In Memory Of

My Great Aunt Jeanne, me, and my Papa on August 3, 2014.

On Thursday, August 14, 2014, my great aunt Jeanne passed away, six months after her 76th birthday. You can read her full obituary here.

We traveled out to Jacksonville/Tyler as soon as I got off work Friday, then came back today. We are so thankful we had just been down there the first weekend of August, which is when I got this picture with my Aunt Jeanne and Papa.

While the circumstances were far from ideal, it brought a lot of family together. I was able to have multiple conversations with my grandpa, Papa, that I will cherish forever.

It's been a little crazy since we got home eight or so hours ago, unpacking from the short trip to east Texas then repacking for the trip to Chicago, which starts in the morning.

<3

- rl

New Braunfels: Day 3

The hotel we stay at when we go to New Braunfels is next to some sort of dump and some donkeys. That's why I got out of bed Sunday morning - a donkey was making some sort of sound. We then proceeded to all stare out the window at the donkey as it paced back and forth. Right before we left for church, we saw another donkey on the other side of the fence. 

We went to church with our cousins. After the regular service, we went to the Bible study. So much fun to hear some more discussion on Ruth.

After church we went to Longhorn Cafe there in NB. The little sister and I split the things you see in the photo below. Definitely not healthy, but we ate everything & it was probably cheaper than us each getting a full burger + fries that we wouldn't be able to finish. 

After lunch we headed out to my oldest cousin's house by Lake McQueeney. 

This cute dog followed us as we walked from the house to the lake. Poor thing was limping. 

Ducks! They were very noisy.

My uncle has been doing some fishing down there, and while we were there he caught a catfish!

And that was our weekend! I drove the whole way home. Yes, really. Before we left town we stopped by Buc-ee's. I got a Monster, rice krispie treat, and some beef jerky. I think jerky was the most helpful thing to chow on when I was getting tired around dusk...except for when I would have to pass someone while keeping both hands on the wheel and trying to bite through jerky. Thank you to my dad for handing me the different things while I drove. He also remained very calm while I navigated merging onto Dallas North Tollway from 35. At night. With something going on at the American Airlines Center aka causing some traffic. Very interesting. That wasn't as bad as driving on DNT, though! Trying to go 65mph on those curves was terrifying. Aside from that, it wasn't too bad of a drive!

I really enjoyed this weekend. I liked that we weren't entirely sure what all we wanted to do, and therefore ended up just going with the flow. I can't wait to go back!

- rl 

New Braunfels: Day 2 (but actually all San Antonio)

Saturday. We woke up late - something my parents rarely get to do because of our dog that likes to get up early. That afternoon - after eating breakfast and getting dressed - we headed to San Antonio with my dad's sister - my aunt.

We knew we wanted to go to Rita's again, but, considering that it was still around 2pm, planned on just having appetizers then and going back last on to eat a full meal. But then we had to wait 20 minutes for a table, and figured it best to just eat then. Queso. Enchiladas. So good. Long after everyone else finished their food, we just sat there hanging out and people watching. A table next to us was having caricatures done of each couple, and the table next to that had just been to a wedding, because they were very dressed up for that time of day, and later on, sure enough, came a bride and groom.

Then we decided to take a boat ride. We had thought about going to Wurstfest (too expensive and mostly drinking), then a safari place between New Braunfels and San Antonio (WAY expensive), and of course I was hoping to go zip lining at a place connected to the safari, but there just aren't enough hours in the day for the rest of my family to sit there while I get an adrenaline rush, ya know?

So we settled for a boat ride, and I think it was the best decision. Cheap - less than $10/person for a 35 minute-or-so ride. Our ride started at just the right time that we had plenty of light to take pictures until the last few minutes of it. I took a good amount of pictures, and because this is my blog and it does not matter how many I post, I'm going to share some of my favorites! Looking back at some of them, I know they could be better if I was a bit more practiced with shooting in manual. I'm not sweating it, though, because I know I'll be rooting to go again soon! Also, I'm not even going to attempt to explain how cool some of the places in these pictures are. You'll just have to go for yourself. (:

Once we got done with that, we decided to make our way to the Alamo. We knew where we parked, and we knew where we were, so, with the help of iPhones, we made it to the Alamo. (This is where I'll try to avoid going on and on about how much I loved walking in the streets of a city - albeit one on the smaller side - for the first time in a while. That was something I was really looking forward to in moving to Chicago. One day...)

I was a little obsessed with this corner across from the Alamo. 

A slightly different angle on the corner a few pictures up because, seriously, look at those stairs!

I don't remember if it was my mom or my aunt who pointed out that ceiling, but I had to get a picture! 

I was so excited to see they had what looked like the public bikes like I've seen instagram posts about in cities like NYC and Chicago! Wish we had the time/energy to try them out!

Tomorrow: the third and final day!

- rl

New Braunfels: Day 1

Last Friday, my family and I (all but my older sister) headed down to New Braunfels. This was our third trip down there in 13 months, but my favorite trip yet. Our purpose: to see our "youngest" cousin, who is one of the drum majors of the band, on his senior night. (I put youngest in quotations because he's 18 - only nine days younger than me.)

We left The Colony around noon, and were in Waco in time to still consider a stop at George's lunch. A little bit of person history: before they had us kiddos, my parents lived in Waco. My mom apparently used to love George's, but for whatever reason my dad had never been. We went. We enjoyed.

Note to future Rachel: you did not like the chicken. Should have gone with the cheese fries!

After Waco, I drove. Oh, yes. It wasn't so bad. My first time on an interstate/highway/whatever, so that was different. We decided to take whatever the tollway it is that avoids Austin, aka I went 80mph. Eventually we got to New Braunfels, checked into our hotel, dropped our stuff in the room, and headed to the game. 

We got there early enough to see my aunt, uncle, and cousins do the whole senior night thing. Brought back memories from when my parents and I walked across the football field last fall for my senior night! 

Then they were defeated by Judson High School. One of our cousins informed us that the coach for Judson coached Johnny Manziel at his last school, which probably explains why they beat NBHS by 40something points. 

Then the seniors did something pretty cool and unique - they all got together at one endzone, and walked those 100 yards together. You can kind of tell in the pictures that they didn't necessarily all stay linked together, though. 

After the game, we were ready to eat again, so we stopped by Buc-ee's and noticed that they are opening up a second row of pumps! I don't know how many they have in the first row, but it's a lot, and now they have double?! That place is crazy. 

Tomorrow: Day 2!

- rl