Girls Trip to Central Texas

I couldn't believe my luck that I had managed to end up with BOTH kids being away for almost an entire week in July. Actually it was more planning than luck, but in any case it was time to celebrate. Julie, Michelle, and I had planned a much anticipated girls trip away to central Texas. We were so excited to be together again and catch up!

Julie handled all of the plans for travel and accommodation. Michelle and I honestly had no idea what we were doing for the week, which was hilarious to me. Jeff kept asking me where we were going and couldn't believe that I didn't know, ha! (I could have checked my text messages from February but where is the fun in that?)

We set off from Julie's house and headed west towards San Antonio. All of our road trips over the years have included multiple stops at Bucees and this was no exception. Love that place! We made it to our favorite outdoor shopping mall in San Antonio and enjoyed lots of shopping for our first day. By the end of the day, we drove a short way to Bourne, Texas for our overnight stay at a quaint hotel called Ye Kendall Inn. It was so precious! We stayed in a single cabin with 2 bedrooms and a bathroom, off in a quiet and secluded corner of the property. It reminded me of an expanded bed and breakfast. We loved everything about it!

After our night in Boerne, we enjoyed a yummy breakfast at a nearby café and then wandered the main street of the town known for quaint shopping and antiques. The weather seemed much more pleasant than what we were used to in the Houston area.

After a long morning of shopping, we drove to the Spring Branch area to check out Julie's parents' new home there. It's a beautiful country home on some acreage with deer roaming all around. Julie spread some corn feed and they all came out for lunch. So neat!

Later that evening, we drove to Fredericksburg which is where we would spend the rest of our trip. Fredericksburg is an old town in central Texas known for its wineries, antiques, and quaint shopping. It was my first visit to this beautiful area in the hill country. We checked into another neat property and were upgraded to a cottage with multiple rooms. We immediately loved it and got settled in.

When it was time for dinner, we googled some suggestions and ended up at this amazing restaurant called Cabernet Grill in the heart of the Texas Wine Country. It was a gorgeous setting and even more beautiful inside. We were too tired from our long day to indulge in their extensive wine list, but the food was fantastic and the atmosphere was perfect.

 

It was later that night, after our lovely dinner and drive through Fredericksburg, that we ended up back at our cottage and ready to settle in for the night. We were changed into our pajamas and ready for bed when we discovered that the beds in our cottage seemed a bit dirty. We had a quick discussion with the property manager, requesting some clean sheets. It's a bit of a blur but it was around that time, about 10:30 p.m., that I spotted something which sent me into a full-on panic attack. While changing the bed sheets, I noticed a few signs of bedbugs on the pillow cases. I tried to stay calm and texted Jeff a picture of what I'd found, and he immediately responded with alarm because he knew exactly what the picture was showing. After what we'd been through in the spring, it just about sent me over the edge. I completely embarrassed myself and had a total breakdown!

So here we were, close to 11 pm at night, and no longer feeling ready for bed at all. The girls were incredibly supportive of my panic and feelings, so we made some calls and found an alternative place to stay across the street. We packed up, checked out, and drove across the street. The night manager greeted us with a warm smile and kind understanding of our predicament. Without wanting to tell him too many details about our story, we politely asked if we could "inspect" the room before we officially checked in. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Sure, let's go on up." He showed us into the suite and sat back patiently at the door while we took a look around the room.

Picture us: 3 grown women in pajamas and no makeup, storming into a hotel suite -- that we hadn't even paid for! -- iPhone flashlights blazing while we ripped apart the freshly made beds searching for any suspicious signs of bedbugs. Just thinking back on that makes me howl with laughter, but it sure didn't feel amusing at the time with my panic just beneath the surface. We won't soon forget the kindness of the sweet night manager who graciously took us in and dealt with our crazy. We loved our new suite and enjoyed staying there for the remainder of our trip. But just for good measure, we packed up all of our belongings and kept our suitcases locked inside the hot car the next day. It was our own version of a "heat treatment" to make sure we didn't bring any tag-along hitchhikers (a.k.a. bedbugs) back with us!

All hotel drama aside, we ended up having the BEST time in Fredericksburg. We walked and shopped all along the main street for an entire full day and a half. We stopped at one of the local breweries for an afternoon snack, and we enjoyed a lovely outdoor dinner with live music.

Boerne and Fredericksburg were the perfect destination for a girls trip and we loved every second. What a blessing to have such amazing friends to enjoy a much-needed getaway and make lifelong memories!

Kaitlynn's Week with Anais

While planning for our summer in Texas, one of Kaitlynn's top priorities was to finally reunite with her all time bestie, Anais. I reached out to Anais's mom, Keri, to see if they might be able to host Kaitlynn during the week that Connor was away at camp. As busy as their summer was, I couldn't believe our luck that they happened to be free and were happy to keep Kaitlynn for several days. Keri and I were thrilled to be able to get the girls together again. It was a long-awaited reunion filled with giggles and excitement!

Keri was Super Mom that week and planned countless fun activities for the girls. They went to Glow Zone, swam in matching swimsuits, made batch after batch of slime, played on the trampoline, designed matching tie-dye t-shirts, enjoyed Parents Night Out, and so many other fun activities that I couldn't believe. Kaitlynn had the time of her life with Anais and her siblings, Amelia and Joshua. It was almost a full week of sleepover fun and pure heaven for the girls.

These sweet girls and their lasting friendship continues to be a blessing to both families. Kaitlynn was sad to see the fun end, but we had much more planned in the weeks ahead.

Connor at Carolina Creek

After a couple days of relaxing at the Aasmyr house, we were ready to head off on one of Connor's most anticipated weeks of the summer. He would be going with his buddy, Benjamin, for a week of overnight camp at Carolina Creek Christian Camp in Huntsville, Texas. It was a rainy drive but we were all smiles and excitement for their adventure ahead.

Connor has visited this camp before but only for a few nights at a time. This would be both boys' first full week of overnight camp. The camp grounds are in a beautiful, wooded setting surrounded by lakes and nonstop activities for the campers. The cabins are air-conditioned with attached bathroom facilities. The boys couldn't wait to pick their bunks and get settled in.

Connor immediately picked the darkest corner bunk and Benjamin chose the top bunk in the same corner. Julie and I stuck around for a bit and then it was time to head out. We couldn't wait for their week of fun to begin, and thus began the website stalking to sneak a peek at how they were doing. It didn't take long for us to spot the boys in the daily photos. They looked like they were having a blast all week.

I couldn't believe my luck when there were these two awesome photos of Connor being bounced on the Blob at the lake. How cool!

And I loved seeing the boys' bonding over some kind of stage performance at one of their nightly worship events. Connor later told me that they were all mortified by this skit, HA!

At the end of the week, I was SO ready to see the boys. It always surprises me how long it feels when they are gone the entire week. Julie and I made the early drive and spotted the boys right away. They were all smiles with hoarse voices from their week of crazy fun. When both boys were asked about their week of camp, each replied, "Awesome!"

After hearing some funny stories from their cabin mates about the nonstop laughs, farts, and other typical boy shenanigans, it was time for the campers to convene with their parents for a presentation of character qualities from the camp counselors. Each camper was presented with a certificate and bible verse describing a trait they embodied during their time at camp. Benjamin's was Responsibility and Connor's was Honorable.

My Connor is a TALKER and I was overjoyed hearing all of the stories from their week as we made the 2-hour drive home. He barely had any voice left but he excitedly described the fun that they all had. He loved the nightly worship because the pastor was super funny and the songs were great. His cabin group won some sort of contest with canoes that apparently were filled with brown recluse spiders (this could possibly be a foreshadowing, stay tuned!) The zipline and water tubing were his favorite activities, and the camp food was really good despite not being enough at times for these hungry, growing boys. And he couldn't stop laughing when telling about the cabin mate who farted nonstop during the night. Gross!

I was so happy to be reunited with my boy and so proud of them for managing a week away while growing in their faith. He was already ready for another week of camp next summer!

Back to Normal

After Jeff left for Dubai, we consoled ourselves by staying busy in Katy. There were lots of fun play dates, favorite restaurant visits, and just pretending like life was back to normal at "home" in Katy.

I love this first photo of Kaitlynn with her friend, Libby. They played all afternoon making slime, one batch of which was a bright magenta color. That batch would end up haunting us for weeks to come, as it ended up spilling in the backseat of our borrowed Lexus SUV belonging to my good friend, Bethany. Jeff and I, along with the Cinco Ranch auto-detailing shop, spent HOURS working to get that red slime out of Bethany's beautiful beige leather seats and interior carpet. Good times.



I had a long-awaited hair appointment with my favorite ladies, Jessica and Beatriz. It was an overdue return to my blonde hair color.

Kaitlynn had really missed her favorite friend from 3rd grade, Isabelle, and she was beyond excited to spend a day with her. They packed in lots of fun, including crafts, swimming, and yummy dessert. I loved the photos from Isabelle's mom, and Kaitlynn decided she wanted to run off with Isabelle's precious eyeglasses, ha!

Back at the Aasmyr household, Connor was right at home playing with his buddies, Ben and Tim, while Kaitlynn enjoyed more time with her bestie Lily.

We managed to pack in the kids' overdue dental visit as well as a trip to one of Connor's old favorites, CiCi's Pizza. He can still eat more alfredo pizza and cinnamon rolls than the rest of us combined!

Another Goodbye

Before we knew it, the dreaded day arrived when Jeff would return to Dubai for work. The kids and I were scheduled to stay in Texas for the remainder of the summer, which meant that we would yet again be apart for about 5 weeks.

We enjoyed every last second of time with him before it was time to head to the airport. There were lots of hugs and sighs as we prepared to say goodbye. We enjoyed some frozen yogurt and had one last meal together. Whataburger, ha!

Although it was never easy, we had managed this separation before and so we naively assumed this one would be easier. Plus, the kids and I had a packed summer schedule of fun and family/friend visits to look forward to. Jeff was dreading the trip big time, but neither of us expected the goodbye to be a big deal to the kids. Oh, how wrong we were! Another round of heartbreaking hugs and tears quickly descended upon all of us at the airport, making it so much harder for Jeff to say goodbye. I can usually keep my emotions in check, but seeing my kids break down just tears me apart. After returning to the car for the ride back to our hotel, the kids just sobbed and bawled. It was awful. Jeff later texted me, "That was way harder than I thought it would be."

Luckily we had some distractions lined up for the rest of the weekend, including the business computers at our hotel, which for some strange reason became a "happy place" for the kids during our stay. I was thankful for the reprieve from sadness while Jeff made his long trip home.

Astros

After watching the beginning of their new season from across the world, we were excited to be able to attend a Houston Astros game at Minute Maid Park. It was our last night together with Jeff before he would return to Dubai, so we were soaking in the family fun. Kevin was able to join us which made the outing even more special for us.

We love to arrive early to the games and enjoy the stadium activities. There wasn't a batting practice that evening, but the kids were still able to get up close and personal to Jose Altuve again like they did at their first game last season. They didn't manage to get a signature this year, though.

In the biggest surprise of the evening, Kaitlynn was spotted by her former beloved teacher, Mrs. Ohmart. She was sitting with her family in a nearby section and messaged me to confirm if we were at the game. We were overjoyed to be able to hug her neck after missing her so much in the past year. Kaitlynn was on Cloud 9!