Girl's Getaway- Inn Above Onion Creek

2012 Girl's Trip with Leigh (dog from the Inn)

Girl's Weekend 2012. Hopefully there will be a post like this every year!  I just went to a wonderful B&B with 6 of my best friends.  2 of them are currently pregnant so we needed to keep it close to home and decided to try the out "The Inn Above Onion Creek" since it is located just outside of Austin near Wimberley, Texas. It was fantastic.

http://www.innaboveonioncreek.com/

We spent the weekend eating, eating, drinking some wine, eating some more, and just catching up and spending time together.  The chefs at the inn are amazing and the hospitality/setting is so relaxing and nice.  We were able to reserve a cottage together and had our meals in the main inn. I highly recommend this place if you are looking for a simple weekend get away.

On Friday we all met in Wimberley and had an amazing lunch at The Leaning Pear.  We did some shopping at the small town stores and then headed back to the Inn for our first amazing meal.  That night we had our Christmas gift exchange (we've been doing versions of this gift exchange since college) and played board games and celebrated Kristen's birthday a little early.  I'm pretty sure we were all in bed around 9:30 PM!  Ahh, that is living!  On Saturday we had a delicious breakfast, followed by some spa appointments, and then surprised Leslie with a "Thing 1 Thing 2" twin baby sprinkle.  Then it was time  by the pool (you wouldn't have believed the weather even though it was January), another delicious dinner, and games and conversation.  Then breakfast and time to head home.  I feel recharged, refreshed, and reconnected to the girls that have been my friends for life, some of them even since elementary school.

This was such a simple, easy weekend. Nothing fancy, no flights, really close to home for most (well Kristen came in from El Salvador!) but I wouldn't change anything about it. The destination is just not as important as the time spent together- especially with a beautiful setting and yummy food.  I love you girls and our times together.  Can't wait for next year!

This dog loved our group. She poses for the camera!

Our cottage "Thelma"

Surprise Sprinkle Leslie!

Surprise!!! While you were at the spa we set up a baby shower!

Lots of butterflies at the Inn, I caught this little friend on my arm

Spending time in the "Library"

And here is our weekend's menu you need more reasons to try this place out! They use fresh, local, ingredients. We even saw all of the oranges they used for each morning's fresh squeezed orange juice in their compost pile :) I love food so everything below was such a treat.

Friday Night Dinner:

Roasted Tomato Soup with Cheese Crouton

Blackened Salmon with Chive Butter & Lemon

Creamed Orzo with Leeks

Sauteed Haricot Vert with Pinenuts & Shallots

Coconut Cream Pie

(pretty much the best pie I've ever had in my life)


Saturday Breakfast:

Open-Faced Croissant Breakfast Sandwich with Smoked Ham, Over Easy Eggs & Cheddar Cheese Sauce

Sliced Tomatoes

Fresh Squeezed OJ

Assorted Breakfast Breads

Homemade Granola & Seasonal Fresh Cut Fruit

Saturday Special Lunch (we arranged for shower)
Chicken Club Sandwich on Ciabatta
Salad with honey dijon mustard dressing
Homemade Brownies (to die for)


Saturday Dinner:

Farmers Market Salad with Pure Luck Chevre, Candied Pecans & Pears

Prime Rib with Au Jus & Horseradish Sour Cream

Roasted Vegetable Puree

Collard Green-Cornbread Gratin

Chocolate Cake

Sunday Breakfast:

Challah French Toast with Warm Cinnamon Peaches

Sausage

Scrambled Eggs

Fresh Squeezed OJ

Assorted Breakfast Breads

Homemade Granola & Seasonal Fresh Cut Fruit

Grapefruit with glazed Sugar
Fruit


I told you it was good!  :)


See you next year Paige, Kelley, Aimee, Kristen, Megan, and Leslie.  By then we will have added THREE more babies to the mix with hopes of more to come!  Thank you to Marshall and my parents for taking care of my sweet babies so that I could have some "me" time.

Nolan at Nine Months

Nolan turned 9 months old December 28th.  During his 8th month he learned to stand alone, somewhat walk behind a walker or a table, cruise around, and eat lots and lots of solid food.  I also just recently weaned him and that has been pretty sad for me but he hasn't seemed to mind at all.  There is something so special about nursing and I am so blessed that I was able to nurse all 3 of my children.  It is just another parenting milestone that pulls at your heartstrings, it makes me sad that he is no longer my little tiny baby.

Nolan is still very big and we will have his 9 month stats after his appointment next week.  He is very verbal and chatty and says many consonants like mama, dada, papa, nana, etc.  He strongly dislikes having his diaper changed or being spoon fed and is very strong so he often wins those battles.  He also dislikes his car seat and we wrestle with him and have to physically bend him in half to get him to sit :).  He loves to eat, play in the bath tub, be outside, play with his sibling's toys, bang at the window at the dogs, and be held.  He recently spent an entire weekend by himself with his Gigi and his Dandy and loved all of the attention and loving care he received.

I tried to take his picture by himself but these pictures are MUCH more indicative of his 9th month.  His siblings just want to be everywhere that he is and he is rarely lonely.  Peyton and Mallory both dressed themselves today, and yes-that is her Foofa costume and Peyton's shirt is on backwards.  Happy 9 months Nolie Noo! You are a happy, happy big boy and becoming more independent every day. We love you.

Christmas 2011

Christmas 2011 in pictures!  We really had a great December.  Christmas School Activities, Christmas decorating, Receiving Christmas cards,  Present Shopping, Elf On the Shelf, Cousin Activities and birthday party for Jesus, Time with family, and so many new fun treats.  Some of my favorite memories include our Elf on the Shelf- Mallory got the biggest kick out of seeing him throughout the day and would yell "ELLLLFFF!!!!".  Peyton loved watching old Christmas classics and talking about Jesus, Christmas, and Santa.  I loved continuing our tradition of opening new matching pajamas on Christmas Eve (Footie pajamas for all 3, just warms my heart:) ).  I planned to do lots of activities with them but with a 4 year old, 2 year old, and 8 month old things weren't always done the way I planned them.  A good example of this is my family's tradition of reading "A Night Before Christmas" together on the couch before bed.  I read the story as planned and Peyton listened, but Nolan slept through it, and Mallory ran around taking bites out of the carrots we left out for the reindeer- refusing to take part in the story.  :) We had a great time together this month and that is all that matters.  I really tried to enjoy the moment of Christmas morning and not be too caught up in taking too many pictures, so this is a sample of what we captured, starting with Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve Mass. Such high expectations of everyone participating this year but he fell asleep the moment he sat down and slept through the entire mass.  Thank Goodness Gigi and Dandy were there to serve as his makeshift bed!

Adorable Nolan, He reminds me so much of Buddy the Elf from the movie Elf. He is just SO Big. He is 8 months old in this picture. Nolan's FIRST Christmas!

Precious Little Children in their Christmas Clothes

Best part of this picture- my 8 month old looks bigger than the other 2 combined!

Best 3 Christmas Presents

Matching Footed Pajamas for all

Leaving carrots for reindeer, Twix Bars for Santa, and Water- per their request

Santa came!

Waiting to see what Santa brought

A Fleet of Trucks!

A Costume Tree and Baby Gear!

Best picture I could get of the 3 of them. Too much running around looking at all the presents to sit still!

Playing the piano that Gigi gave them

Peyton is already talking about next Christmas. It still is my most favorite time of year and this year was made even better with the addition of Nolan. He had a great first Christmas and seemed most excited about the wrapping paper, the trampoline,  his walker, and his new rock n roll Elmo.   You might have also noticed multiple costume changes on Mallory in these pictures.  She tried on many of her gifts throughout the day and ended up in her Yo Gabba Gabba nightgown with bumblebee wings on. Love that girl's style! Happy New Year to all!

A Cousin Christmas- Nativity Hunt and Party

We were so blessed to have all of the Yates cousins together for Christmas this year. Thank you to Nick and Alice for making the trip to Dallas from Kansas City, there is nothing better than being with family on Christmas.  We decided to draw names for a present exchange this year and create a night devoted to the kids, making special Christmas memories with their cousins.  There are 10 cousins ranging in age from 8 months to 9 years old, so lots of fun memories to be made together.  This year we had a Nativity Scavenger Hunt with a special surprise when they found the baby Jesus.  We surprised the kids with a Jesus birthday party complete with cake and party hats and blowers, they all got to blow out the candles on his cake together.  The only thing was that we accidentally put trick candles on the cake, so they wouldn't blow out- this was actually very symbolic of Jesus's light. :) Accident?  Maybe not!

The nativity scavenger was lots of fun and a great way to talk about the real meaning of Christmas and incorporate the birth of Jesus into the fun.  I put it together using pieces of the nativity and items around Bebe and Papa's house.   We read the clues and tailored each clue for each child so that even the youngest kids had a chance to participate. When the child found their piece they were able to place it in the manger scene  We let them all search for the baby Jesus together, and Anna, number 3 of 10 Grands, was the proud finder.  Here are the clues we used in case anyone ever wants to recreate it. I did this quickly and easily, nothing too fancy :)

1.  STAR

One night 3 Wise Men saw a brand new star -they hoped this would lead them to their King from afar.  Can you find the star?  Look in the place where the Lincoln Logs Live, be careful not to dump them out, or Papa might start to pout!

2.  3 WISE MEN

You found the star! Now I wonder where the 3 Wise Men are? They packed their gifts and followed the star, to go to the place to see their Savior’s face.  Can you find the 3 wise men?  Look where we go when we get out of the pool and are cold, this always cleans and warms you up, at least I’ve been told.

3.  SHEPHERD

There weren’t many people near the manger that day, but a shepherd was tending to his flock.  Can you find the shepherd?  He is hiding in something that rhymes with flock.

4.  COW

A shepherd is lonely without his animal friends, do you know that Mary and Joseph found no rooms at the Inn?  So with animals they decided to bunk in.  Look for the animal that makes the sound “Moo”, I think you may find him in one of Papa’s shoes.

5.  DONKEY

  Mary and Joseph didn’t have a car, back then you rode a donkey to go near and far.  A donkey was there on that special day, look for him and feed him some hay. Our donkey is sleeping underneath many steps. Can you find him?  I bet you can, yep!

6.  ANGEL

 An angel appeared to tell Mary a baby would be born.  Lets find an angel and bring them to our scene, look in the place where Bebe’s clothes are cleaned.

7.  JOSEPH

Joseph helped Mary travel on their way and was looking all over for a place for them to stay.  He found their way to our very special manger, which was a safe place to keep them out of danger. The animals in the manger were happy to share their room, look for Joseph among the legumes.

8. MARY

 This brings us to Mary, the baby’s mother in this story, she came to a manger to have a baby of glory.  Mary is sitting with a very old relative- she has a picture that is like no other. See if you can find Mary near the image of your Great, Great, Great Grandmother.

9.   JESUS

The nativity has been set and everyone is ready. His mother Mary will hold him close and we will worship him with joyful hearts.  The wise men will bring their precious gifts to Him and the animals, shepherd, and angels will all rejoice and sing.  You will find the baby Jesus near the best part of the tree- the tree that has been decorated for the birth of this baby.

Here are pictures from our very fun night.  We LOVE our Yates cousins so much!!!  

Jingle Bells

This little "performance" in Mallory's class of new 2-year-olds put the biggest smile on my face.  Mallory sure loves to jingle. 

And am I dreading the day that Peyton figures out the real words to Jingle Bells.  This is his third year saying "Oh Muck Fun" instead of "Oh What Fun, it is to ride!" and I LOVE it.  He also made some other lyrical changes for this version.  

These 2 little elves are making my Christmas spirits bright. Oh Muck Fun it is to be their Mom. :) Merry Christmas!