Last weekend I was able to escape to the Texas Hill Country with some of my most favorite girls in the world! We planned this trip right after I moved (well, I didn't plan it--the other girls did--I just did a lot of responding "Yes!" and "Sounds good to me!" in our group text).
I headed out on Friday morning, shortly after discovering that Lily had gotten into the (un-washable) markers and drawn all over herself and the living room rug. The kids all had Halloween hangovers and the house was a mess and this trip was perfect timing, HA!
So proud of her messy ways!!
This was my first time to stay in an Air BNB and it did not disappoint! The house was older but renovated and sat on the most BEAUTIFUL land overlooking a vineyard (and beautiful farmhouse). And DON'T YOU WORRY, I have my nerdy videos I took of the scenery posted on YouTube so you can enjoy the goodness, too! ;)
Spending time with these girls is always like a breath of fresh air! Once they arrived, it was if no time at all had passed (the marker of true friendship, in my book) and we got right back to where we left off. So thankful! A few of us ran to the grocery store (I went but was very little help, because HELLO, there were friends to talk to!) and picked up junk food and pizzas from a local pizza place and headed back to the house to enjoy late into the evening.
The three newest babies joined us and did nothing to help my baby fever! (I don't actually have baby fever, but I do LOVE tiny babies!) I was so thankful to see them but was sad to see how much they have already grown in the last couple of months! (There are 16 children between our entire group--and more to come, I am sure! ;)
On Saturday morning we and a long breakfast/coffee/talk session (of course) and then got ready and headed out to the adorable downtown Fredericksburg!
For those not from Texas: Fredericksburg is a very cute historical town (and very German, as many old Texas town are) that has great food and shopping is kind of a go-to for weekend getaways. This was actually my first time to see Fredericksburg in person, and it did not disappoint one bit! I love historical towns, I love to shop, I love good food, and I LOVE good company, so this was a bit of a dream vacation--not to mention we were able to enjoy the PERFECT fall weather while we walked and talked.
Here is our whole group for the weekend. I would be remiss not to mention that this is NOT all of the girls in our "Dove Group"--four of them had to stay at home and they deeply missed!
Also, I feel the need to clarify--mostly for my grandmas and other confused family member reading this--why do I call these girls "Dove Group"? Well, basically, I think like five or six years ago, several of the husbands formed "Eagle Group", which I think started off as an accountability/mentoring group (I made fun of the name at the time!), and then the wives kind of started hanging out and they started referring to themselves as "Dove Group" because I guess a dove sounds more feminine than an eagle? Ha! I could be wrong but I think that's right! (I came in to it later, although Bryan went to Eagle Group originally.) SO there's that. I probably used way too many words to explain.... Dove Group is made up of people I knew in college and new friends that we have all bought in--we do bible studies together almost every Monday, we have a running group text, we do something for every holiday together, we throw baby showers for each other, do birthday dinners for each other, bring meals to each other, do pre-school and church together, and just in general support each other! I LOVE these girls and am so thankful Tristan invited me into it all! (Except now I only participate from afar which is NO fun and talking about this is actually super sad--but we are making it work!!)
We ate a DELICIOUS lunch in the basement of a very cute (and expensive!) boutique. Best turkey sandwich and homemade chips I've ever had!
Look at all these cute babies! (Josie, Barrett, and Sadie.)
And cute Amy, ha!
(Amy is my friend who babysat my kids last summer--she is the baby whisperer of the group!)
In case you didn't know, Circle E Candles (some of my FAVORITE candles) is based out of and made in Fredericksburg, so we were able to go to their original store which I absolutely loved. I purchased two candles for Christmas and can't wait to start burning them (I chose "Christmas Cheer" and "Wassail").
I also bought some Fredericksburg fudge and sweets for Bryan and the kids as well as the CUTEST pair of booties (they look at little like cropped cowboy boots) and have already worn them three times this past week.
Baby Josie was a trooper and is obviously destined to be a great shopper (like her mama). She hung in with us till the very end! (The other girls headed home early because shopping and nursing babies is usually a bit complicated!)
The old hospital is now the coolest kitchen store. I had so much fun walking around and looking at everything (Really though, I was mostly thinking "I bet a lot of people died in here!"....y'all I am so weird.)
I liked this door and the old hand knocker. Again, I am weird and look at these kinds of things. It lead to a private residence. I think it would be a dream to live above a shop in a cute town like Fredericksburg.
We got on our comfy clothes STAT and enjoyed the sunset (and some selfies) for a bit.
We ate all that pasta, talked LATE into the night, and then got in bed....and just like that, the trip was over! The rest of the group headed out early in the morning (waaaahhh), but I stayed a bit longer and headed back into town to go to a few more shops. (And didn't buy anything except for caramel corn HA, but it was still fun!)
You better believe I read every historical sign as I walked during my solo stroll. This was one of the most interesting and I had to take a photo for Bryan because he loves stuff like this (as do I!)
Admiral Nimitz was born right in there.
I left around lunch time and was able to enjoy my kid-free car ride back listening to MANY podcast episodes (mostly from The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey, duh!) and got home just in time to surprise Bryan with an In-N-Out burger and see my VERY excited babies! They were hyped up and adorable and I so wish I had a video of Hayes and Lily running down the hall when I walked in. Must be what it feels like to be Bryan every evening. (How nice!)
(More videos of the weekend and my crazy/sweet babies can be found on You Tube.)
So very thankful for weekend getaways and GOOD girlfriends and an amazing husband who kept our home running and kids fed while I was gone. He's a keeper.
I am pulling out the Christmas this weekend! It is time!
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