::Visiting the Valley~Summer Road-trips:: Part Three

One of our last days in McAllen we visited the McAllen Nature Center. Filled with terrain and local plants. Some of my personal favorites are cactus and succulents. And, a reminder. Walk do not run. Life is filled with so much busy work, hastily decisions, and constant motion. What a perfect place to slow down, take in nature and family and remember to slow down. Life isn't always about the go, go, go, at times you should learn to listen to your heart, mind, and body and just relax. We have tried to do just that this summer. Relax and take it all in. Our road trips calm us and make us happy. 

On this day we truly enjoyed nature, it's creatures and of course one another's company. Family is so important during trying times, it's always great to have the memory of all the people who truly love us and whom we love. 

When I am in the Valley time tends to stop or slow down for me and I feel like I am at home. Because well I am. I wasn't born in South Texas but I spent my entire childhood and young adulthood there and it's my home. 

We also visited the Hidalgo Pump House, but I didn't know we needed a permit to take pictures, so I only got to take a couple. This was one. It's a great little area to learn about the water industry and it's history in the Valley. 

Surviving the Storm ::Weekend Snapshots::

As we all know Houston is currently under water, again. The rain has not given our communities a rest. Of course, mother nature is so unpredictable and we can't allow it to dictate what we do. For a few weeks now we had planned to go camping this past weekend since it was Memorial Day and we all had some time off. But, we didn't expect the rain to pour down the way it did last Friday night. As we packed up and got our truck ready for the weekend's adventure the rain came down, we didn't let that stop us. 

We had planned to arrive in San Antonio that night and then drive out to Garner State Park Saturday morning. As we started our drive out of Houston and onto I-10 the rain started to clear. We made it to San Antonio with no rain in sight and the next morning left to Utopia. Camping has become one of those yearly must trips! Especially as the kids grow and learn to love  the outdoors. 

This has been, at least, our 4th or 5th time making this trip with the kids and despite the hiccups along the way, it's always fun! The kids do become restless and get on each others (and our) nerves.  But, it's manageable and all part of the road trip experience. We tolerate it to a certain point and take plenty of rest stops to give one another a break. It's all about learning along the way and fixing those areas where we could all use some help, like patience!  

As I said before, Friday night we made it into San Antonio and the next morning after a very hardy breakfast at Cracker Barrel (I had never been) we started our route to Garner. It's always exciting knowing that you are so close to your destination. 

We arrived at Garner Saturday morning and spent the day setting up, cooking and swimming in Rio Frio. Everything was great. We ate good food, laughed, splashed in the water and had some sangria made by my Sister-in-Law, Ale. It was picture perfect until the storm.

That afternoon I took a much-deserved nap and when I woke up it was night time and the kids were roasting marshmallows. At about midnight, the rain started, but it wasn't some light trickle rain. It was a flood advisory downpour rain. After about 30 minutes or so Ricardo and I decided we needed to abandon ship, or in this case evacuate our tent. The water was seeping through the seams of the tent and rising from below. Our air mattress and pillows were getting wet. It would be a somewhat long, uncomfortable and kind of scary night for us. The rain poured for about 3 hours or so. When the morning came the sun came out but we had already decided to head back to San Antonio and spend the rest of our holiday weekend there. 

We made breakfast Sunday morning and then headed out once again. 

The kids were such good troopers and usually go with the flow so it's easy to make quick decisions. It's always good to remain calm and the kids will follow your lead. We did panic the night before thinking about rising water and our safety but overall we made it through. We did have a great weekend with lots of fun memories and good experiences that will help us survive any other storms that come our way!

LINKING UP WITH ARI OF 3TWENTYSIX FOR HER WEEKEND SNAPSHOTS ROUND-UP! 

{Pictures from San Antonio tomorrow...}

::Weekend Snapshots:: Texas Bluebonnets 2016

This weekend was super busy for our little family. Saturday we had to split up, I went to an all day conference with our HLB crew and my Hubby and kids had baseball. This is one of the biggest sacrifices I make as a Momma who wants to grow and develop not only for myself but for my brand. And, a sacrifice my children and Hubby make for me as my children and spouse. I try to rarely cut into our family time and obligations on the weekend but sometimes it's needed. This was also an event that we committed to a while ago and before I knew we would do baseball this season. But, I made no excuses and woke up early and left the house that morning, leaving behind all baseball things prepped for my kids so that their morning could go smooth as well.

I am really glad I did. Because we made new connections at the Business Advancement Conference and our administrative team was able to have an actual face to face meeting, most of our day to day work is done online via, chat and texts, and phone calls. Face to face is becoming more and more important as we begin to get more organized and structured and committed to our group. So, that was awesome! I love seeing Jihane and Ariana in person when needed. I think we are 3 truly different people and our dynamic is interesting but I feel we have and continue to grow every time we meet and talk. 

More on the conference this week. 

Since I had spent all day away from the kids and Hubby we went to dinner at my In-Laws house to eat some crawfish. And, we also planned a small day-trip for the next day to seek out what the bluebonnet craze was all about! Sunday morning we slept in a little and then woke up, got ready and met up with Ricardo's cousin for a short trip further out into the country. We drove, with really no clue of where we would go. Finally, about 30-45 minutes away from Houston we found a spot along the side of the road where everyone was stopping so we stopped, cause when in Rome. Ha. We for the first time ever, yes, ever, got bluebonnet shots! It was fun until we were eaten alive by tiny ants. After which we continued to take more pictures but were definitely done with it. We headed towards the Blue Bell Creameries, we didn't know it would be closed but still looked around and planned to go back on a weekday when it's open to see more.

{ Please note we did not climb on the truck, we gently sat for pictures. } 

You would think our Sunday would have ended there, but oh yeah we have a 5 and 6-year old who never stop. We had a late lunch at MOD Pizza and then headed out to Meyer park to walk it off. We had fun and for sure, a FAMILY filled day. Exploring is always good, we went home exhausted, us, not the kids, and then tried to relax and get ready for the week.

How was your weekend?? 

DON'T FORGET: Link up with Jessica and me on our #WeekendSnapshots

link up below by entering this weeks post link!

http://www.3twentysix.com/2016/04/weekend-snapshots-15.html#more