Visiting Family in Houston

We just got back from a great trip to Houston to visit lots of family!  It was the first time we had seen some of them in FIVE years!

It was our first road trip in our new car!  On my goodness...traveling is so much better when you are not gasping for air due to the claustrophobia of a tiny, over packed car!  I am so grateful for our new car!  On the way there, we stopped in Centerville, TX at Woody's Smokehouse to stretch our legs and sample some beef jerky from the "Beef Jerky Capital of the World" according to the bill boards on the highway!!! We tried several flavors and loved the sweet-n-spicy!  YUM!  We also picked up a homemade pie for dessert the next day!  They had rows and rows of pies, preserves, jelly,syrup, fudge and random jars of cool food!  What a fun place to stop and truly some of the friendliest people around!

Our first stop was at my Aunt Bobbi's House!  She just moved in a couple months ago and it already looks AMAZING!  I am so happy for her!  She has done such a wonderful job of truly making it feel like home. My cousin Amity was also there with her beautiful 3 month old baby, Nate!

Nate is just adorable...I mean look at that face!

I felt like I was in heaven holding him!

He was so full of expressions and personality!  I could just stare at him all day!  We were so glad we got to meet him!  

I love this picture of my cousin with her baby boy!  What a great mommy she is! 

From there we went to visit Kevin's stepbrother and his family!  We were having so much fun playing with Austin, our 15 month old nephew that we didn't take any pictures!  (I know, can you believe it?!?)

The next day we went to visit my Grandmother and Grandpa!  We had a wonderful time chatting and catching up with them!

Next we went to a restaurant called Willie's for lunch where we met my Aunt Tina, Uncle Tom and my cousins Kendall and Joshua.  It has been 5 years since we saw them!  I can't believe how much they have grown!

My parents even joined us from Austin!  I was so excited to see them again!  We all had so much fun together.

After lunch we headed back to my grandparents house where my mom gave them some of their favorite things.  A new nightgown for Grandmother and Grandpa's favorite mixed nuts!  Doesn't my Grandpa look cute in this picture? 

Finally it was time to head back to our hotel!  Here I am with my mom resting in the lobby after a busy two days!

We really liked our room!  MUCH BETTER than the place we stayed the previous night that had cops in the parking lot, a broken air conditioner and overall...just a scary place!  The reviews on that one were not accurate! YIKES!  We really appreciated this hotel stay after that experience!

The next morning we had breakfast with my parents at the hotel and finished off a wonderful trip by feeding the fish in the hotel lobby!  It was lots of fun!

We had a great time catching up with everyone!  It was so nice to see all our loved ones!