birthday trip, part 1.

We recently took a trip to Texas to visit my family. We planned our big trip home this year to conveniently line up with both of my parents' birthdays, especially my dad's big 60th! It was a really nice visit- one of my favorites yet. 

To celebrate my mom's birthday, we packed everyone up and drove out to Canyon Lake. I baked my mom this cake, and Chad made us some delicious food for a picnic. It was randomly very cloudy and the storms were rolling in all around us. Looking back, it might have been a bit unsafe for us to be floating around in the water. But, at the time it was deliciously cool and shady and the water felt so good. The storms waited just long enough for us to play and have fun with the kids, and they were just giddy about it. The water was green and glassy, and if you stood still for a bit these tiny fish would come and nibble on your toes. Sammie floated around in her own little boat, kicking her legs and smiling at Lucy and Eliza while they splashed and squealed. It was really a lovely afternoon, and my mama seemed so happy.

We played in the water until we got too hungry and climbed out to eat, and that's exactly when the rain came down. It was honestly like something out of a movie. It was so windy that the plates and napkins were flying everywhere, flipping food into our laps. We were under a covered area, but it didn't stop us from getting completely soaked as we tried to eat quickly. The cake sat in a puddle of water by the time we got around to singing "Happy Birthday," and I really couldn't help but laugh. Immediately after we finished packing up, it stopped raining. But, even with all the rain, it was such a nice day. 

Eliza had such a good time at my mom's. She is obsessed with all the cats that live in her yard. My mom inherited a little group of cats, that keeps growing as they initiate new members into their cat gang. But, she and Chad are so nice and feed them all anyway. We always laugh because every time we come over there is a new, little guy hanging around in the garden. Eliza would go out every morning and help Grandma fill the cat bowls with food. Then she would run around chasing them, trying to pet them, and once she spent a good fifteen minutes trying to physically coax Tabby into going inside the cat house. Tabby held her ground, despite the tiny hands pulling at her fur. 

My mom and I hit up some beautiful estate sales in San Antonio, and it was fun getting to know new neighborhoods that I had never seen as a kid. I spent almost every night laying on the floor of her sewing room chatting, while she worked on one of her projects. It's exactly how I remember my nights growing up as a child, and it felt good. She is currently running an amazing children's vintage clothing shop, while also working on some beautiful, new little girl's dresses for an upcoming craft fair. She is my inspiration.

Eliza walked around the house all day wrapped up in bits of trim and lace she would find in the sewing room, or wearing some pretty, little dress from the shop- while carrying as many ponies as she could fit in her arms at once. She was in little, girl heaven.

My mom was so nice to drive us to and from Austin, because I found such a good deal flying into the Austin airport. So, on the way back, we stopped to meet up for lunch with my aunt and uncle at Mueller Park. It's a really beautiful park that used to be the old airport. Eliza walked around with a pink umbrella "parasol" to shade her from the sun, refused to eat her lunch, spun herself silly on the playground, and had her first encounter with "ants that bite." Welcome to Texas, girl.