Dallas through Seb's Phone

Oh how I wish I had remembered to bring our camera to Dallas. Luckily, Seb had his phone with him so we were able to get a few cute shots, but they don't quite capture the pure awesomeness of our vacation to Aunt Sethrina's last month!

We decided last minute to visit Sethrina and Josh for the Fourth. It was supposed to be a surprise for Noah and Laura (who were also going to be visiting the Stoddard's), but I must have spaced it and totally blew our cover. Whoops! 

On our drive there, Seb hit a dead deer with the car (thank heavens - it was a rental!). We unknowingly brought part of the deer along with us. When we stepped out of the car, we smelled a strange mixture of wet animal, cooking meat, and rot. Thanks, Sethrina, for helping us get the blood, hair, and guts off the car! You're the best! :)

We stayed in Sethrina's adorable apartment that sits on a gorgeous little lake. We were spoiled and got to stay in Josh and Sethrina's bedroom. Noah and Laura's family had the living room and our hosts checked themselves into a nearby hotel - so nice to give us their home for the weekend! 

Josh and Sethrina planned some fun and unique outings and several delicious meals. Here are some of my favorite highlights:

• Josh's smoked brisket with onions and pickles and BBQ sauce. What a combination! 
• Oh! And the homemade Dr. Pepper floats were out of this world!
• And the chocolate lava cakes were to die for!
• And Josh's potatoes were mouthwatering! 
• And of course, it isn't a visit to Sethrina's without her homemade bread. Seb loves the cinnamon swirl, but my favorite is her honey wheat. 
• Kayaking on the apartment lake (and taking my two cutie pies out on the water with me!)
• Having a water gun fight and playing capture the flag (in the sweltering Texas heat!)
• Having my very first professional massage (my heavens was that Asian guy strong - he nearly ripped my earlobes off!)
• Top Golf - it was kind of like a very cool version of bowling. Except it wasn't bowling, it was golf! And we had our own waiter and ordered lots of yummy food. 
• Swimming in a lake. I really enjoyed watching Hudson float out into the water with his life jacket on. He's so comfortable in the water now, as long as he's got his jacket. He loved going on the kayak and also LOVED spending time with Daddy. 
• Swimming at the apartment pool. One of the pools was particularly fun and had lots of little shallow areas that Beau just loved. He's a pretty independent little guy, so he really enjoyed being able to walk around by himself in the water. 
• Getting to play with Esther in the pool. She is the most athletic child I have ever met! And so dang cute!
• Hilarious iPad game!
• Revisiting The Original Pancake House for the second time in my life. Why haven't those caught on here?!

To sum things up, we had a WONDERFUL time and couldn't believe how much fun we were able to pack in such a short visit. 

Face full-o jerky. My content little guy.

This guy LOVES road trips!

This guy drove the whole way - what a trooper! We arrived at 2:00am!

Fell in love with Seb all over again after being in the car together for 10 hours!

We made it!

My only pic of Noelle and Laura from the whole trip :(

Bonding over TV

Hudson's turn to whack the ball

Look at it fly!

What a stud!

Cute monkey

We had to stop Beau from walking off the edge a few times!

Hudson and Josh

Loving the water!

What a ham!

Getting my diaper changed is the best, Mommy!