Hill Country getaway for Memorial Weekend

Nothing like booking a great vacation two weeks before a big holiday! Cody and I decided on a whim to go somewhere for the holiday weekend because he was actually on his 4 day. I thought of Fredericksburg right off the bat. He had never been and we could make the 10 minute trip to Luckenbach, (one of my most favorite places in Texas) he had never been there either. So the search was on for a great place. After two days of searching, I found the perfect ranch. Tonkawaya Ranch. Reserved is, put down the deposit and thought all was good. Two days before we left I got a phone call from Becky, the owner. "Ashley, I am so sorry!" Well that's never good. "I double booked the cabin you were supposed to stay in the weekend." Panic set it. SERIOUSLY?! She explained what had happened and promised me she had a solution. So I listened. Her & her husband build these cabins and they just happened to have finished the Wrangler cabin (the one we were supposed to stay in) on her friends property. She had already spoke to her and told her the situation and said she'd be glad to help out. I was a little bummed we wouldn't be staying on the ranch and was a little hesitant about our new location. When we pulled in to town the boys were already impressed! We took our road to Bill and Ida's house (the new place where we were staying) Pulled up to the cabin that sits about 50 yards back from their house, unloaded and took a tour around. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL!! Everything was green, there were flowers everywhere, there were chickens and goats for Hudson to feed and the cabin was breathtaking.

Ida has been featured on a local cooking show in Fredericksburg and that's one of the first things Becky had mentioned so already we were looking forward to her cooking. The first morning she brought breakfast back around 9 and it was AH_MAZING!

Home made pancakes, fresh strawberries and bacon. We ate almost all of those pancakes.

The second morning she made a french toast bake with crumbled cinnamon sugar bread with sausage and cream cheese underneath. MELT IN YOUR MOUTH AMAZING! The porch had two rocking chairs so each morning after breakfast, Cody and I would drink our coffee, rocking in the chairs, watching Hud play and watching deer all around the property.

Sunday morning we headed off to Wildseed Farms. They have the best flowers and garden needs. Cody was looking forward to the endless selections of hot sauce, spices and sauces he could cook with :)

Then we headed in to town to shop and have lunch.

Hud found these glasses and wore them around the whole store!

We enjoyed the Crawfish festival when we got in town on Saturday. They had some cute merch booths and tons of stuff for kids to do. Hud's favorite was the jumper

Monday we slept in a little later, which was nice because we had been on the go since we left on Saturday. Packed up and said bye to Bill and Ida and headed for Luckenbach. The weather was overcast and drizzly the whole time we were there but we didn't mind one bit. It sprinkled the whole time we were in Luckenbach. It's nice to see and smell rain :)

What a great relaxing trip! Normally, I am excited to get home and sleep in my own bed but this bed in the cabin was so comfortable and we had such a wonderful time, no one was ready to head home. We definitely found our new spot in Fredericksburg when we go again.

Bittersweet

I just got a phone call from mom.
Gram's house was listed this morning and within 4 hours, she got an offer..........and accepted. It sold.

Although I am very happy for my mom, this has been a burden from the beginning. She's been so stressed getting everything out of the house, getting it cleaned and going through realtors and what not. She's also had to deal with stress from her brother, my uncle. Being the administrator of Gram's estate, she took on a lot more than she imagined but none the less, handled it like a champ! I could hear the relief and happiness in her voice when she called. I on the other hand, was filled with mixed emotions. So very bittersweet that her house will no longer be "our" house. I haven't been to her house since a few weeks after her memorial service, it's just too much. Knowing that the house will be gone soon leaves a very BIG hole in my heart. (As if it weren't already big enough without Gram)

Here are a few of my favorite pictures in my FAVORITE backyard

 They always talked about life and had the sweetest conversations....

 She would push him in the swing EVERYDAY when she kept him...

 A little fun with the waterhose...

 Easter 2011. Hunting eggs in Gram's backyard

Playing in the mud! She never cared how big of a mess he made.

Funnies and 20 questions

 Here lately Hudson has been asking sooooooooooo many questions. I try to answer them as best as I can. Some are off the wall, some are legit and some are repetitive!! I'll tell him it's almost bedtime, "how many minutes is that?"
I'll tell him we have to leave in a little bit for daycare, he'll ask how long is that?
I'll tell him 5 more minutes in the bath tub, well how long is that?
He always asks what color everything is. He knows his colors very well but always asks me to see if I know.

:)

This was our conversation this morning on the way to daycare:

Hudson- Well, what color is daddy?
Me- (Uh, thinking in my head. Cody is full Hispanic but the whitest Hispanic I have ever met.) He's Hispanic.
Hudson- That's not a color.
Me- He's brown. ?
Hudson- What color are you?
Me- White, causcasion
Hudson- Well, what color am I?
Me- You are half brown and white. The confusion on his little face...
Hudson- So I'm a little bit black?

Oh. My......dying in the car laughing.

This past weekend Hud was struck with a nasty stomach bug. I'm almost positive he got something from swallowing the water at swim lessons. Seriously. Two kids have already been out because of a bug and they were all in his swim class. CLEAN THE POOL. Anywho, we had planned Saturday to make a day trip to Cisco to visit with some of Cody's family, especially his grandmother who's health is failing and no one knows how much longer she has. With Hudson being sick Friday night, I wanted to see how he was the next morning before we decided. He woke up twice that night with fever and complaining of his stomach hurting. Cisco was a no go but Cody and his dad went ahead . It takes a LOT for my child to be knocked down. Even when he has 102 temp and coughing up a lung, he's running around like a maniac. He had his spurts this time. One minute he was playing and the next his head was in my lap because he felt so miserable. Come Sunday he was a new child! I hate that he was sick but I'm glad it was this past weekend and not the weekend we have a Memorial weekend trip planned. So ready to get out of town for a little while!!!

Memorial Weekend!

Yay! Yay! I just booked the cutest little cabin in F'Burg for the 3 of us for Memorial Weekend. It was last minute and I spent almost 2 full days trying to find a cute B&B that was available. We were invited by some friends to float the Frio. It was going to be us and 3 other couples in a bomb rental house pretty close to the river. Cody is actually on his 4 day off that weekend and we really considered it. Then.... I thought, Hud would love a weekend getaway somewhere fun. He's at that age where he's just so fun and for the most part "easy" on road trips and vacations. We haven't been anywhere in a while, just the three of us so I sat down with Cody and asked if he'd rather go somewhere just us 3. That was easy! Although, the weekend away at the Frio kid free sounded amazing, making memories with our little guy sounded even better.
After searching for what seemed like eternity, I came across this little gem.....http://www.tonkawayaranch.com/

We'll be staying in the Wrangler Cabin. Plenty of room for Hud to run around. We have our own fire pit in the back to make s'mores :)) We can fish, canoe and they have stories around the campfire at night under the stars. I think I'm more excited to show Cody around Luckenbach! He has NEVER been. I was fortunate enough to experience L'Bauch when I was about 12 my first go 'round. My mom and step dad were huge travelers and I was so blessed to travel the world at such a young age. Luckenbach is such a fun special place for me. I went back when I was 16. My drivers license is still on the wall today. (My very first drivers license!) My mom and I took a girls trip in 2008 for Memorial day and of course we had to make a stop in Luckenbach. We had such a great time and met some really awesome people. The atmosphere there is just so relaxing and the people are so friendly.

                                           Mom and I in 2008 & some of our new friends.

Ready for our family getaway!!!!!! What are you doing for Memorial Weekend??