The majority of the time at this house is spent sitting on a screened-in porch doing a whole lot of nothing. There's a beat-up old boom box that gets one radio station (thank goodness it's a good one!). We have board games (Trivial Pursuit, Yahtzee, Monopoly). We have books. But most of all, we have nature, pure and simple. This past week, I stared at the most majestic axis deer I've ever seen just hanging out across the lawn from us. I fed the hummingbirds. We watched the other birds and squirrels playing in the yard. We watched a gazillion jack rabbits. Elizabeth even saw a real live fox!
There is one small downside to all of this nature... bugs! Anyone who knows me knows that I have a flip out reaction when I encounter bugs. I don't know what it is, but I can't handle it. It's funny, though, when you're faced with a scorpion near a baby, how the protection gene kicks in. We ran in to 4 scorpions this last week, and while Jeremy took care of the first, Elizabeth and I had no problem at all eliminating the other three. Autumn and I both have bug bites galore, but it's a small price to pay for a relaxing week in the middle of nowhere.
One of the best things about this house is that it is located on 7 acres of the most beautiful land in Texas that you've ever seen. Runing right through the back yard is their very own private part of the Frio River. We've been going to this house for much of my adult life and this year was very different concerning my time at the river. Usually we get up, pack a cooler and walk down to the river and lay out on rafts all darned day. So you can imagine, this year was a little different! It rained the first couple of days that we were there, but once it cleared up, we took Felicia (Elizabeth's 18 month old daughter who I've talked a lot about on this blog) and Autumn down to play in the water. I was surprised to find that our little ones are bonafide river rats in the making! Autumn wasn't sure what to think of it at first, but once she got used to the water (because it's COLD!), she loved it. She smiled and laughed, and kicked her feet in the water. Most of all, she just loved sitting in the river and taking in the new scenery.
When you want a change of scenery, you can drive to Kerrville or to Fredericksburg, which we did twice. In Kerrville, we went to the James Avery store to load up on charms for the girls' bracelets. We decided to get charms that were meaningful for each trip to Leakey. This year, Autumn got a jackrabbit, some sunglasses, and half of a best friends heart which we engraved with the other one's initials and date on the back. We also took Autumn to her first Kerrville Folk Festival and saw Bruce Robison. We all had a wonderful time!
I even got a hippie henna tattoo.
In Fredericksburg, we ate at our favorite restaurant, Auslanders, and shopped till we dropped! I'm glad that Autumn seemed to love Fredericksburg as much as I do!
Here are some things that I learned this last week:
-I have got to buy a video camera. Period.
-Watch out for nature and children and always have benadryl on hand just in case.
-Sunscreen and babies who rub their eyes is not the best idea.
-It's always better to over-pack than under-pack with a baby.
-It's absolutely necessary to get away from it all for your sanity once in a while.
There are a couple things that changed with my baby while we were gone. She can sit up by herself (if only for a couple of seconds, but she can do it!). 
She began eating solids. 
She laughed A LOT. She smiled A LOT.
She slept A LOT.
I think she grew about a foot. And finally, her personality has grown by leaps and bounds in the last week and I am so glad that she is turning in to the happiest baby that I know!
I decided to come back a day early from our trip. While that may sound nuts, I need a day to unpack, do laundry, and generally just bring myself back in to the real world. I had such a wonderful time, but I am glad to be back home.
1 comment:
Glad you guys had a good trip! I love the last picture of Autumn and Jeremy sleeping - how CUTE!!! Can't wait to see you guys soon!
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