springtime in austin

What a whirlwind March has been! Probably due to my being away from home 19 out of the 31 days of the month... I truly can't believe tomorrow is April 1.

Last week I got to visit my dear friend, Carrie. She has a beautiful home in Austin and I timed my trip just right. Smack dab in the middle of bluebonnet season.

The Texas state flower grows rampant across the state this time of year, and it is just plain beautiful. Seeing fields of wild bluebonnets always takes me back to the Springs I spent at Baylor. Awwww.

Anyway, Carrie and I have seen each other a few times over the past few years, but we decided it was time for an extended weekend together. Southwest ran some great deals on tickets, so before I knew it, I was headed to Austin.

My first night there, we ate on the deck at The Oasis on Lake Travis. We truly couldn't have asked for a more magnificent sunset as we polished off our fajitas.

We planned to drive up to Waco to have lunch on Saturday with the Cunninghams (anyone remember Dr. Cunningham - Chaplain our freshman year? Carrie and I went on a missions trip to the Ukraine with them our sophomore year and they are now our official Waco grandparents). I was also scheming about a way to surprise my sister while we were in Waco. She had no idea that I was coming to Texas.

Well, on Friday morning, my mom called to inform me that Lesley was coming to Austin that afternoon for a fashion event. After some covert calls to her roomie, I figured out where she was eating lunch and casually dropped by her booth to say hello. I don't know if I've ever pulled off such a successful surprise! She was shocked! It was hilarious.

Les and Courtney ended up sticking around for the remainder of the afternoon to hang out with us. We did a little shopping, and then ended up at my favorite Austin restaurant, the Hula Hut. It was a gorgeous evening, the food was great, and we got to eat while watching the Baylor guys dominate St. Mary's! What more could you wish for?

Saturday morning we drove up good old I-35 to Waco to spend some time with the Cunninghams. Les met us at their house where we ate lunch and watched the Lady Bears beat Tennessee. It was such a fun afternoon. An unexpected bonus came when Dr. Packard (Physics professor at Baylor) dropped by for a visit. Carrie and I couldn't believe how much he looks the same as he did ten years ago when we were in his class. So cute!

Dr. Cunningham, Dr. Packard, Mrs. Cunningham

Before leaving Waco, we made a couple of absolutely necessary and pretty nostalgic pit-stops: Common Grounds (of course), the BU bookstore (which is now humongous) and Spice. Oh, Spice, how I will always love you!

Back in Austin we got to spend a few hours with Kristin (Gill) Storer (Carrie's Tri-Delt big), and although I had the best of intentions, I completely forgot to take a picture with her. Carrie and I also got the most amazing two-hour long pedicures... which relaxed us just in time for our nerves to go haywire throughout the Baylor game later that day. Although our guys didn't make it to the Final Four (and I was soooo hoping they would so I could watch them play here in Indy), they still had a great season. So proud of the Lady Bears, who are heading to San Antonio for the Final Four this weekend. Sic 'em, girls!

What a very special weekend with a precious friend. My visit was over way too soon! Times like these make me so thankful for the blessed hope of heaven, when one day we will be able to spend eternity with those we love.

Happily, it seems as if I've brought the 75-degree Austin weather home with me. I wore flip-flops and a short sleeve shirt when I walked the dogs today! Don't know about you, but after this winter, I don't know that I've ever been more excited for springtime.