Cowboy Capital of the World - Part 1 of 3

There's a town in Texas that makes the proclamation that they are the cowboy capital of the world. I was unaware of this town prior to my in-laws seeking to buy some land there. They were immediately taken by this little town NE of San Antonio, and now we know why. Our family made a weekend trip over to this sweet town and fell for it too.

 Given the heat we stayed indoors quite a bit. As beautiful as the grounds were where we stayed, it was just too stinkin' hot out. Lucky for us, kids can have fun anywhere at this age, especially when there is a Papa or Nonna around.

 Joseph was very occupied with this number puzzle his Nonna bought for him. Numbers and letters are it nowadays when it comes to indoor activities, so great job Nonna! 

 I'm going to sidetrack here for a second. I know I have not mentioned that my dear husband got me a new camera! And, I would like to! It's a Sony NEX-5N, which just means it's fancy. It also means that I have no idea how to use it. So, you get to join me on my journey in learning how to take pictures! Woohoo, you! And, thank you for your patience. Especially you wonderful blogger photographers out there who know what you are doing!

Sidetrack continues: I promise I'll get back to our trip after this one little blurb! You see, I've always wanted another outlet for my creative side. I've been majorly itching! I used to draw, paint, pastel coloring, and journaled often. But, since having my littles, life is different. It just is. I don't get to sit down and write my thoughts and prayers as often or quotes from saints or others that have encouraged me in some way. When it comes to capturing our life, I've been taking pictures with my iPhone and blogging. For a phone, this bad boy takes great pictures,  but definitely has it's limits. Even with all the fun apps that are out there, overall quality takes a backseat.

In these days of technology, blogging has replaced my journaling, even though I do miss handwritten journal entries. And perhaps, photography will do something to replace drawing, painting, and coloring. We shall see. I think getting to know my new camera will help. Either way, I am excited and thankful for my thoughtful husband! 

 I know there a lot of pictures of us in this room with Joseph playing with the puzzle, but he really does enjoy his numbers. Puzzles too. And, it was just so very hot out!

 Those sweet hands hold so many bits of my heart and they have for two whole years! Why do they grow so fast?!

My oldest is seriously sweet. I mean, he is so cariñoso! I know there are words like loving, cuddly, affectionate, etc., but, cariñoso makes most sense to me when it comes to my oldest. As seen in the picture below, he just randomly decided that walking up to his Nonna and giving her a hug was a good idea. I love it! and him!

 I know I mentioned falling for Bandera, and I mean it. What I think I found the most lovely was the kindness that we met in every person we met and even those we didnt cordially meet. Everyone was so nice! People say Hello in passing. They make eye contact with you and...wait for it...smile!

So often we fail to see each other. See that we are good and wonderful and beautiful. We don't greet the amazing goodness that lives within each and every person that lives. I feel that the people of Bandera did that, and it was special. 

 Now, I know we only have spent a weekend there, but I have visited places that are the opposite or indifferent. I don't know which is worse. Or, maybe I do, just prefer not to get into it in this light post about a wonderful trip. All I know is when towns like this are experienced, their kindness that permeates wherever you go should not be ignored. I can understand why people retire here. And, I can understand why I not only saw retirees, but I also saw young families. It was a good mix of everything.

My Bigfoot's feet made their appearance in quite a few pics. Not only are his hands so sweet to me, but also his big feet and his toesies!

 The boys were so excited to have Papa Wooley all to themselves for the whole weekend. Uninterrupted attention from their Papa and Nonna is a good time.

 Little Eli enjoyed being in his Nonna's arms and getting to know his Papa Wooley too. There was definitely some good bonding that happened for this little sweet over the weekend.

 Woohoo! I told you we made it outside! Nonna and Joseph went out to kick the ball, run like crazy, and pick up sticks. It wasn't very long lived on the first day there, but we made up for it by being outside in the pool for hours the next two days. 

These pictures were from our first full day there. We enjoyed some good food in town and beautiful scenery out on the ranch. Had some great bonding time while playing indoors and soaked up the short lived outside time in the evening. 

More to come on our weekend trip. We made it out to a brewery (Just so you know, brewery's are a thing in our family. My husband likes a good beer and so do I. Through him my tastebuds have had a wide array of some very delicious beers. Our oldest has been to five breweries and our youngest has been to two. We don't mess around. Even made it out to two while on our honeymoon.) We had tons of pool time. Lots of outside time. Good eats, while eating out. Delicious bar-b-que while eating in. And a friendly little pool game.

(Posting daily this week for the 7 Posts in 7 Days Challenge. Get on over to Jen at Conversion Diary to find others doing the same!)