Christmas gift tradition of a weekend at the lake!