Everything’s Bigger in Texas

Since Eric’s cousin in Texas was getting married, we decided to make a week-long trip out of it and visit with family while we were there (we haven’t seen many of Eric’s family members since our wedding in 2006)! The early morning flight to San Antonio went smoothly and once we were shuttled to our hotel, we quickly checked into our room (they upgraded us to a king suite for free!) and got ready for the rehearsal dinner. One of Eric’s relatives drove us to the venue where it was being held, Clear Springs restaurant. It was a casual affair with about 50 people in attendance and the food was amazing. We visited with the bride, Rachel and met her soon-to-be husband, Matt. Then we dove into the fresh onion rings (which Eric and I are not necessarily fan of, but these were just awesome!) and chatted with everyone while we waited for our dinner to be served. Eric had fried shrimp and I had a grilled chicken dish with garlic mash.

On the day of the wedding, we met up with Eric’s dad for a mini tour of downtown San Antonio. We had been there before, but I had wanted to visit the riverwalk once again while we were there. It mounted to 107 degrees early in the afternoon and the humidity levels were just gross, but we had fun walking around. That evening, we freshened up from the day and headed to the church where the ceremony was to take place. It was a beautiful Methodist church with gorgeous stained glass windows and rich wood pews. We took a few pictures, but felt awful once we learned that photography wasn’t allowed in the church! So we tucked away our camera and enjoyed the simple, sweet ceremony. Rachel was a beautiful bride in a creamy satin, strapless dress and Matt and his groomsmen kept it simple with basketball shoes and clean cut tuxedos.

Afterward, we made our way back to the Hilton, where we were staying and where the reception was being held. We found our way to a table and watched as the bride and groom were introduced and danced their first dance together. Then we ate dinner (stuffed chicken, mashed potatoes, and veggies), danced, ate cake, and danced some more before we called it an evening and headed up to our room. We had a great time and thought that the wedding was simple, elegant, and fun.

On Sunday morning, we hitched a ride back to the Houston area with Eric’s dad and stepmom- but not before stopping for breakfast at the Cracker Barrel! I was first introduced to this fantastic country-style restaurant during our first trip to Texas together and ever since, I think about the stacks of pancakes and hearty helpings of fruit, eggs, and hashbrowns that I could eat all day. As usual, the food was delicious. I really wish that there were one in California for me to enjoy! After the long, boring car ride, we arrived in Houston just in time for dinner. Eric’s dad had arranged for a family dinner at a local Mexican restaurant to celebrate Eric’s upcoming birthday, so we had fun visiting with Eric’s sister, brothers, and their families. Then we headed up to Willis where we were staying with Eric’s oldest brother, Greg and his family.



We stayed in Willis for three days before we flew back home on Thursday. Greg and Vicki had just recently completed construction on their house on Lake Conroe, which was just beautiful. For the next few days, Eric spent a good amount of time with his nephews, Andrew and Jeremy while I spent some nice girl time with my sister-in-law Vicki. Andrew had recently had surgery, so the boys mainly played video games, watched movies, and spent a little time fishing. Vicki and I shopped around Olde Towne Spring and had lunch. We made sure to stop at Chick-fil-a for Eric one day and we also bought him a carton of Blue Bell ice cream (two of the top items that Eric craves from Texas). Most evenings, we would meet up with family and go out to dinner. The days of fun seemed to fly by and in the end, we were sad to leave, but anxious to get back home to our kids (who were being watched by Auntie and Grandma). We had a great time! Hopefully we will make it back to Texas more frequently then every few years!