San Antonio Weekend

This past weekend, my little family and I took a long weekend trip to New Braunfels, Texas to visit my brother for his birthday.

We left home on Friday afternoon and stayed in Texas until Monday, so our weekend was extended by a day which was nice!

Our fist stop upon arriving in New Braunfels was at In-n-Out Burger. We couldn't pass it up!

Since we were there for Brian's birthday, we celebrated that evening with cake and presents!

This boy LOVES cookie cake - it's his favorite.

On Saturday morning, we spent time shopping at the outlet malls in San Marcos. This area was HUGE and grew packed with people not long after I took this photo. Thankfully they had a Disney Store, so we were able to enjoy that! Oh yes, and a Banana Republic. That one ranks high on my list of favorite stores.

Saturday was my brother's actual birthday and he wanted to celebrate with a little Mexican food at Uncle Julio's in Austin. To be honest, we actually went to this restaurant because we heard so much about their chocolate pinata...

Jason and I split an order of fajitas and they were delicious! The tortillas were thick and homemade and just so so good.

After dinner, we ordered the famous chocolate pinata for dessert.

Y'all.

Oh my goodness this thing was amazing!

Once he busted into it, churros, strawberries, pineapples, and blackberries fell out. The dipping sauces were raspberry, chocolate, some kind of caramel concoction, and whipped cream!

The five of us devoured this thing - let's just say there wasn't much left by the time we were done!

On Sunday morning, Brian asked if I wanted to go for a run and I couldn't pass that up, especially after eating so much chocolate the evening before.

We saw a ton of deer along the way. It was so peaceful and serene!

We completed 2.5 miles, then cleaned up for our trip to Sea World! This was my first time to visit Sea World in San Antonio, although I have visited the one in San Diego and Orlando in the past. I wasn't sure what to expect, but this park was completely different from the others which was really nice.

Brayden loved seeing all of the marine animals!

We also enjoyed riding the roller coasters, too!

This park was so much fun and had so many things for kids to do. Feeding the ducks and flamingos was another favorite.

The kids area was themed after Sesame Street and included a giant splash pad.

Of course we couldn't pass up a ride on the carousel!

Brayden would have stayed in this area for hours had we let him!

We literally spent all day at Sea World. We had such a fun time and I do hope to visit again soon.

On Monday morning, I decided to get my first Orangetheory workout in for the week. I knew the week back home would be busy and wasn't sure when I would be able to get two workouts in, so Monday morning it was!

Visiting a different studio was interesting and fun at the same time. It was neat to see the similarities and differences between this one and my home gym. The coach for this class was amazing and I loved her!

After leaving Orangetheory, I happened to see a Hallmark. If you've been a blog follower for a while, you know I love Hallmark ornaments at Christmas and our store closed down a few years ago. Since the ornaments were out, I could NOT let this opportunity pass me by!

Another favorite of mine that we no longer have is McAlister's. Imagine my delight to see one in New Braunfels. As I'm sure you've guessed by now, McAlister's is what we had for lunch on Monday!

After lunch, we drove home and somehow managed to drive straight through without any stops. In all, it was a great weekend! We had so much fun visiting with my brother and his wife and exploring their new area. We can't wait to visit again!

Holiday Weekend #2!

Continuing with our 2016 holiday weekend recaps, in week #2 you'll find a whole lotta rain, Christmas shopping, and time spent with my little guy!

We had a lot of fun this weekend and enjoyed capturing those moments to share with you! 

Check out a recap of the 2nd weekend of our 2016 holiday season below!

 

Have a great one! Stay tuned for weekend #3 and a recap of my first post-baby half marathon! :)

Girls Weekend

Running, Shopping, McAlisters, and spending time with good friends - all things I love! This past Saturday, I had the chance to do all of the above!

It began on Saturday morning with a long run - my longest run since having a baby, at that! My friend Heather and I completed 10 miles! It was so humid, we were soaked from head to toe by the time it was all said and done. We have 12 miles next week, so I'm hoping for cooler weather and less humidity!

After the run, I came home to shower and get ready for a day of shopping out of town! Initially, I was wearing my bright blue compression socks for the drive over. However, as we were just about to leave, the mail lady pulled in my driveway with a special delivery....

My Legend black compression sleeves had arrived! Naturally, I had to change! These were so comfortable and just what my calves needed! Although I didn't wear these to shop and walk around, they made a world of difference with leg stiffness after a long drive in the car!

THIS little turkey spent four hours with us in the mall and he did great!

When we discussed places to eat dinner, McAlister's was the first thing on my mind! Isn't that sad....we were out of town and had a multitude of amazing places to eat but we chose McAlisters because they are no longer open in our town and we've been dying for a glass of their sweet tea for months? Story of my life. Whomp whomp.

This was EVERYTHING I'd been dreaming about!

The patriot with no tomatoes. I did try their Mac & Cheese for the first time and it was delicious!

So we might have been so excited, someone went overboard with ordering all of their favorite items. Eat.All.The.Things!

Needless to say, a to-go box was definitely used!

I might have been in McAlister's heaven.

After a little more shopping, we decided it was time for dessert! There's a place where you can get a scoop of ice cream and a Great American Cookie and a drink in a combo deal!

When you go out of town, the calories don't count, right?! 

The sunset on Saturday evening was gorgeous!

My little sweet pea and I had a great time at church on Sunday, too!

He was SO exhausted from Saturday, he took a FOUR and a half hour nap on Sunday afternoon!

Oh yes, we also tried green beans for the first time this past weekend!

I think it's safe to say, he liked them! 

Do you have a favorite restaurant you go to when you travel out of town?

Labor Day Weekend 2016

This past weekend, my family and I spent time with our extended family in Dallas, Texas. It was Brayden's first time to visit Dallas as well as his first time to meet several family members, and we had a blast!

No car trip is complete without Mickey! As far as travel goes, Brayden was a rock star on the trip! He got antsy when we had about an hour left to go, but his favorite rendition of "Jesus Loves Me" on repeat took care of all of that! :)

On Saturday morning, I woke up early and went for a 5 mile run around Valley Ranch.

My main "route goal" was to run by the Dallas Cowboys old practice facility. Although I'm not a Cowboys fan, I AM a fan of the CMT show "DCC Making the Team" (I've faithfully watched all 11 seasons)! Snippets of this entrance have been shown throughout the seasons, so I was very excited to run by it in person! More about my run in Friday's post.

Our post-run brunch was delicious!

After Brayden's mid-day nap, we drove to UNT to tailgate and hang out with family. 

I was so glad I remembered his Mickey fan! He also loved his new umbrella stroller!

Midway through, some Vita Coco reps came by with free samples of coconut water. I'm a fan already, so I loved it!

We didn't stay for the game because Brayden would have been too hot. Instead, we went shopping!

Of course, we stopped at the Grapevine Mills mall for a little Disney Store run! I found several items I'd been eyeing online and I purchased Brayden's Halloween costume! :)

 

On Sunday morning, I was invited to attend my very first spin class with my cousins. After debating it for a little while, I decided to attend. 

I wasn't so sure about my decision a few minutes into the class, but it was a great experience! I can't wait to share my thoughts on my first spin class in (hopefully) tomorrow's blog post!

We also attended a game at Globe Life Park on Sunday afternoon! Guess who the Rangers were playing?! THE ASTROS! Hello! I HAD to go!

....and of course I wore my Astros gear! I wasn't alone...at least a third of the people I saw at the game were also supporting the Astros! 

The only thing I don't like about this stadium is the fact that its hot! The stadium is open air which means the sun beats down the entire game. Despite the heat, it was a great game and the Astros won!

Go Astros! :)

I couldn't stop my tradition of ice cream in a helmet! I don't have a Rangers helmet so of course, I HAD to get  one!

Dinner that evening was homemade gumbo. It was delicious!

After dinner, we took a few family pictures...

I just love my family! :)

Board games followed shortly after!

The Game of Things is hilarious and we all had a good time laughing! We also played "Speak Out"...I'm sure you've seen videos of this game floating around facebook...

Although that stupid mouth guard brought back horrible memories of my days in braces, this game was HILARIOUS! We had such a blast playing!

Yesterday, we spent our day traveling home. In all, we had a fantastic weekend and really enjoyed spending it with our family and friends! :)

How was your labor day weekend? Did you run any races? Have a fun time with family? Catch up on rest?