A Texan Goodbye

Goodbyes are hard, that's one simple truth that most people can agree on. It is hard to say goodbye to a city that has shown us a new side of life and kept us guessing around every corner. These past few months in Austin have definitely been a journey. One that we will never forget. We have loved exploring, learning, and growing together. So, thanks to Austin for all the tasty eats, surprisingly beautiful nature, hidden gems, and variety of personalities that you have shared with us. 

Plus look at how beautiful and sunny it is here! And check out my hunk of a husband...ow ow!

 

Well there is seriously still SO much that we wanted to experience while living here. But plans change and that is life...so we found ourselves trying to do everything we wanted to do...in one night! It was quite the adventure and definitely a success. (And if you are wondering why we had the sudden change in plans, just keep scrolling!)

Austin is home to the best nightlife, food trucks, Mexican restaurants, and (get this) the largest bat colony in North America!The underneath of one bridge in the middle of downtown is home to up to 1.6 million bats! Is that insane or what! At night you can stand along the side and watch as all the bats wake up and come soaring out right in front of you! It is incredible and something you cannot experience anywhere else.

Last night was "Batfest," a celebration all about the bats. The bridge was blocked off and crowded with crazies dressed as bats, booths of all sorts, all the best food trucks, and of course live music.

So, trying to fit everything in in one night: we hung out with some bats, got one of the "food truck must eats" for an appetizer, walked the streets of downtown, ate the best tacos, and got trapped in a Blue October concert. It was the perfect way to say goodbye to the city and my dearest husband...so stay weird Austin, it was fun while it lasted!

Oh and I must mention Torchy's, that is it and that is all. Simply darn good.

There are thousands of bats behind us...just try to pretend you can see them.

 

Those are fries covered in a bunch of stuff including Korean beef something or other, everything we read said we had to try them...so of course we had to.

My first bite of Mexican street corn...so yum.

So anyhoo...back to goodbyes and the reason for the quick change of plans...

The hardest goodbye is always to my sweetheart. Whether it is for one night or a weekend, I always feel a little empty inside being parted from my husband...So this morning was extremely hard for me for many reasons. I just said goodbye to my boo for the longest period of time we have ever had to face, call me a baby, but it is already killing me.

Kirby has decided to "extend" which means that he will be out here working for the first two weeks of September. When we were first discussing this idea I was like nope not gonna happen. 

Him staying meant me: being away from him for three whole weeks, finding a way back to Rexburg alone, missing a chance to visit Kirby's mission with him, giving up our road-trip/camping plans for the drive home, painting the interior of the house we are moving into, moving all of our stuff from storage into the house, unpacking it all, getting settled, buying our school books, and being completely done and ready to face my last semester of college ALL ALONE until he shows up literally 2 days before school starts. 

You can see why I said no way right? 

Well, somehow that is precisely what we have signed ourselves up for.

Kirby, the responsible, hard-working husband that he is could not pass up the chance to make more money for us...you see he gets paid more up front on the sales he will get during those two weeks, and he is determined to reach his goal. So how could I force him to give up that noble quest to better our lives just to make my life for the next few weeks a little less stressful? I couldn't. 

But things started to look a little better...

Ever since I was little, my family would make a trip to the Oregon coast and stay at a condo on the beach at the end of the summer. This condo is such a symbol of some of my favorite memories as a child that I have longed for the chance to take Kirby there...but this summer job keeps him tied up too tight, and I have not yet had the opportunity to share this special place with him. 

Anyways, my parents found out that Kirby would be staying, and they offered to fly me to Oregon where I can spend the week with them and then my dad would drive me to Rexburg and help with all the painting and moving. 

It seemed like the perfect plan, with only two major flaws... A) flying is number one biggest fear, like I haven't been able to sleep and have been making myself sick just in anticipation of the flight to come...I don't know how someone who hates flying so much has been roped into making so many flights every year! and B) I hate being away from Kirby for one night...three weeks is going to be a major test of my sanity.

But it made the most sense. This way I wouldn't have to drive across the country alone, I have the chance to go to my favorite vacation spot with my family, and I will have my dad there to help me with all the craziness that awaits at home.

So our time together was shortened considerably, and we did our best to fit in the best spots in Austin before the plane took me away.

Just this morning I kissed my sweetheart goodbye as I entered the airport. Waving good bye to my soulmate as I turned to face my biggest fear made it really hard for me to remember to try and be a big girl about all of this.
 

Texan Summer: Month 4

Since my last Texan Summer update a lot has happened, so much in fact that I have already shared a lot of it in previous posts! For reminders...first we made a trip to San Antonio, Kirby had a birthday, and then we made another trip to San Antonio. 

But what else has happened? Let me show you!

My sister in law Kim had a birthday! Yay! We were able to go to see The Giver in a theater where we were treated like royalty. Our chairs were luxurious recliners, we were given a blanket, free popcorn, and menus from which we ordered some incredibly tasty food... Mom, if you are reading this, I think you would love this place! We kicked back, relaxed, were waited on and left feeling like queens and kings. Happy birthday Kim!

We went to Top Golf...again, but this time with friends! A majority of the office was there, including Allie and Treagan, so obviously we had a blast!
And apparently my smile went crooked for the night...

Kirby and I have always enjoyed Sunday walks. They're the perfect Sabbath activity and gives us a chance to soak in and reflect on the beauty that surrounds us.

Stay tuned for the last of our Texan Lovin'!

Another San Antonio Get Away

Well hello everyone! My cutie husband and I just got back from almost a week spent in San Antonio again and what a ride it was.

Honestly, overall the pattern of our days were the same, Kirby out working and me trying to keep busy with the fellow wives (experiencing some quality girl time was a plus). But then night rolls around, and we sure do our best to have fun with the time that we have and man did we cram a lot in this time around...
 

So to make this story short, after a couple yummy dinners, movie nights with our friends, personal ice-cream pints in bed, and lots of Harry Potter audio books, it was the weekend! We rode on a train, floated on a boat, had lots of fancy cheese, and experienced some Chinese, Mexican, and true Texan culture, all within 24 hours. 

Want some details? Keep scrolling ;)

We went on a fun little train ride at the zoo...and I'll bet you can't tell who was more excited to ride the "Zoo Express?" We chugged along through a jungle, over the river, and straight into the Chinese Tea Garden.

Chinese Tea Garden

I was truly blown away by the magnificence of it all, everything that was around us took my breath away. 

"peace" from my favorite boys.

So about the picture above...we may not look anything alike but here is a surprising fact you may not know about these unlikely sisters: We grew up in the same stake in Spokane, Washington, and then married into the same family. Small world am I right?

Anyways, talk about beautiful scenery and architecture! It was worth all the sweat, I can assure you.

The Alamo

We also took the time to brush up on our Texan history at the Alamo. I can at least say that I know what it is now...so three cheers for this history buff! But seriously, how cool is it that I can now say I have been to the Alamo? Pretty dang cool.

 

Riverwalk 

Everyone is always talking about the Riverwalk...it's one thing my dad said we had to do while we were down here. I was all like ok cool let's go walk by the river in this muggy Texas heat just so we can say we did it. But this little lame head of mine fell in love with the entire experience! It was beautiful.
 

Picture this: the Riverwalk is one story beneath the streets of downtown San Antonio, it is lined with shops, restaurants, hotels, and more - all full of character. And when I say lined I mean that there is a sidewalk on each side of the river that is only a few feet wide (and full of people), with the river right up to one edge (and no railing along most of the river) and then the face of the buildings right up to the other side.  Huge trees reach out over the top creating arches of green, and cobblestone bridges lead one way and then the next with twinkling lights in every direction.
 

We walked a short distance then decided we'd get the most out of our trip if we did the whole "tourist" thing right and hopped on one of the little tour boats...dang good decision.

We were just loving life, floating down the river and sinking in all the history and beauty that surrounded us.

A few things I wish: that I knew how to take pictures in the dark, that I had a nice camera to do that with, and that you could see the picturesque scene that exists behind us.

Mexican Bakery

Before saying good bye we stopped by this Mexican Bakery...I am a fan of all things sweet and delicious...but I think I will be sticking to my French Bakeries. Kirb was in heaven though, and I was digging the decorations.

Headed Home

From here we jumped into the car, gassed up at Buc-ee's (of course) and witnessed some excitement on the road. We are used to traffic being diverted off the highway here, there are so many huge accidents, but this time we were stopped for another reason.

We ended up having to take the side road immediately along the highway, and with all four lanes worth of cars on this tiny road traffic was moving super slow, so we were able to watch the commotion.

We passed by an overpass where a few cops were walking back and forth with their flashlights searching the road, then drove a little farther when we saw vans with CRIME SCENE painted on the sides, several more cops intently searching with flashlights, and a firetruck with a ladder hanging off the side of the road holding cops as they climbed into the water below.

So that was kind of exciting, but I am hoping nothing too terrible happened. I'll keep you updated ;)

Anyways we are happy to be home and excited to get as much out of our lovely Austin in the few short weeks we have left!