Tyler's Visit

 I had a special treat in mid-October-- a weekend visit from my longtime childhood friend, Tyler. She and I did a couple things together in Houston and also took an overnight trip to Waco, TX. It was a fabulous girls' weekend and a wonderful time to catch up.

After picking Tyler up from the airport, we spent a few hours touring NASA, always an impressive place!

The next day, we drove to Waco and stopped first at Magnolia Market at the Silos. Tyler has always been a fan of the show Fixer-Upper and knows a lot about Chip and Joanna Gaines. I, on the other hand, haven't followed the show very much, so I read The Magnolia Story, the Gaines' autobiography, a few weeks before our trip. Between the two of us, Tyler and I were able to share a lot of stories about Chip and Joanna Gaines as we toured the Silos.

Each of us picked out some food from the area's many food trucks and lunched outside on this beautifully sunny day.

We even stood in a long line at the Silos Baking Company and splurged on some famous Joanna Gaines' desserts. I'm not usually much of a cupcake fan, but the ones from here were delicious!!

After browsing through most of the shops at Magnolia Market, we walked a few blocks to the Dr. Pepper museum. We paid for a self-guided tour and enjoyed a free soda at the end.

Then, we stopped by the Waco Suspension Bridge and walked for a bit alongside the Brazos River.

We ended the day by touring Spice Village, a collection of over 60 boutiques all under one roof.  It felt like we were visiting a huge craft fair. What a unique place!

The next day we drove a bit out of town to Homestead Heritage, an Amish-like community that focuses on farming and crafting. We stopped in each of the artisan buildings (like woodworking, pottery-making, weaving, basket-making, and blacksmithing) and browsed their many shops.

Before heading back home, we drove through Waco again and had a late lunch at Magnolia Table. Our wait for a table was very long (over an hour and a half), but it was worth it. We both enjoyed seeing the Gaines' unique designs inside the building and thought the food was delicious!

We returned home on a Saturday evening, so Tyler was able to attend church with us on Sunday morning. Following church, we had a quick lunch at home, and then our whole family drove out to Dewberry Farms to attend their pumpkin patch. This was the first time we had been to this particular pumpkin patch, and we all agreed that it wasn't our favorite seasonal site. The farm had a ton of fun-sounding activities, but the lines everywhere were crazy long, so we didn't have the opportunity to do even half of the activities. The day was terribly hot, too, so that didn't help our moods as we were waiting in long lines. Nevertheless, the kids enjoyed the few activities they were able to do.

Before Tyler left town on Monday, Adley and I took her to one more tourist site--the Houston Botanic Gardens. Tyler is a master gardener with a special interest in growing flowers, so this was a perfect spot to take her. Adley and I enjoyed seeing the botanic gardens for our first time as well. We even found a small water-play area for Adley.

The landscaping throughout the gardens was just amazing! Such a beautiful place.

What a joy it was to spend this time with Tyler! It was a fun opportunity to visit some new places, and a perfect chance for some relaxing girl time. I'm so thankful for this dear friend!