This past weekend Corey and I had the privilege of visiting Austin Texas for his sister’s wedding. My mom flew over so she could watch our kids for us. This was such a blessing for us. This is the first time we have left our kids for more than one night at a time. It’s been over 2 years since we have had an over night trip together.
Austin is a very active city. We were on the go all the time. There were people everywhere. We had such a good time seeing the different things and eating at different places. I can’t believe how many places there are to eat at. We had so many options I could’ve spent another month there and still not have eaten at each place. When we first arrived in Austin his sister, aunt and uncle picked us up at the airport and then we went to a restaurant called 24. Apparently the owner of the restaurant is going to be on the show top chef this season. Here we met Lisa’s fiancé, Neal, and ate lunch. Neal is so nice and perfect for Lisa. We had a great lunch. Corey ate chicken and waffles. I had a burger with some whipped potatoes. Those potatoes were the best I’ve ever had. This is much of how the weekend went. We just hung out with family and tried new places to eat.
On Lisa’s wedding day I woke her up, much to her disapproval, and we went for a walk with her mom. Afterwards we picked up her bouquet and other flowers. Then Lisa and I had our hair done. Her hair was so perfect and pretty it brought tears to my eyes. It was so fun to spend time with Lisa. It’s been a while since I’ve had the opportunity to do so. She lived with us for two weeks while at BYU. She was actually living with us when I had Preston. Then again she was there for me when my mom had her accident and I pretty much lived at her aunt and uncle’s house (where she lived at the time). She would take me to the hospital navigating the streets of Portland. This was such a blessing at the time. After she put her wedding dress on and did her make-up she looked like something out of a magazine. So beautiful. Her reception was at a place called Parkside. It was fun and different. She had some dancing there which was great because Corey and I haven’t danced together for quite some time. I loved that his cousin’s wife Jennifer knew the steps to thriller. Austin is so busy all the time it was funny to see that it gets even busier after 11 pm. We kept asking ourselves all weekend does anyone work here?
When we arrived in Austin Lisa gave everyone a gift bag. We had vouchers for bike rentals. So on Saturday morning Corey and I rented our bikes and rode around their bike trails. It was really fun and a great way to see the people and places of Austin.
After biking, on Saturday afternoon, Lisa had a trapeze class set up for us. Yes that’s what I said TRAPEZE. It was a little different but ended up being really fun. Corey did get sick his second time around and had to sit out the rest of the time. I went four times before I said that was enough. The toughest thing about the whole experience was getting over how tight the harness was. When they put it on they tighten it then they have you raise your arms and when you don’t think it’ll go any farther they tighten it some more. It reminded me of saddling a horse. I really had a hard time breathing. It was a really big relief when I finally got to take it off.
All in all we had a really wonderful weekend. We love hanging out with Corey’s family. They always make me laugh. I wish we could’ve stayed there longer but alas we have children and work. My mom did such a wonderful job with the kids. Sophia cried when she left. I wish she lived closer so they would have more opportunities to see her. Thanks Lisa for getting married so we could have this great vacation!
Lisa and Neal with Lisa's mom and dad.
Lisa and 3 out of 4 brothers