Country Living

So clearly, life in the heart of Houston is pretty far from 'Country Living'. In fact, quite the opposite. And we truly love so much about living in the hearbeat of such a dynamic place. But we were both raised with simplicity that comes from small-town, country living. And we love this. And treasure the times when we are able to spend time in the places we know as comfort. We are so lucky to have ties to such places and access when we need a little 'soul refresher' that can only come in the smell of mesquite trees, dusted from the dirt roads, and the easy living of an afternoon on a porch swing. Garrett's 'place' is Gonzales, TX; where both his grandparents raised their children and still have a home base. We have been lucky enough to live in close proximity to his 'place' through dental school and now residency/med school; allowing us to retreat for respite when hectic, is well, just a little too hectic. And we have loved introducing Caris to the beauty in nature and the comfort of her family in a place that has been near and dear to generations of Garrett's family.

Caris' first visit to Garrett's parents land. Loving country walks in the Bjorn. And the splendor of a country sunset.

Back-porch swinging is a must when visiting Grandma Blundell's. Caris has joined the tradition of loving time after dinner spent swinging away. Lil' C learns to fish! She was a natural. Figured out how to reel that little rod after one attempt. And caught two little fishies.

The Blundell crew. Also evidence of where Caris gets her 95% in height.
And it's not a trip to the country without grillin' up some hot dogs and resting in the adirondacks.
Holidays are always a double bonus as we get both sides of the family and usually extra aunties and cousins to spoil us. Caris spent her first Christmas and Easter in Gonzales. We loved hunting for eggs in the Boysen's famous backyard! A haven for grandkids :)
And there is just nothing like a good ole' nap in the country. And we take full advantage of both nap times and babysitters.
Ahh, country walks. THE BEST. Dirt roads, cows, sunshines, family. Caris literally walked miles on her new found walking legs on the most recent trip. Girl LOVED trips to the barn. Thank goodness there was plenty of family to take their turn walking!
Back porch. Country. Swings. = Perfect afternoon.
Center of attention? No, not Caris. Always plenty of people to love on us and lil' C!

We are lucky to have been able to spend so much time here in the midst of a busy season of life and look forward to being able to create many for family memories in the future. New Years Eve fireworks, festivals and parades, hunting trips, long walks, and tank fishing are all in lil' C's future. And the beauty is, they are all from her poppa G's past.