WARNING: PICTURE OVERLOAD!
I feel like I always say this, but the last few weeks have been busy, busy, busy for us. I guess that is what happens when you add a child to the mix. We have much more busy-
ness to look forward to.
Last week, it was my Mother In Law's birthday, and we really wanted her to have a good time. We met for breakfast early Tuesday morning:
(Mother, Son and Grandson)
(This was my hot chocolate- I hate coffee. Isn't it pretty?)
(This was my nephew's pancake- cute, huh?)
...and then went for pedicures later Tuesday night.
(This place was AWESOME!)
(I wish I could do this every week!)
My MIL had a friend and her daughter show up as well. We were in a private room with its own fireplace, flat screen and free drinks. Well, I am sure we paid for them somehow, but it was still the nicest nail salon I have ever been to.
On Wednesday, we packed up the car and headed out of town for the weekend. We went to San Antonio, TX where Jeremy had to attend a conference for his work.
We stopped off just outside of Austin to visit a friend of Jeremy's and met his wife and kids for the first time.
(Liam and Cohen, and mom, Ashley, with Rhett)
We stayed in an historic hotel. It was very pretty, but next time, we think we will stay somewhere a little more updated and maybe a little more
accommodating to kids. Rhett didn't sleep well, and Jeremy was most certain that we were going to have stones thrown at us when we exited our room in the mornings. Rhett and I hung out at or near the hotel while Jeremy was in conferences, but we all headed out to the Alamo (directly across the street from our hotel) and also went to dinner in the evenings. We also met up with one of Jeremy's grade school friends one night for dinner. It was great to see him and meet his girlfriend. I don't think I've seen him since our wedding almost 7 years ago.
While we were there, we also did some swimming and quickly learned that our son is a fish. He would have been perfectly content to never leave the pool. No wonder, it already was 100+ degrees in San Antonio.
We rode a boat on the
Riverwalk before we left.
(A quick bath in the sink before we left)
(on the road again)
Last stop, we stopped in small
Gruene, TX to eat at the famous
Gristmill restaurant. It was such a cool place and the food was so good. I highly recommend it!
We made it home on Saturday night in time for me to bake the night away preparing for Mother's Day. We spent Mother's day with my MIL, planting flowers in her flower beds. I spent Monday with my mom.
I had a wonderful mother's day and hope that my mom, grandma and MIL and all other mommies did too! Here is one cool gift I received:
The new car, not the peeing dog! ha! :o
(but isn't he cute, too?)
I also received some beautiful tulips, my absolute favorite flower. THANK YOU, Jeremy!!!!
But, the greatest gift of all for me is the very thing we are celebrating. The gift of motherhood is the greatest gift I have ever had the pleasure, honor, and gratitude of holding. Rhett is the most amazing child, and I am truly in love with my role of being his mommy. I kept telling Jeremy that mother's day didn't feel like "my day". I am so used to celebrating the moms in my life, and honestly forgot that my new title is "mommy" also. I guess that is what happens when you're having so much fun!
We ate our fair share of shaved ice!
Chickens roam free on the island. We learned that this was due to a big hurricane that hit the island in 1992. It broke all the chicken coops and ever since, the chickens have roamed free. In fact, they make up the largest population of any creature on the island. 
The chickens are not afraid of humans. They would eat right out of my hand. Their pecking hurt a little though.
Birds would eat out of the palm of your hand.
They would even sit in your lap.
We spent a lot of time on our lanai-- playing some "music".
There are one lane bridges throughout the island.
Beautiful Hanalei Bay
Pretty flowers growing in the sand.
Breathtaking views everywhere you look.
Adorable Hawaiian church.
This guy was making straw hats and baskets out of palm leaves. Very cool to watch. I saw the dried version at a little store right around the corner from here, they certainly weren't cheap!
Beautiful Taro fields.
We rode a train
Beautiful plantation where we rode the train. There are only 3 bedrooms in this huge mansion!
Beautiful Cooks Pine Trees
Pineapple Plants
We fed wild pigs! We learned that wild pigs made up the 2nd largest population on the island. Chickens and pigs-- what a combination!
