the texas state fair.

you can't visit texas in october without experiencing the texas state fair. it's a rule. and a good one. the moment we walked through the gates we were hit with scent of fried {fill-in-the-blank}. we started with some famous fletcher's corn dogs and went down the line from there. :) we chased it with a fruit smoothie and finished with cotton candy for dessert. it was, like, a really good day. 

***the don't-mess-with-texas nachos***

***a week leading up to the fair, harper pointed out every big tex billboard she saw. there were a lot. to say she was happy to see big tex in person is an understatement...*** 

***texas looks good on this man. just saying'***

a wedding weekend.

harper and i just got home from watching these two beautiful people take their vows of marriage. 

mary kate is one of my dearest friends from high school, and i was honored to watch her walk down the aisle. 

what a beautiful thing marriage is, isn't it? being married to the one you love for time and all eternity?

reminds me of my special day.

our week in tejas.

to continue with the wedding celebrations, harper and i flew to dallas for my sister's reception. it was a week-long celebration of partying, shopping, eating, and enjoying sydney and her sweet new husband, brandon. it was also a big week for harper as she learned to roll over!! both of my little girls are growing up way too quickly!!

.......

baby shower.

my sweet texas friends & family threw baby m a shower last week. of course everything was adorable and above and beyond what is should have been considering it was the week of christmas!

the theme of the shower was "casey is ready to pop!" which included a whole spread of "pop" and "fizzle" foods and drinks. quite clever and very appropriate {although i think my face is getting bigger than my belly these days!!}

it was so thoughtful of everyone to think of me and baby girl at such a busy time. we were definitely spoiled, and i couldn't be more thankful for everyone who came to celebrate!

a night in outfield.

my dad had all sorts of fabulous activities planned while we were out visiting. one being a beautiful night at the rangers stadium. there's nothing better than great company at a great game! and the weather... ah! perfect. we also got lucky and got to watch a lovely fireworks show at the end of the game! the moon was shining full in the background making it even more beautiful. 

oh man, i just love texas.

doing what texans do best.

a cougar weekend.

hope y'all enjoyed your weekend! we sure did as we spent it with family cheering on our cougs in austin. hubs and i have been looking forward to this trip for quite a few months now, and it was {almost} everything we could have hoped for. just wish our cougs would have won...!

after a delayed flight, a missed flight, and then a night in a shady atlanta motel, we finally arrived in dallas 15 hours later! we were so eager to see my family and they were even more eager to see us. i'd been keeping the gender of baby m a secret since i wanted to tell them in person, so they just about died with anticipation and were happy when we finally arrived!

early the next morning, we all caravanned down to austin together. it was a hot, and i mean hot, day down there! so hot that my sis and i just might have been scheming of ways to get back to dallas asap and hit up the spa. but once the sun went down and the cougs got into their groove, we couldn't have been more happy with our decision to stay. even though we lost, it was a great game, and i couldn't believe how nice and cordial the texas fans were. but honestly, who could be too surprised... texas is the greatest place on earth! am i right or am i right?

so. darn. hot! cooling ourselves off before heading back out into the sun.