The last bit of Texas

We had such a great time in Texas. My posts hardly do any justice to the life-giving week we spent with our friends. Words like "marvelous", "wonderful" and "fun" fall short. Our trip to Texas was like a warm meal at a full table after a long day of working. It fed us in so many ways. 

Even in the literal ways of feeding us, it was incredible! Justin and Jenn provided fresh, healthy and delicious meals for us. Justin has become quite the artisan cook since we last saw him. Eating anything he made was seriously a worship experience, but his vegetables were especially amazing. Matt ate vegetables. He hates vegetables! I've been sneaking them in his meals like I'm packing secret messages to an inmate. But he got second helpings of Justin's kale salad and chomped on Brussels sprout chips like they were Fritos. I think that says it all about Justin's cooking. (Let that be a lesson to the kids out there: anyone can enjoy vegetables if you have the right recipe. And lots of lemon zest.) 

 

 A very special part of our trip was getting to see the Partins. Chels and I have mastered the art of long-distance friendship, but it was so wonderful to get to see her in person and spend some quality time with her. And by "quality time", I mean shopping, eating and going out dancing. I hadn't seen her or her husband David in a little over a year, so their familiar faces were a great delight after spending a couple months traveling around to unknown places. They drove up from Del Rio and treated us to a night in Austin with them. Lucky for us, our husbands get along great and we had a lot of fun playing downtown together.

 

Our first stop after breakfast was the Austin farmer's market. After trying out some samples and holding someone else's puppies, we sought out to find somewhere air conditioned to be. We ended up at Frank's Hot Dogs and ate snacks exploding in calories (like chocolate covered bacon), drank unconventional iced coffee and read The Onion-on paper! A real excitement to loyal fans of the usually web-based satirical news.

 

As much as I loved exploring downtown Austin, I have to admit that the highlight for me was going out later that night. I'm usually entirely content cozying up to my introverted husband on the weekends, but it's nice to be unleashed once in a while, break my bedtime and dance it out. Especially with two really great friends who know you well and you can completely be yourself around.

I loved seeing my sweet Texas friends one last time before they head out to North Carolina! Chelsea took way better pictures of our weekend together, which you can see here. We love you guys! Thanks for such a fun weekend together! And let's all agree to skip the chili waffle fries next time.

Our last few days with the Gerhardts were so fun. We overlapped with the Longs visit and got to spend a couple days with them as well. It was such a treat to watch Matt in his element with the people that know him best. There is seriously nothing like being with people that love & know the person you love & know so well. It feels like we have been transitioning to and from communities our whole marriage and our constantly feeling out of place in California, so I cherish any moment I see Matt relax and be himself. I loved sitting in a living room with people that have known Matt longer than I have, listening to their inside jokes and predicting his behavior. Not having to bridge any gaps or explain ourselves. It's such a sweet thing to have friends become family, isn't it?