Kid-Free "Stay"cation 2015

No Kids... No Worries

June 2015

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Despite getting off the boat by 9AM, we were back at our house and fully unload and unpacked by noon and ready to go and start our "Stay"cation. We begun the week with a movie... in the theater! This rarely happens as with kids unless you have a babysitter you do not get out much! We saw the movie "SPY" and it was ok but a little vulgar for our tastes. Then I took Chris to La Madeline French Cafe where he was not impressed! We were still tired from just getting off the boat, plus the laundry was sky high so we came home and rested up for the remainder of the week!

Monday, June 22, 2015

Kayaking on Lake Woodlands

We knew we wanted to do things that we COULD NOT do with kids so this took priority on our list! We were able to go out and kayak on the lake for nearly 2 hours before I felt claustrophobic and needed to get out of the boat! It was a great experience and wish I could have lasted longer!

Just getting started on our elongated kayaking journey! 

Our favorite 2+ MILLION dollar home on Lake Woodlands! IT WAS NICE !

This was about 1 mile away from where we started... This is also where I began to panic! 

Pappadeaux

Where else would we go? We love Pappadeaux and due to price alone we hardly ever go with the kids so we wanted to take advantage of this during this week!

Time to be an adult... Eye Doctor Appointment

I knew we both needed to update our glasses and contact prescription and this would be the most convenient time so we decided to end our fun for the afternoon and cross something off our summer to-do list!

My hubby getting glasses! Man we are getting OLD! 

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Bike Riding

Chris is planning to do a sprint Triathlon in the upcoming months and has been training by continuing to jog long distances but now needed to focus on the bike riding portion so I joined him and we rode 10 miles to Highway 1314 and back. It was a very strenuous ride but it felt great and we loved it!

WooHoo... LET'S DO THIS! I'm ready! 

At the intersection of Hwy 242 and Hwy 1314... I felt special to have been able to bike there!
Now to just make the 5 mile journey home! 

Bike Selfie! 

Top Golf and Lunch at Gringos

We both had heard a lot about the Top Golf experience and wanted to try it out. It was a great way to spend the day and we had a lot of fun competing with each other on our scores. For having played golf all through high school and even college, my skills were LACKING! Chris beat me on all accounts and he has barely ever played! Don't worry... we will be back! We then went to Gringos Mexican Kitchen next door. We absolutely love this place and it has become our favorite Mexican place to eat. Before heading back to our house for naps we decided to make a short pit stop in Gander Mountain. This was great because we got to look at things like kayaks, canoes and even guns! It was a great way to spend the afternoon.

Hello TOP GOLF... I was ready to show Chris my moves!
I DID play on a State Championship Team in High School and even won individual district my Senior Year! 

Golf Selfie! 

There's some of my moves! 

And Chris's swing! 

Yeah... My moves were NOTHING! The way Top Golf works, well NOT IN MY FAVOR!
Chris, who has rarely even picked up a club, won both of our games!
Don't worry... there WILL BE A REMATCH! 

Now time for some Gander Mtn.
That store is SO COOL! 

Dinner and a Movie

After our naps we wanted to go and see another movie and this time we chose San Andreas featuring The Rock! This movie proved to be very good and both of us really enjoyed it! After the movie we went to a new place on Market Street called Burger Fi. This proved to be very tasty burgers and we really enjoyed it! 

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Morning Jogs 

We both wanted to really get back into the swing of things in our jogging routines as we just got off the boat so we made it a point to sleep in and then both get out and jog outdoors. This was very different for me since I have been training indoors in the comfortable Air Conditioning (And fan usually) but I did my 2+ miles WITHOUT stopping and survived! 

Flying High 

We decided to take the afternoon off from being out and about and just rest as we knew we would be getting the kids back that evening. We came home and enjoyed a light lunch and caught up on our favorite TV shows from our DVR before heading out to the 2nd part of Chris's birthday experience from my parents...  INDOOR SKYDIVING! This was the most amazing experience as you literally can skydive INDOORS. We both had a great time and plan on going back before the summer is over!

"I'm FINALLY Here"... He has been wanting to do this for months!
Happy Birthday Dear! 

We are all suited up and ready to go! 

Reunited... and it feels so good 

Immediately following our skydiving session we headed north to Conroe to meet GiGi Shirley and Poppy at Mama Juanita's to pick up our kids whom we had not seen in nearly 12 days! We all met and swapped vacation stories before GiGi and Poppy headed east to Arp and we went south to our house!

A Family of FOUR again... LOVE IT!
Now we have the whole summer to have MORE FUN! 

And it started IMMEDIATELY! 

It was an AMAZING week without our kids but we were so glad to see Natalie and Luke! Thank you mom and dad for taking our kids on these INCREDIBLE adventures across the nation! I have heard nothing but stories about the Mall of America all summer! Needless to say, they loved it! 

God is good... All the time! 

Deep in the Heart of Texas- San Antonio 2015

Family Vacation 2015 

San Antonio and Austin, TX (And anywhere in between) 

July 2015

Sea World- San Antonio... The Highlight of our Trip! 

Chris and I both really enjoy traveling and seeing new things and places so we want to be able to take our kids on adventures and vacations. We planned to take a family vacation to a tourist destination (we took a vacation to visit family and friends in 2014) this summer since Luke was now at an age he can enjoy it a lot more so we opted to head west to San Antonio. It was a GREAT trip and we are already planning next's years adventure as this will more than likely become an ANNUAL thing! 

We ended up traveling near and far DEEP in the HEART of TEXAS and we loved every minute of it. I hope you enjoy reliving our vacation through these posts! Once again, thank you for following along! 

Day #1- Remember the Alamo

Day #2- A Whale of a Good Time

Day #3- Riding the Tubes

Day #4- Wherever the Road Leads

Day #5- From the Caves to the Capitol

This vacation turned out to be even better than we could have hoped for and we are so grateful to our loving Lord and Savior for not only blessing us with this opportunity to take such a trip with out kids but for also allowing us to have such a FANTASTIC time! Thank you Jesus! 

God is GOOD... ALL THE TIME! 

Deep in the Heart of Texas... Day #5

From the Caves to the Capitol- Natural Bridge Caverns and Austin 

Thursday, July 30, 2015 

The day started early again with Chris and I both using the hotel exercise room to get our jogging in before we packed up the room and loaded up the car to head back home. We started our morning out with a stop at a local diner called Lulu's Bakery which featured a famous 3 pound cinnamon roll. This had been featured on numerous TV shows including MAN vs FOOD! This was the absolute BEST cinnamon roll I have ever had with moist and flavorful insides as well as so much icing that is was oozing off the side of the serving plate! Natalie and I tried to eat as much as we could but we only ate about 30% before packing it up in Saran Wrap to take home!

Look this place up the next time you go to San Antonio! It was delicious! 

The 3 pound cinnamon roll we tried to tackle! 

The amount we took home! 

We then headed north on I-35 to the Natural Bridge Caverns just west of New Braunsfel. I have always wanted to stop and see these caverns in the many times I have travel I-35 southbound to San Antonio but never have made the stop. We were worried about Luke and him being scared of the dark but he did REMARKABLY well! We did the discovery tour for $21 per adult and $12 per kid and it was amazing! These were awesome caverns and both of our kids loved them! We then did the Maze and this was a lot of fun too! This place also featured a HUGE canopy zip-line area and while we did not participate in this area of the attraction due to Natalie's height, we definitely plan on going back next summer on our annual San Antonio trip and we will do it then! You can easily plan an entire day around this attraction! 

Welcome to Natural Bridge Caverns! 

The "natural bridge" for which the caverns are named. 

We are headed down! 

The St. Mary's Hall large room! 

Caverns Selfie! 

Somebody had perked up and was having a GREAT time! 

Poor Luke did not like the flash photography! 

More of the Caverns! 

Natalie really enjoyed this tour! 

Luke was still not liking any of this! 

Natalie with the Fairy Castles! 

Luke had now lightened up and was beginning to like the tunnels and caves! 

This whole thing was incredibly fascinating to me! I LOVED it!

And so did my kids! 

Natalie's Cave Selfie! 

The Maze we did after the cave tour! 

Luke really liked running all over, even though he had no idea what was going on! 

It took us longer than we thought but we still had a LOT of fun! 

Punching our cards and clues! 

More of what this attraction offered... a MASSIVE Canopy and Zip-line area! We will be checking this out next time! 

We then went back to the MASSIVE Buc-ee's and got some grub before heading further north to Austin. We really wanted to show the kids the Capitol but never expected them to like it as much as they did. They loved walking around the bottom and top of the rotunda as well as the House and Senate Galleries. They behaved very well and Natalie asked lots of questions. We were even able to see a really neat live experience called "Patriot Academy" where 21-26 year olds partake in a week long experience where they get to actually pretend to be a representative and actually write and vote on their own bills. It was fascinating and we really enjoyed watching it all. We spent over 2 hours in the Capitol before our kids started to get hungry and we knew it was time to go!

As much as I HATE Austin... I love seeing state capitols! 

Family Capitol selfie! 

Our 1st look up into the rotunda! 

Luke is LOVING being in the AC! 

My kids really enjoyed this surprisingly! 

The loved posing by the Texas seal! 

But they loved the stairs more! Natalie and that pose... pray for me now! 

A look at the rotunda floor from the 3rd floor! 

They loved looking up at the rotunda! 

Rotunda Selfie! 

I LOVE that I live in a state that still stands for what is right! IN GOD WE TRUST! 

On the Senate Floor! 

Thumbs up... We're having a GREAT time! 

Time for the House of Represenatives floor! 

The "Patriot Academy" was taking place in the House Chambers while we were there! 

The Governors Reception room! 

Say hello to future Governor Miss Natalie! 

And Future Governor Luke Davis! 

Being silly in the Governors room! 

Again IN GOD WE TRUST! 

House Gallery Selfie! 

Senate Gallery Selfie! 

Seriously, they loved sitting in the Gallery! 

The city of Austin has grown exponentially since the last time I was there. I do not remember ANY of these massive buildings being there 12-15 years ago! It is hard to believe it is the same town! 

Looking Southeast from the Senate Gallery! 

Looking Southwest! 

Looking Northwest! 

Looking Northeast! This is disgusting.... stupid school! 

My kids absolteuly LOVED sitting in the gallery in the chairs and just taking it all in! 

This is the Governor I remember and can I just say... he has aged A LOT! 

If you know me at all.... you know I could not leave without getting THIS PICTURE!
BOOMER SOONER! 

Goodbye Capitol! 

We went to a place called Hulu Hut on Lake Austin which came recommended from a teacher friend of Chris's who went to college in Austin. It was almost identical to Chuy's and we all LOVED it! The scenery was beautiful and food was delicious but it was time to head home. We braced the 6 o'clock traffic and headed southeast to Houston. We made pretty good time and arrived home about 2 hours and 40 minutes later!

The view from our table! Absolutely gorgeous! 

They LOVED eating outside! 

We had a GREAT dinner! 

If you are near Lake Austin... check this place out! 

The food was delicious! 

Keep Austin WEIRD... Umm, Nitrogen tied off to a light pole with a bungee cord?!?
Yeah, Austin will ALWAYS be WEIRD! I think we just need to keep the WEIRDOS IN Austin! 

This vacation turned out to better than we expected or even dreamed it could be and we are so proud of our kids and their behavior and attitude during this trip. They were very appreciative to us and this was very important to us! We plan on making this an annual thing! 

We traveled Deep in the Heart of Texas and created memories that we will hold onto FOREVER! Thank you Lord for this opportunity and for an incredible trip! 

GOD IS GOOD... ALL THE TIME!