Sunday was our last full day with my in-laws, as well as the evening my mom was scheduled to fly back home to Alabama. (If you’re catching up, you can read part one of their visit here where I shared pictures from Hadley’s dance recital!) We went to church on Sunday morning, heard an incredible sermon, and then left the rest of the day open for whatever activity we spontaneously wanted to get into. The girls took good afternoon naps, the guys worked outside, and my mom, mother-in-law, and I lounged around inside together talking and relaxing.
Around 2 p.m. my mom got a text from American Airlines that her flight was rescheduled for the next morning (with no warning of delays or anything!), but since she didn’t have to work until Thursday, she didn’t mind the extra time to spend with us. The weather on Sunday afternoon was what anybody would define as perfect – lightly breezy, sunny with a few puffy clouds, and 75 degrees – so I knew we should spend the rest of the day as a family outside. Jamie and I quickly made a plan to take the family to three of our favorite outdoor spots. All we told them was to wear tennis shoes!
Our first stop was Liquid Art Winery.
We grabbed a table outside and enjoyed the gorgeous view for about an hour.
Sadie enjoyed sitting on the ground handing me 100 rocks, and both girls were fascinated by the hummingbird feeder after seeing a couple birds come over to get a drink. 🙂
We left the winery around 4:30 and then made our way over to enjoy pizza on the covered patio at AJs downtown. We split a couple NY-style pizzas, boxed up what was left (we don’t let pizza go to waste in this family!), and headed to a place that makes all my cares go away…
We wanted to take everyone to the most scenic point at the prairie, which is only about a 3/4 mile hike. The last half of that hike is uphill, so it can be a doozy, but we knew they could do it and that the view from the top would be worth it! We would have loved to have stayed around for the 8:30 sunset (they’re spectacular here), but we took in the view and then made our way back down.
We made it back home around 8, chugged a ton of water (we definitely should have brought more with us), and all got ready to call it a night after a really enjoyable afternoon/evening.
One reason I’ve fallen in love with hiking is that it’s hard to be in a bad mood afterwards. There’s something about being with other people in the fresh air, surrounded by beautiful scenery, working up a sweat that really gets my endorphins going. You may remember that we hiked here on New Years Day at sunset because we couldn’t think of a happier, healthier way to kick off the year. Meg and I hiked here together during our last week together here in Kansas. This is my happy place!
On Monday morning, my in-laws hit the road back to Austin, Jamie went back to work, and the girls and I took my mom to the airport. All in all I would call it a successful weekend with our fam!
Let’s chat!
What are some of your favorite things to do to entertain family when they come in town?
Hi! I’m Erica, and I absolutely adore sharing my life on this website with you! I come here almost daily to blab about all of the things related to being a regular wife and mother in today’s ever-evolving society. I share about our new home, what’s on our kitchen table, what we’re hanging in our closets, where we’re traveling to next, my crazy 5 a.m. work outs, how I make time for girlfriends, our faith, and much more. We always have a lot of balls in the air and somewhat thrive on the chaos. I believe in the power of story-telling as a form of inspiration and entertainment, so I’m here to do both! I was born and raised in north Alabama and recently re-planted roots here again after my husband transitioned out of the Army (he is now in the Reserve and it’s going so well!) I’m a super proud mom to three little girls (ages 7, 4, and 1) who seem to be the stars of the show around here (for good reason – they’re pretty great!) I’m so glad you found me and are here reading! I hope we can get to know each other here on the blog as well as Facebook and/or Instagram. xoxo