Texas Summer 2013 Trip

Brian kept track...it was a 2,344 Mile trip over 9 days!

We ended up having a great time and it was much needed after the end of a semester :) I love my adventures with my husband.

We started off at 5:00am on Saturday May 25th.  This 16hour day of travel included:
-Lots of Cops
-Megan driving (4hrs), Brian driving (2.5hrs), Megan driving(4hrs), Brian driving(2.5hrs) and Megan driving(3hrs)
-signs saying there was construction for 62miles but it may have lasted 20mins.
-Whataburger (sonic for me)
-Pouring down rain in Dallas (where they really need to think about redoing the lines because you could not see them from the rain/sun glare)

Sunday was my birthday! WoooHooo 25! We went to church/lunch with Brian's family and later we ate cake to celebrate. We then went to the rehearsal dinner for Richard and Melissa! (the whole reason for the trip!)  It was great to celebrate with their family.  Brian grew up with Richard since he was 12. I have had the pleasure of  getting to know Richard a lot over the years with him at the Air Force Academy in CO and seeing him in Texas with Brian.

Monday was the wedding. Thankfully it was not too hot and the breezy evening helped cool us down.  Excited for the Bean's and so glad that Brian could be a part of their wedding!

Richard and Melissa!

We went to Austin after the wedding to stay with Brian's Aunt and family. Tuesday I was surprised with a sewing machine and a 4 hour crash course class that morning! It was lot (I was tired from all of our travels and a late night at the wedding) but it was so fun and gave me confidence in what I was doing. Who knew I could make a bag (and then three days later make another all by myself!)?

First Bag!

Second bag - all by myself!

Remi and Elizabeth!

We got to visit with Brian's Grandpa at lunch with his dad as well as stopping by the nursing home to meet his grandmother Wednesday before heading back to Belton.

Brian's "Birthday" Pie!

My Birthday Cake!

Friday we began our adventure North to Waco for the afternoon with a few friends and then on to Dallas to see Brian's brother and family. We may have drove from Belton to Waco with one of two break bolts (with the 2nd of the two getting looser and looser as we drove). Thankfully just $60 later and an afternoon of lunch and hanging out we were on our way!

We had a great time in Dallas with Craig, Sara, and  9 month old Connor!

Sunday we arrived home at about 8:00pm after driving 14hours. Stick a fork in us!

Garden Update

I got the rest of the garden in Wednesday May 15th (so about a month ago) finally! I would work until 5pm, eat dinner (leftovers) and then go work in the garden until 8:45pm. Man was I tired.  (And for a good chunk of time I was one arm down)

Since then we went on our 9 day trip to Texas (which was a great break from reality! I promise I will post pictures and tell about our time) I was worried that it might not rain and everything would not grow. I have some awesome friends in KY who checked in about midway through the week.  It had rained a ton the week before we left so the sunshine while we were gone was very helpful.  We have only had to "water" the plants about 3 times total.  The natural watering KY does is great! :) We did but a hose to use since the hotter months are still to come and we may have to water some.

List of plants we are growing:
-Raspberries: This thing has taken off since I bought it in late March - so many flowers and now so many Raspberries!
-Blackberries: They have not taken off..one flower and then it died when we were in Texas.
-Strawberries: We did two small plants and they have had a few strawberries on them but something ate them (even though they are covered with netting). But since we came back we have healthier, happier, flowering plants. Excited to see if we will get strawberries :)
-Cantaloupe and Watermelon: we had three cantaloupe plants and two watermelons but only a few have come up.
-Cucumbers and Spinach - Not so sure if the spinach has taken off that much but we have several cucumber plants!
-Peas and Green Beans: the peas were a little slower but they are starting to grow and the beans got eaten by bugs (I am hoping they come back!) (2-3 plants each)
-Corn: When we left it was still very early (only a week) but we could see where the corn was coming up! Now we have about 7 plants out of the 12 I planted.  I need to plant them closer together next year. Love me some fresh corn :)
-We received some vegetable plants for someone at Brian's work and they came with 3 types of flowers and several of each (Petunias, Calendula, and Marigolds) to plant by or in the garden to help with bugs (bring the good ones in and keep the bad ones away) but the bugs have still been really bad! Boooo!
-We also were given squash and zucchini so I only planted one zucchini plant since they take up a lot of room and produce a lot.
-We put in a little row of green onions for Brian as well as some basil we were given.
-We were given 5 Tomato plants a few feet high. I bought 4 smaller plants (one got ripped out not sure if it was the kids or animals at the home we are gardening at) and we are starting 8 plants from seeds.  I am excited to have fresh tomatoes and to make homemade spaghetti sauce like my dad makes! yum!
(UPDATE: we were given about 5 more big plants so we planted them where we had planted some seeds. We still have 2-3 small sprouts coming up).

Maybe we went all out for the first time (I sure know that I worked my butt off and will continue to work hard keeping it bug and weed free) and maybe I took on more than I know how to do but I am excited to see how this first year turns out! :)

Hardest part about gardening so far:
-Bugs! They are eating my plants and I had to do the "not so organic thing" and put some pesticide on them. Its wet and oh how there are so many BUGS! I do not know how people do it. I talked to several people (some who have grown up in KY) and they all have to do it too, so I try to not feel that bad. If I wanted my plants to survive the 9 days we will be away it had to be done. I have thankfully not had to put anymore stuff on them since we got back and I am hoping the coffee grounds help with my ant problem!

And here are pictures of the garden after the Trip! :)
Thankfully my plants did not die while we were away!

Cucumber

zucchini at the top, zucchini in the middle and squash bottom right

"The More I Seek You"

More posts to come this week about our travels to Texas. Vacation was good (no work!) but it was very busy and the first week back to reality was even busier. Hoping this week we will get into a much more relaxed summer routine.

So much of my prayer and heart is in the words of this song.