A Visit From Ohio

MY MOM CAME TO WEST TEXAS!!

Last weekend my momma traveled to West Texas from Ohio to visit Joel and I! (Actually, I think she was more excited to see our dogs than us, but I kinda can't blame her (; ) We took her to all of our favorite places around West Texas for a whirlwind long weekend. It was so awesome having her here and showing her all of the places we go. I even made her go to the grocery stores I go to and showed her all of the random places around Midland I may talk about, so next time I talk about them she'll have a visual hahaha. 

We of course took her to our all time favorite place in Midland, TX, the Beer Garden! We ate yummy food, drank lots of drinks, listened to live music, played giant jenga, and ended with a song or two of karaoke! It was pretty amazing. And if you follow me on Instagram, you may or may not have saw my mom getting her groove on on the dance floor via Instastories (: The Midland Beer Garden is the best place to get a drink (and even dinner) in Midland (in our opinion) Everyone there is always so nice, the beer selection is huge, and the food is delicious. (I'll post a more in depth review of the Beer Garden later in my "West Texas" adventures post!)

We then headed south to one of our very favorite places in West Texas, Fort Davis. This town is so cute and has so much character! We specifically went to attend a Star Party at the McDonald Observatory, however the weather did not cooperate Saturday night (in fact it thunder stormed, hailed, and was foggy as all get out) On occasions like this though, the observatory has indoor activities that you can attend (or you can opt for a rain check) According to their website the presentations put on during cloudy nights vary, but tend to be enjoyable for all. Obviously we would've rather have seen the thousands of stars in the night sky, but we all did enjoy the presentations put on and learned a lot.

The whole drive down to Fort Davis was gloomy and had low visibility, but luckily it cleared up just in time for us to leave Sunday! We got donuts in Alpine near where we stayed the night, (if you are ever in Alpine go to Baker's Dozen Donuts!!!! Everything we ate was amazing and the two ladies working were so friendly!) and then headed back to Fort Davis. We stopped by Davis Mountains State Park and checked out the Skyline trail/overlook so Mom could check out the amazing West Texas views we always tell her about! We also stopped back at the McDonald Observatory to check it out in the daylight before heading home.

We ate lunch at Bush's Chicken (Does anyone know, is this just a TX chain? or just West TX?? OMG their sweet tea is the bomb)  And then stopped at Monahans Sandhills State Park! This is one of our favorite places to go locally (within an hour of where we live) the dogs just love to explore the sandhills and the sunsets are spectacular. It's a great place to just relax, grill out, and escape the city. (I would NOT consider myself "city folk" so sometimes apartment living gets to me) When we arrived at the park, I was a little worried because it had just rained and I really really wanted my mom to "sand surf." Little did I know, that right after a rain is the best time for sand surfing!! We rented two sleds and took off to the dunes. We wore ourselves out walking up and down the sand hills, finding the best hills to sled down. I may or may not have rediscovered a bit of the daredevil in me and attempted a very large, very steep hill. Which I soon regretted when I flipped off my sled towards the bottom. Maybe I'll post the video Joel just happened to get on Instagram... 

Anyways, we left the sandhills tired, covered in sand, but happy. (at least I was!)

We had to send momma home on Monday, but she loves me so much that she made me some of my favorite mom-made foods before she had to go (: So Joel and I got an amazing dinner of my mom's meatloaf (which is the only meatloaf I eat) and my all time favorite chocolate pie. I forgot to mention, that she even brought me two bottles of my FAVORITE wine which is made in Ohio!! Both are from the Winery at Versailles, Rodeo Red and Wintery Nights!! I may or may not be spoiled (and that bottle of Rodeo Red may or may not already be empty...)

These dogs are mildly obsessed with their "Granny"

All in all, even though the weather did not cooperate for us, it was a great weekend! I loved having my mom here with us, seeing her cuddling the dogs, showing her all the places we go to and where we live, and just talking with her and getting to see her beautiful face in person! 

The worst part about traveling for Joel's work so much is definitely missing our family and friends. We talk, text, Skype/Facetime them all plenty, which is great, but it's just not the same. Having your "people" near is so great, and we have been spoiled with two visits from some of our people just in the past month and half! (and just found out that we have ANOTHER visit to look forward to, soon! (: ) 

My heart is very full today (: 

Thanks mom for visiting West TX! We miss you already!!