Monday, May 9, 2011

A Happy Birthday/Mother's Day (x3) Weekend Road Trip!!

A weekend filled with celebratory family festivities... what could be better?! I honestly can't think of much that could top it! On Friday, KK and Albi came to the Rock to pick Caden and I up for the first segment of our weekend road trip! Justin had a work commitment that he could not miss so he decided to follow our lead later that evening and meet us in none other than NACOGDOCHES! Or Nac-a-no-where as so many affectionately call it! Although I kind of take offense to that because I REALLY LIKE Nacogdoches! It is quickly becoming one of my favorite little spots in Texas... after all it IS the OLDEST Town in Texas!

Our car rolled into Nac mid-afternoon, just in time for us to greet Uncle Josh in the driveway as we pulled up to Disco Fever... which is their house by the way and has absolutely nothing to do with their social habits! :) Josh and Emily are building a home in Nacogdoches, but in the meantime they are renting an OLD home that supposedly was quite the place back in its day. Chalk-full of history it is a family heirloom that will not soon be forgotten, but I can guarantee you that both Josh and Emily are not going to sad to say goodbye in a few months when they move into their new house!

On our way East... we HAD to stop at McDonald's and get some lunch... although Caden was really more interested in turning his Happy Meal box into a hat... :) What a ham!!


The Cox crew had not been to Nac since Josh and Emily moved last fall, so we were anxious to get our formal introduction to all that is Disco Fever, to see the progress on their NEW house and to celebrate Josh's 26th birthday!! OH MY! It is possible that my BABY brother is 26?! Now way Jose... no way!

Friday was an afternoon filled with the exploration of Disco Fever! Caden and Griff (the dog) or as Caden calls him "Griss Dog" had a LOT of business to tend to in the backyard so we all just sat and watched them tire one another out! Of course, this was after they had to reacquaint themselves with one-another which to no surprise happened COMPLETELY on Caden's terms. Albi and Josh even got to steal away for an hour or so to take a tour of the LoneStar Feed Plant that is only mere footsteps from their current house!

Later that evening we dined on Cane's chicken (a first for me) and then topped it off with a Snow Cone and a swim at Emily's parent's house! Come to find out, Aunt Emily was QUITE the snow cone maker in her day... and it was fun to see where she took her first job! :) The swimming was fun but it was COLD... but y'all know this preggo didn't mind one bit and Caden didn't seem to either, especially when he could hop in and out of the hot tub to keep himself toasty! Uncle Josh even took one for the team and did some fancy tricks off the board for Caden!

Later in the evening, long after Caden had turned in for the night Justin arrived and we were complete! And ready to celebrate Josh's birthday the next day! We got up bright and early and dined on some yummy donuts and biscuits and then sent the boys off for a FUN round of golf... and guess who got to go this time??!! An OFFICIAL DUDE GOLF DATE...

KK and Albi decided to give Caden his "big bro present" a little early... his first set of REAL clubs, or "yubs" as they are known around these parts...

A man and his gear...
We have GOT to work on the "cheese" smile... it's pretty pathetic...

In fine preggo brain fashion... I forgot my camera so Emily and iphones had to fill in for the weekend... She was trying to get a picture of Caden with his "favorite yub!"

And NOW... my favorite pic of the ENTIRE weekend... the BOYS... in age and height order... Albi, Justin, Josh and Caden... what a fine looking group of golfers they are!!

We had high hopes of Caden having a FABULOUS time and spending ALL morning with the boys! But at about hole #3 my phone went off and Justin was giving me the go-ahead to come pick Caden up... apparently he was "yeady" to come home and play with Griss Dog and the girls! Three holes was about enough... (for Daddy) Joke, joke!



But we'll give Daddy kudos for taking some sweet pics of Caden in action! After we picked him up we came back home and hung out and let the two littlest boys of the house (Griss Dog and Caden) run around in circles after each other...

THEN... we got to go take a tour of Emily and Josh's new digs! The rest of the family had another excursion planned for later in the afternoon, but I wanted to be able to see it too and with Caden NEEDING to take a nap to ensure a successful evening of planned festivities, we had to stay home! :)

BUT the house... oh the house... it is coming along beautifully... I am so excited for our first night's stay!! Emily and Josh have both put in some serious work into creating their new nest, but I must say Emily has REALLY put everything she has into EVERY square inch of their home... it has her signature all over it! The way she does it, it becomes a full-time job and enough to make me want to take a nap... too many decisions!! I know who I'll be calling if I ever have the opportunity to build my own home...

After touring the house we met the boys for the BEST burger I have had in a LONG time at a place called Butcher Boys... we were ALL starving and probably said no more than 5 words the entire lunch!

Caden and I both took a serious nap that afternoon and then woke up to get ready for a fun dinner out on the town for Josh's birthday! It also happened to be Prom Night in Nac which made for some LOVELY "Small Town Prom Night" scenery ... hehe!

Before dinner Caden got his FIRST really good glimpse at the "Easter Dunnies" that live at Disco Fever. As the story goes, these bunnies were domesticated bunnies that were dumped on the property and have since had babies and have decided to make Disco Fever and the property surrounding it their home. Caden was LOVIN' every bit of the "Easter Dunnies!"

Aunt Emily and Caden were trying to see how close they could get...

We had a DELICIOUS dinner at Auntie Pastas that evening... seriously it was SO good! Josh and Em kept saying "what good sports we were" and "how sweet we were" in saying how YUMMY the food was... BUT I wasn't trying to be a good sport or sweet... JUST HONEST! It will become a MUST stop on EVERY future trip to Nac!

After dinner we were fortunate enough to spend time with one of our FAVORITE people from college who lives in Nac with his wife Mary, who Emily grew up with. If you think the world is a big place you are SO wrong... because it is the tiniest place sometimes! Bobby and Mary just had a baby girl Emma four months ago so of COURSE we were super excited to meet her and get to catch up with the Bob! :) I took a pic but I am not sure Mommy and Daddy would appreciate me plastering their SUPER CUTE baby up for the world to see. (not that the world reads my blog, but they could... and that is the point!! :) ) You'll just have to take my word for it... CUTE! And I think I'm gonna LOVE having a little girl in my arms someday soon (8 weeks!! eek!)!!

The next morning the Cox crew got up early and starting packing up to head to Waco to visit Nana for Mother's Day... BUT first we celebrated KK... and me too! My boys wrote some super sweet notes in my cards that started my morning off in tears of joy! :) And KK and Albi followed up with a SUPER cute diaper bag for the Kak-ster... and the pattern is called "Peacock"... how cool is that?! I know KK must have enjoyed having ALL (5) of her kids there with her to celebrate Mother's Day morning... such a sweet gift!

After we hit the road the fabulous four went to brunch to do a little bit more KK celebrating... Emily took this sweet pic...
After stopping through Waco for lunch and a (too) quick hang out with Nana we hit the road yet again... on our way home to the Rock...

It didn't take 10 minutes for Caden to do this...

And our sweet, sleepy boy stayed like this ALL the way home where we lifted him ever so gently out of his car seat and plopped him down in his big boy bed... and he stayed there until 5pm! :) Poor thing was WORN out after a weekend of celebrating!!

AND when he woke up there was still more to do. My boys treated me to Chipoltle and Maggie Moo's last night for dinner and dessert... the perfect combo to top off our weekend!

Mother's Day couldn't have been better... got to celebrate with my one and only Momma and then my sweet and always supportive Mother-in-law and then... my boys... I got to celebrate with the two people that make my job not only possible but worthwhile!! I love being a Mommy more than I could have ever imagined loving ANY job! I am thankful!!

Happy Birthday Josh!
Happy Mother's Day Mom!
Happy Mother's Day Sharla!

I love you all very much!!

And that my friends should do it...

Happy Monday!

3 comments:

KK said...

Wow. I think you covered it! It was a great day to have all my chicks and grandchicks with me. Loved every minute of it.

Emily and Josh said...

So much fun reliving the weekend through your post - we loved every single second! And Griss Dog has been hunting around for his lil buddy. He misses him already! Can't wait to see ya'll soon... love you!

Mrs. Frazier said...

Ha - you're sweet. However, I have not been absent from reading them & staying updated on y'all! CONGRATS on sweet Kaki... I am sure you are soooo excited to meet her. Such a fun stage of like you and Justin are in!