September Recap!

Happy Tuesday everyone, and for those of you in my neck of the woods, HAPPY FALL!!!!  IT'S HERE! FOR A LIMITED TIME! SO ACT FAST! Throw on your scarves, boots, and leggings and put some Taco Soup on the stove! BUT. Keep your bathing suit handy, cuz it'll be 90 on Saturday, kay? 

Anyway, I've been trying to recap September for a few days now, so let's see if I can actually finish it up!  

September was fun and hot as Hades for the most part. September is slightly better than August because school is fully back in session, there's a three-day weekend, and it seems like Fall relief is just around the corner. (Or at least we can throw some pumpkins on the front porch and try to convince ourselves of that.)  And I would say that football is back, but the Bulldogs have already thrown this season away, so I can't say I'm too invested in that anymore either. 

We kicked off September with a super fun trip to Hyatt's Lost Pines Resort in Austin. You can read all about our trip here.  It was a blast and if you're looking for the perfect family friendly getaway, this is it! 

A few days later, I ended up sitting in the audience for Good Morning Texas! This was a super fun opportunity through Dallas Moms Blog! It was a Fall Fashion show and there were LOTS of giveaways. Jewelry. Home Decor. A $400 Brahmin bag.  You know what I went home with? Some honey and plates that have flowers on them that are "portion-sized" so you know how much meat, veggies, and carbs to serve yourself. I could tell my skinny jeans didn't feel so skinny anymore, but GEEZ.  Regardless, I had a great time with these ladies and it was super fun to see what happens behind the scenes. 

That weekend, Greyson and I took off for Louisiana to go camping with my parents at Lake D'Arbonne.  It was the most beautiful park! This was Greyson's first camping trip and needless to say, it was one of his favorite adventures! He loved building and watching the campfire with Pop...

And picnic-ing for every meal. 

CC had ALL the yummiest treats and meals prepared! 

We walked in the "woods"...

And played on the docks...

And even spotted a rare Sasquach! ; ) 

My dad has quite the flare for the dramatic...he really worked this fake beard my mom found at the thrift store...

We did some antiquing in the adorable town of Farmerville and had THE BEST catfish dinner at a little joint there. Greyson's first encounter with a jukebox, and he was amazed...

We had a blast with CC and Pop and Greyson can't wait to stay in the "little house" (camper) again!

On Saturday, we headed into Ruston for the MSU/LA Tech football game! Auntie Amy and Uncle Adam met us there! This was Greyson's first football game, so I didn't really know what to expect. (Well, actually, as a well seasoned toddler-mom, I expected the worst.) But he actually did GREAT! He was super into watching the band and the football game itself.  He kept saying he wanted to go down and play "real football"....

The LA Tech fans were the most FRIENDLY fans I've ever met! The campus was beautiful and I loved the small town atmosphere! My grandfather's side is from Ruston, and my mom was born there, so for her, it's super special!

G LOVES some Auntie Amy and Uncle Adam!

And let me tell you...LA TECH holds NO BARS on their halftime show. They ran a fireworks display THE ENTIRE length of halftime that rivals any Fourth of July display I've ever seen! Talk about perfect for kids! G was loving it! 

The game started at 6:00, so he was tapped out after halftime.  I decided not to push my luck, called it a success and got the heck out of dodge.  We headed to our hotel and sacked out.  

And there's nothing better than a good hotel breakfast the next morning......

And now, my friends, along with Fall comes birthday season.  I don't know how this happened, but essentially, all of our friends have Fall birthdays, including G of course.  

Our first stop was for our sweet friend Everett, who requested to celebrate at Chuckie Cheese.  And I'll tell you, even his mom was like, "REALLY? Anywhere else?" But I admit, they put on a smashing birthday party.  Everything was taken care of, there was more than enough entertainment for the kids, and zero clean up.  And G had a downright blast. 

Call me crazy, but Chuckie might be on the birthday short list in the future.  The problem now is that Greyson remembers things and knows what Chuckie Cheese's is.  Hopefully, he doesn't discern that it's only 2 miles down the road.  

As I mentioned, MSU's football season has been a flop, but we've still enjoyed "tailgating" from home....

We call this the "Last Supper", as it was eaten during a fantastic win over LSU.  I mean LSU, people; they're legit right? And then they got beat by Troy, so now we know. And we haven't won a game since. 

We finally made it to the Plano's famous Hot Air Balloon Festival. While there were some fun kid's activities, Summer was still going strong here in late September and there was not the first slice of shade to be had. I'm pretty sure the night glow is the way to go.  ; ). 

We still had a good time....

I'm pretty sure Greyson's favorite part was meeting Miss Texas.  Heck, y'all know how I feel about pageants, so I think my favorite part was meeting Miss Texas.  Especially since the Miss America pageant had just happened two weeks before! 

That being said, I'm SUPER SAD to report that I did not host a Miss America watch party this year.  It was the Sunday we returned from Ruston, so I just couldn't swing that. I really missed adorning my friends in sashes and crowns, but I begged J to watch AND PARTICIPATE in the judging with me, and my beloved agreed. He picked out his top 15, narrowed it down after each category and everything. I'm pretty sure this was as much torture for him as it would be for me to muscle through a 2 hour "Alaska Frontier" show, but he was a great sport! 

Greyson is going through a "Costume" phase, where he changes outfits, or personas, about every 30 minutes.  We go from Monkey, to Cowboy, to Pirate, to Construction Worker, to Firefighter, all in one day!  It's quite entertaining.  

And believe it or not, this photo was not staged. He was in the monkey costume and instinctively asked for a banana.  ; ) I died.

We are slowly picking things up for Greyson's birthday party, and he requested me to take his picture with this cow piñata. 

We made our first official trip to the pumpkin patch, and Hall's Pumpkin Farm did not disappoint. They had a corn maze, farm animals, two playgrounds, a tractor race, hay ride, and of course, pumpkins! We had never been to this one before, but we'll definitely be back! I want to go at night when all those string lights are lit up! 

We ran in to our best bud, Ford. 

I hope Greyson is down for a lifetime of cheesy photo opps with his Mom. 

And that's it for September! The end of Greyson and Jeremie's sword fight kinda wraps up how I feel about it! 

I think we're pretty much full speed ahead from now until through the holidays, but that's okay....because it's definitely my favorite time of the year!

P.S. This is Austin

My big 21st birthday (hehe) was back in June. I only requested an Ice Cream cake, which Jeremie delivered on. But he also super surprised me with a card announcing that I should pack my bags for a four night getaway for the next weekend to Austin, TX! Ya'll, I cried. CRIED TEARS OF JOY. I'm sure in Jeremie's head he was saying "Nailed it!" (Or maybe "My wife has too many hormones.")Hopefully, in the near future I can expand on why and how our lives have been a bit of a three ring circus lately, but let's just say that The Wells needed a little getaway.

 

We packed our bags, headed south, had the obligatory directional/GPS argument and finally arrived at the fabulous Omni Barton Creek. We immediately headed to the pool and Greyson seemed to be happy with the accommodations.

 

 

We ordered food from the cabaña and literally ate our supper on the chase lounges by the pool. Yes, please, and thank you. No clean up, no loading the dishwasher, no picking up toys. No throwing a load of clothes in the wash..... you get it.

 

Our room had a completely separate living area with a TV, so we put Lil G down in the bedroom, closed the door, and watched Friday Night Lights. Score.

 

The next day we did venture out to Zilker Park, which many friends had suggested. They had the neatest natural pool, playground, and a train ride that went around the entire park with awesome views of downtown Austin. Extra points with the toddler for the train ride.

 

 

 

 

Afterwards, we headed to the South Congress area, which was recommended by a local. OMG, this area was DARLING! So fun! There were so many restaurants, food trucks, and neat little shops.

 

 

We ended up eating at Guero's, which was probably the best Mexican food we've ever had. Greyson loved the goldfish pond.

 

 

I can't remember which night, but one night Jeremie spotted a two man band downstairs in the bar, so we felt like Greyson had to see it. He loves to shake his little tush. Luckily, we weren't the only people who brought their children to the bar. This darling little blonde pulled Greyson on the dance floor and they cut a rug. There may or may not have been a little post-dance kiss on the cheek. #greysonsfirstkiss #backawayblondie #heisstillmamasbaby

 

The Omni was gorgeous, super family friendly, and had everything we needed. They had a toddler pool, family movie times during the day, a playground, putt putt golf, a nature trail, and actually very affordable poolside food and roomservice. Which we did two nights. Nothing like someone rolling your dinner in and rolling it out. They even had a great childcare service which we used for a couple hours one day and had some toddler free time at the pool.

Since it was the Fourth of July weekend, the resort even had it's own huge celebration and fireworks show. We decided to roll the dice and wake Greyson up for the fireworks. (They were at 9:15 and he goes to bed around 6:30.) He was a trooper and after a couple of minutes he was shouting "BOOM!"





My heart was about to explode like the fireworks as I sat there with my little guy and my "big" guy. Memories to cherish for a lifetime!