It's on to McKinney State Park in Austin...

Tuesday, Nov. 10^th thru Friday morning, Nov. 13^th

We drove to McKinney, checked in and set up camp. Nice place but at least 60% is closed due to the heavy flooding they had two weeks earlier. So bummed as so many of the camping spots & hiking trails are closed but we had a nice pull through site with some nice trees.

We set up, then headed to HEB for groceries, then decided to get back to camp before the traffic got bad.  We ate a wonderful dinner of salami, cheeses, breads and fruits. So yummy. We made our plan for the next day, played domino's and then headed to bed.

Wednesday- Got up, enjoyed our coffee and quiet time and then got dressed for the day and headed to Austin to look around. Went downtown, looked down S. Congress stores, ate at a Food Truck Park, nothing great, but good. Then more shopping around several little areas. 

 

We did some Christmas Shopping, as our goal was to use the time in Austin to knock out as much of our gift buying as we can. Then we headed back to camp and ate cheeses, salami meal again, it was sooo good.
Then more games and bed.

Thursday- We got up and enjoyed our reading, coffee and down time before going on a hike and picture taking excursion. 

Nice hike, sad we can’t get to more of the park, but so much was damaged in floods. Went back to camp and got dressed and headed back to an area of town we had passed on our way out the day before. Did some more Christmas Shopping and found an amazing Italian Restaurant for a late lunch. Oh my, so good. Best Margarita Pizza we have ever had. 



 
 Before you judge us too harsh...
this pretty much was our only meal of the day...and besides...we really love good food and this was amazing. I am ready to go back because I was so full I couldn't eat the gelato, and I really wanted to try it. Next time, dessert will be eaten first.

Then a bit more shopping before heading to camp to pack up and hook up as much as we can before dark. Then we played games and headed to bed. 
Tomorrow we head on to Garner State Park.
 

Our time with Hudson at Stephen F. Austin

It was dark by the time David, Ashley and Emma left, so we decided to eat inside as its so dark at our campsite. We had fun eating and Hudson was so excited and cute, it was pretty obvious he was feeling quite proud to have Bud and Honey all to himself! 

Side note:
This little boy and his love for his "blankie". He wraps it around his body or drags it, and its just so stinking cute

After dinner, we got ready for bed and watched a Mickey Mouse movie and then begin to try to settle him to sleep. 

He was so excited and had a hard time staying on his sleeping bag. Lot of ups and downs out of our bed, but finally he went to sleep with us and then we moved him down to his pallet. Not the most restful night, he climbed in with us about 5:30 and slept for another 30 minutes before being he was ready to roll out and play!

We dressed and had breakfast outside, which he loved! 

He talked and talked about everything he saw or heard.  He loves being outside and loves nature so we were very thankful the rain had let up for our day with him! So much fun. He loved the swing ground too! 

We took lots of hikes, a lot, which of course loved! He is a typical little boy, he loves to pick up rocks, sticks...you know...treasures all along the way.

He was so much fun, whether we played with bubbles, playdo or just hiking around, he is such a joy!!!
Larry let him “drive” his truck…oh my, he thought he was so big!
He is all boy...he loves to pull, push and turn every knob on a vehicle.


Late in the afternoon, we headed to Katy and spent the next few hours playing with the kids, visiting with Ashley, doing laundry and taking baths. David came in and Ashley had fixed us a great Pasta dish and we enjoyed eating in their dining room! Nice treat for us. We don’t sit down and eat at their house much, we are always on the go or eating out. So very fun, Ashley was so excited to have us "over" for supper, something we've never gotten to do in that way! Then we headed out, hard to leave as I was not through spending time with my girl but it was dark and we needed to get back to camp. We spent some time cleaning up the trailer, packing stuff away that we had brought just for kids play, etc. Then to bed, but once again, our hearts are so full of good times spent with these two and a treat to get to see David and Ashley too! A fun second stop on our Texas Tour!

Our time with Emma Grace at Stephen F. Austin State Park

Saturday, Nov. 7th and Sunday, Nov. 8^th 

Stephen F. Austin Park

Ashley and David found a sweet little breakfast place called Mamie's to meet at and we scheduled to meet at 9:30. We arrived before them and were waiting on the porch for them when they drove up. To say the kids were exited is an understatement! They were shocked, couldn't figure out how we just "appeared" there and super excited. We had a great breakfast (the kids were loved the Mickey Mouse pancakes), then we loaded up Emma 

 













 and headed back to camp. Emma was so excited she was giddy! 
We might have been pretty giddy ourselves!

It was rainy for the next several hours but we played games, colored,  played with play-dough, etc inside, while Bud took a nap! 
 















 










 




Emma loves to do any type of artwork, so she was quite content to sit at our little table and color, etc. while it rained outside. Oh, and we might have been eating a few snacks too!
 Once the rain stopped we went outside and enjoyed taking a hike. This girl thought the hike was through a forest and so her creativity took over and she made it quite the adventure for us all!

 










 She pointed out lots of places where the forest animals lived along with a tree that looked just like Cinderella. 
 







 



 








After a long hike, sometimes a little girl just needs her Bud to carry her and thankfully she has a Bud that can! We are so thankful for these days to enjoy our grands!



We played in the dirt and played with bubbles, before calling it a day and eating supper inside as it was raining again. Emma was so excited to be in the trailer,  so it was fun times! She went to bed and to sleep so easy and slept great till about 6 AM. She crawled in bed with us for a bit, then we got up and dressed and made Sweet Potato Pancakes and sausage. Yum. 

We enjoyed sitting outside and eating and planning what to do next!

We had tons of fun playing at the “swing ground” as Emma referred to it as it only had swings. 

We had such a fun day of playing, hiking, swinging, playing with play-do, playing and laughing. I read her several Bible stories and she wanted to write a book about God. It was about 6 pages long, with drawings and precious precious words from Emma about God and the Holy Spirit. What a precious heart she has, and what a great understanding of the Holy Spirit for a 6 year old!

  David, Ashley and Hudson arrived around 4, Hudson was SO excited for his turn! They stayed and visited for a little while, then took Emma and headed home as it is a school night for her. The time as always went way to fast, but we are so thankful to have a little one on one time with these two. They are both growing up way too fast!!!
Next up...Our time with sweet Hudson!