last few days in texas.

we've been home from texas for a few weeks now, but i still want to write about the last couple days there. we had such a fine time, i don't want to forget any of it. 

of course, we spent more time riding Lace. he is an off the track (OTT) thoroughbred. he is really pretty and fun (challenging for me) to ride!

it was so awesome having the arena just yards from the house. it made riding very convenient. 

later that day, the whole family went to the natural bridge caverns. i had no idea what to expect, but it was really cool! there were two caverns that a tour guide took us through. the pictures really don't capture the beauty. the rooms were HUGE down there!

we thought those things hanging down looked like jelly fish. the stalactite's and stalagmite's and other formations looked so different from each other. it reminded me of being under water with coral reef, plants and creatures.

that's a scary mask, bro...

here is a picture from the entrance of one of the caverns. you can see the railing going all the way down there, that gives you an idea of how big the caverns were. my butt was sore the next day from walking up and down so many stairs! in the second cave, when we got to the very bottom, we all sat down on benches. then our tour guide informed us that we were about to experience total darkness. we all turned off our cell phones and he turned off his flash light. it was complete and utter darkness. darkness that you can't experience in many other places. it weirded me out so bad! my eyes were playing tricks on me, making me think that i could see the ceiling, or see jon's knee next to mine. he told us that if we were in utter darkness for 6 hours or more, our eyes would not continue to work and we'd be permanently blinded!! my father in law was very doubtful of this statement, but who knows...i just know that i don't want to find out from experience.

this is the natural bridge. that's where the caverns get their name.

i took a picture of this fern and sent it to my sister, katie, saying "one day!"
she and i have both been paying extra close attention to our ferns...we are hoping that one day they will look as happy and healthy and this one does!...they just need some time.

jon, katilyn and i went to the mall that night. it was called the shops at la cantera and it was really nice! it reminded me a lot of fashion valley mall here, or a fuse between the gateway and city creek. we got there at dusk, which is my favorite time of day. it was fun to be out and about in san antonio with jon's little sister.

thursday was lake day!!! i love boating so much, so i was really looking forward to this trip. the dogs were moping around all morning. they knew that we were packing up the boat and that they weren't invited. right before we left, we decided that it would be alright if they came. kathy looked at them and asked if they wanted to come to the lake and got their leashes-THEY WERE SO EXCITED. i could not believe how receptive they were. they jumped in the car and sat so still. when we were two turns away from the lake (the lake was literally not in view) they both started whining. they knew that we were almost there. it was the cutest and weirdest thing! 

jon told me to do something funny, so i did a really cute (...) dance and he took a picture. i thought for sure it was a video, but nope. not sure what my thumbs are up to.

we got there bright and early, and the water was perfect for wake boarding. john, kathy and i were the only ones who attempted it. jonathan and kaitlyn just watched...and slept. 

i can't get enough of this! this dog loves the water so much. 

see how much fun we are having, doing tricks and things? it was a blast! at first...
let me make this clear. most of the time we were tubing, we were doing tricks. however, toward the end of the day, we got back on the tube and stopped rough housing. it was really choppy. jon was laying on his stomach holding on, and i was sitting next to him with my legs off the side of the tube. we were not doing tricks! we were simply unprepared for what the waves had to offer us. we flew up.....and came back down and when we did, the front of my head went slamming into the back of jon's head. the next thing i knew, i was in the water talking to myself to keep myself from passing out. i don't know if i was about to pass out, but i was encouraging myself not to. it was the weirdest thing. we went home soon after that, it put such a damper in the day. we just stayed home and hung out for the rest of the night.

i text my father about the mishap, and he was very obviously not worried.

(annoyed face)

 i love texting him. his choice of punctuation (or no punctuation) is so hilarious.

the next morning, my neck....oh my goodness, i was in so much pain. it was mix of wake boarding, tubing and crashing heads. it made for a really nice plane ride home.

we left on friday. it is always so hard saying goodbye to everyone! we love spending time there whether its working on the house and horseback riding, or touring texas and going boating!

part II video to come...

corpus christi!

ever heard of it??

it's right on the coast of the gulf of mexico!

it was a two and a half hour drive from john's house in san antonio. we made the trip last monday with john and kathy. we actually went to port aransas, which is a little town right outside of corpus christi. we checked into our hotel and immediately went to the beach! i have never been anywhere in the gulf of mexico and let me tell you...it was heavenly. 

it literally felt like i was in bath water. the weather mixed with the water temperature was absolutely perfect! we all spent a couple hours boogie boarding and just playing in the water. 

after the beach, we hurried to get ready and ran down to the boat dock where we had plans for a sunset cruise! so fun!

the view was so beautiful. there were probably only ten other people on the boat, it was really private. there were lots of places to sit and we could talk with the captain if we wanted. we even got to see a few dolphins! i love dolphins so much simply because they all have the cutest constant smile on their faces. 

(example a., example b. and example c.)

it was so beautiful and relaxing. it was nice to just sit and watch the sunset with no other distractions. the fresh air was nice and i really enjoyed just being able to talk to jon while surrounded by such pure beauty. 

i kept telling my FIL that i wanted to buy a cheap cowboy hat from a gas station or grocery store. these hats almost made the cut....almost. 

this was part of our continental breakfast at the hotel.

texas loves texas.

we woke up bright and early the next day (8:30 am...) and headed out on the town. we made a stop at this funny shark statue for pictures. there were more than one of these! i'm just glad he wasn't real!!!!!

then we drove to corpus christi for some site seeing. we toured through the uss lexington aircraft carrier. these things intrigue me so much, i love seeing the tiny beds the service members sleep in while on board and also love seeing where they visit the dentist. it seems like a very large doll house!! 

after the museum, we went to the texas state aquarium. jon was the most excited about this because he loves seeing the creepy underwater creatures which i am not a fan of. there were a lot of cool things to see though, including this real life alligator! i don't think i've ever seen one before! he wasn't that great...he just sat there.  

look at this scary picture of jon. so unflattering, but look at that little sea horse scooting by. those things are the cutest ever!!!! i love them! 

we headed home after a few hours at the aquarium. it was such a fun little staycation! i kept being amazed by my surroundings because port aransas and corpus christi were both unlike anywhere i have ever been before. it was a good experience, and i would definitely go back.