Fruits of Labor Day Weekend

Jordan and I had a fantastic 3 day weekend!  We had great food, wonderful family, and lots of relaxation.  It was so nice to take a break from work and let our focus shift back to life.

Jordan and I started our weekend with a day trip to San Antonio.  Yes, it was a day trip but worth the 10 hour round trip.  And I can't lie, Jordan is really the trooper.  He did all the driving and let me sleep and enjoy the snuggle time with Abby in the car.  

We wanted to go to San Antonio to see family and celebrate the birthdays of our nephew, Austin, and our niece, Madyson.  (turning 1 and 3 years old)  I grew up with so many wonderful aunts and uncles in my life; I felt that it's only fair to pay it forward to our nieces and nephews. Great kids.

Our eyes were opened to the world of a 3 year old this weekend.  We went to "Jumpy Place"!  I had no idea that you could have such a huge space filled with jump houses, but it was magical to the kids. In my day, we had dangerous (and smelly) roller skating rinks!  
Top Left: Madyson and Austin's birthday cake.  Thomas the Train and Princess theme working together.
Top Right: Austin smashing his cake and enjoying the sugar.  I love his eye brows always with a quizzical look.  That kid had green frosting ever-y-where.
Bottom Left: Austin trying to pour the fountain of youth into Jordan's head.  Just a balding precaution of course. ;)
Bottom Right: The kids opening presents with Abby desperately wanting to join in the fun.  She followed Austin around just waiting for him to drop a french fry.


Princess Mady with her dress, jewelry, and smile.

After the party, Jordan and I got back in the car to head to the lake.  I know Jordan was exhausted, but I think he secretly liked to be behind the wheel again for a road trip.  


Abby in the truck catching a little breeze in the window.  Her hair is out of control.  Hair cut time soon.

Abby and I hanging out in the truck.  She was asleep most of the time, but decided to sit on me just as I was getting comfortable.
We finally arrived at the lake!  I think Jordan and I visibly relax when we arrive.  At the lake, there are no schedules, abundant food, always something interesting happening, and great company.

As promised, I wanted to give you all an update on the pavilion shutters.  In this picture Dad has covered the shutters with the same material used on the interior of the pavilion.  When closed, the shutters just look like a wall.  They are so great but he's not done yet!  Finishing touches to come soon.

I had to include this picture because it represents one of my favorite things.  I love sipping coffee in the morning with Mom, Dad, and Jordan under the pavilion.  It's not too hot in the mornings and it's nice to watch the day start up.  The pavilion has a good vantage point to see the road, house, and lake, all while sitting in the shade!


After much discussion we finally decided what to do with the wood piece I purchased last month at a garage sale.  We decided not to paint it white.  (For that would be a sin against trees!)  The tree branch ended up perched on a shelf under the pavilion.  I think it looks great here and Mom is happy! :)


Jordan got a chance to fill his hunger for 4-wheeling.  Abby wanted to sit with him so I snapped this quick picture before taking her inside.  Notice the silver bike bell on the handle bar?  It has a delicate "chime-chime" noise which is in direct contrast to the rumble of the engine.  I don't know why I find this so funny but it was a good little gift Jordan and I got Mom and Dad this summer.  You know it's our 4 wheeler from a distance when you hear the "chime chime"!

Here is a quick picture of Andy and me!  Andy is "the lake baby".  His Mom and Dad are friends who live at the lake full time and Andy is the best baby in the world.   He rarely puts up any kind of fuss and is happy to bounce from person to person.

True to lake culture, I HAD to get a picture of Tony's truck after a trip of cootering.  (If you don't know what "cootering" means, here are some synonyms for you: salvage, shop, junk yard diving, up-cycle.) I wouldn't let ya'll down by excluding such a picture!  They got all kinds of random things at the junk yard (a grill this time) and Tony really seems to enjoy it.

Mom and I decided to make a cake with homemade frosting.  We made a red velvet cake with vanilla creme frosting.  If you can't read the recipe in this picture for the frosting, I've listed it below.
Vanilla Whipped Frosting:
1 8 oz package of cream cheese (regular, softened)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1/2 tsp of almond extract (you can use more vanilla if you don't have almond)
2 cups heavy cream
Combine cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and almond extract in large bowl.  Blend until smooth.  Continue to blend and slowly pour cream into the mixture.  Blend for 3-5 min until you have soft peaks or the consistency of frosting.  
We liked that the frosting wasn't super sweet and was very light.  It is supposed to hold up well in the heat
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Speaking of heat, it got VERY hot this weekend.  This thermometer reads 105.2 degrees.  I'm not sure where the censor is located, but I can attest for the heat.  Don't worry, we all survived.

Dad spent all day Sunday smoking brisket and ribs on the smoker.  They turned out so great (as usual)!
This final picture is of our Sunday night meal.  WOW we hurt ourselves.  Leftovers are going to be good though!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend as well!  Now that it is September, the weather should begin to cool down.  The Fall is always busy with football, activities, holidays, and work but I'm looking forward to it!

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