ATX

During finals one semester of nursing school, Glenda the Good Witch {my favorite professor , remember this?} held a "review session" where we were required to wear yoga pants and lay on the floor and relax. She did a bunch of imagery exercises with us and in one of them she told us to close our eyes and mentally go to our favorite place, probably somewhere sunny and warm with waves crashing in the background. I tried to go to the beach but as she continued through the exercise it all felt forced and one dimensional. I started over. This time I was in my real happy place, my grandma's house in Austin, Texas. Austin is Barbeque and Bluebonnets, tacos and boating, live music and Blue Bell Ice Cream, and most importantly lots of people I love. Lucky me, my Mom invited us to join her this year for spring break!


First we just had to survive two plane flights with a layover in Dallas in between. This is why God gave us iPads.


This stunning baby girl is one of the biggest reasons we were so excited to go! Miss Harper Marie is my cousin Chris's baby girl and she and Cosette will be best friends. Isn't this picture hilarious? Harper is in the 100th percentile for boys and Cosette is in the 6th percentile (for girls...). Their size difference is ridiculous even though they are only 3 months apart.


We spent a good amount of time at Grandma and Grandad's place with a few scattered field trips in between. We had way too much to talk about, it has been years since I have seen some of these women!





The Thinkery was incredible and I do wish I had a set of those water drums for Winston.




Winston fell in love with my cousin Nico, he was such a great sport always willing to play trains or wrestle or anything else Winston came up with.



Oh just my perfect mother :)


My number one request of the trip: bluebonnets. These pictures will forever make me happy.
A basketball Build-a-Bear who sings "Let it Go" from Frozen... because that's who my child is.


Another fun outing: SeaWorld! It's changed quite a bit since we used to go when I was little but Winston had a ball and its pretty fun to watch him giggle at the dolphins.






Baby Dolls. Let's meet up again next March shall we? With more Trudy's stuffed avocados but probably less Dr.Pepper.

Love notes to my people below.

Grandma Goff- Thank you for being the patron Saint of Texas and for always reminding me of my roots. Even if my children never live there, they'll always know it's in their blood. Winston adored his Mickey Mouse pillow case and all his Mason gear, you prepared so thoughtfully for our visit and we noticed every detail! We love you and look forward to your next Utah trip!

Grandad- Thanks for being accidentally hilarious, Sami and I thoroughly enjoy your side comments. Also thanks for keeping Winston up to date on the basketball scores, it was his favorite part of each morning getting the paper with you!

Nico and Sofia- I can't believe how much you have grown! But more importantly I was so impressed with what amazing people you have become. I can't thank you enough for loving my babies so effortlessly, they adored you both and I sure hope its not another two years before we get together again. 

Alex- Thankyou for constantly being such a wonderful Aunt and a mother whom I have always looked up to. I remember when you would have sleepovers for the younger cousins and thinking that I wanted to be that kind of aunt some day! Your children are beautiful inside and out and it is truly a reflection of you and Matthew. Thankyou for sharing my beliefs and helping me along my path. I plan to chat with you much more often.

Bubba (Should I be calling you Matthew at this point...)- Thank you for your financial advice and for encouraging me to go for my dreams. It means a lot that someone outside my little immediate circle thinks I can do it! I adore your family and wish so much that we lived closer!

Patti and Haley- Thanks so much for ditching school and coming to party with us! You upped the excitement level a good couple notches which is always a plus. I literally could not be more excited that you are headed to BYU this summer, you are going to love love love it!

Zander and Beca- Thank you so much for making the long drive out for just a few short hours. It meant the world to me! Winston adores you and I want as much of you in his life as possible! I know it is our turn... El Paso dates on the calendar TBA.

Chris, Cheyenne, and Harper- It wasn't enough so I'm going to need you to book a trip to Utah ASAP. Pretty sure it was a huge mistake that you ever moved away, actually. Your daughter is amazingly gorgeous and the perfect combination of the two of you. I love watching her grow and seeing y'all as parents, you are rocking it. 

Mom- Well I already wrote it all in your birthday card but I can't thank you enough for giving me experiences like this week! You've turned spoiling into an art form and we're so grateful, particularly for your patience and wisdom on two-year-old drama. So very glad to call you my mother.

Sami- "High five..... nice." Baby girl I love you and you do 15 in the most beautiful way. I'll always have a room waiting for you.








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