Taking a step outside the city

On Thursday, we had the opportunity to drive just outside San Antonio to a place called Gruene which is near New Braunfels. Tyler's great aunt, Lisa & hubby live in New Braunfels & we met them at an amazing place for dinner. When we drove into Gruene, it was quite surprising. It was a drastic scenery change from the city. It had quaint little stores & buildings with an 'old time' feel to them. When we got near the restaurant, there was NO where to park nearby so we ended up parking about a quarter mile away in a dirt parking lot. The place we ate at was called Gristmill & I wish I would have taken a pic before the sun went down because this pic doesn't do it justice at all.

This place is HUGE & I couldn't believe how many people were there and all the tables everywhere. We asked our waiter if this was considered "busy" and he laughed and said "not at all - in the summer we have about a 3-4 hour wait & 80 waiters on duty at one time!" We were shocked when we heard him say this because we had never been to a restaurant so big and popular! Lisa made sure to request our table be down by the river which I was happy about because it was a great view from where we were eating. The food was great & Tyler said it was the best steak he has ever had. We definitely got spoiled by Lisa & Stan because they paid for our meal & we know it was pretty pricey - so thank you again you guys! We loved seeing you & were so glad we got to experience this place!

You might recognize this place pictured below. If you've ever seen the movie Michael with John Travolta - it's in that movie!

The next day, we got to drive outside the city yet again to Atkins, which was more of a cowboy country feel. We found another restaurant that was featured on Diners, Drive-ins & Dives there called Texas Pride Barbecue. Before we left on our trip I had been watching Groupon for food deals we could use in San Antonio & this was one of them I purchased!

We were way excited to eat here because we had heard such good things about their food & Tyler & I are both big fans of barbecue. We walked in & it's such a laid back place. You told the meat cutter what types of meat you wanted and he would cut it & throw it on butcher paper & into a glass bottle crate & send you on your way. There are no plates so you just eat off the butcher paper! We got brisket, chicken, sausage & ribs (and shared of course). Tyler & I decided the ribs were our favorite - they were so moist & just fell off the bone. Well needless to say, they did not disappoint, the food was AMAZING! And we got peach cobbler for dessert, that was so delicious!

Here are a few pictures of the place.

They had a live band playing

One of the coolest things about this place is the parking attendant... just a guy on his horse!

{Emma being brave & petting the horse}

It was so nice being able to see a different side of Texas than what we had been seeing in the city. It was nice to experience what I had imagined Texas would be like!

Downtown San Antonio

Tyler & I spent one of our days in downtown San Antonio. The most annoying part was parking, it took us at least a half hour to find a place to park. We went to see the Alamo & the Riverwalk. We also wandered around at the huge mall & even went to a movie. We ate at two delicious restaurants for lunch and dinner right on the Riverwalk. It was a great day for just the two of us!

{the mall}

{it was refreshing to see flowers after such a long winter in Utah}

{we ate lunch at Hard Rock Cafe because I had never been}

{the riverwalk}

{the Alamo}

I had to throw these two pictures in because they are so adorable & I miss them already.

{miss olivia}

{emma - in the outfit I brought her}

Texas: Laura's Birthday!

Tyler flew into San Antonio on Sunday night & I was SO excited after being away from him for a WHOLE week & I was looking forward to spending an entire week just hanging out with him & our friends. Monday was Laura's birthday and we celebrated by going to dinner & then back to the house for cake & presents. Me being the dedicated Groupon addict found a groupon for a little mexican restaurant called Marianito's. If you've been following our blog for a while you might have caught on that Tyler & I love going to restaurants that are featured on the food network {diners, drive-ins & dives, man vs food, outrageous foods} This place was featured on Outrageous Foods for it's massive 7 lb burrito eating challenge. Tyler ordered the mini version of it & could barely eat half of it.

{the birthday girl}

{this place is also famous for their fried oreos}

{we had to give them a taste - Laura ate 4}

{Tyler with his new bff Emma}

{the party}

{they let everyone write comments onto the wall about the restaurant so we thought we'd leave ours}

{Laura & Cody had never had better than sex cake so I chose to make it for her bday - it was a hit!}

I'm so glad that I was able to be there for Laura's birthday - it's been quite a few years since I've been able to!

I'm an auntie, again!

I had the opportunity to take 2 weeks and fly out to Texas to be with my bestie as she delivered her second baby girl yesterday! We headed to the hospital around 11:00pm on the 9th and Laura, Cody & I ended up walking around the halls for 2 hours to help move things along quicker. She got admitted around 1:30am and progressed quickly! She had her epidural around 2:30am and by 4:35am she was ready to push. Lucky girl pushed for only 8 minutes!

Olivia Ryan

March 10, 2011

4:43 am

8 lb 1 oz

20.25 inches

Olivia and Laura are doing fabulous and are expected to be home tomorrow - yay!

Meanwhile we have been loving our days chillin' in the hospital room, chatting, laughing & admiring a beautiful new baby!

Congratulations Laura & Cody!! You make beautiful little girls!!

Size Sexy

I started a blog in an effort to help not only myself stay dedicated. But also help others become educated about living in health & to hopefully help in their journey of weight loss & lifestyle change. Take a peek & follow if you want :)

http://sizesexie.blogspot.com

birthday update :)

so I feel a little bad about my birthday post, I was in a funk & I think I just wanted to feel sorry for myself for a minute. My family made my bday last about 2 weeks with little get togethers. Last weekend I was able to go to Pepper Bellys with my fam & Ty & we took fried ice cream to go. We met up with my brother Aaron's family and enjoyed cupcakes & the ice cream and I was finally sung Happy Birthday :) My mom got me a Jillian Michael's workout DVD & yoga mat, Dev got me a Yogotogo giftcard, Aaron's family got me a beautiful simon dewey picture of Christ, and Tim's family got me a cute sweater! (Can't forget that I got my awesome camera a month ago from my hubby & a case for it from Karli & Chase). Tyler's family got me tickets to see Hairspray at the new theater in Centerville which I enjoyed going to this past week with Amy (Tyler's Mom) & my Mom! I got lots of cards in the mail & money from Ty's grandparents & my cute friend Desiree got me some adorable flowers.{pictured below} On Sunday, Tyler and I had a fun day going to his parent's to celebrate Kalen's birthday. I made a caramel brownie cheesecake for him & it ended up being delicious! {pictured below} Then we headed over to my parent's house for my last bday celebration where I got sung to AGAIN :) but this time I got to blow out candles! My Mom made 'better than sex cake' and it did not disappoint!

Thank you to everyone who made my birthday SO great, I am grateful for each and every one of you & it feels great to be so loved by such amazing people.