Collin and Canines: Our beloved New Braunsfels

My family has been celebrating Thanksgiving together in the same tennis camp in New Braunsfels since before I was born. It's my favorite long weekend of the year, a time away to hang out with family, relax, and enjoy the beautiful hill country.

One of my favorite parts is returning to the places I loved with Collin. Saturday morning Grammy joined us at Landa Park, starting first with a train ride.

Then on to the playground -

And finishing up feeding the ducks, geese, and even a nutria -

Collin and I were ready for a nap . . . well I knew I was ready for a nap, Collin needed one though he'd never admit it . . . so we walked the beautiful trail back to the car, posing for a picture or two along the way -

While Collin napped on Friday, we hit up Greene with my mom, Carla, Coady and her sister Lauren. Poor Lauren, I think this was her first run-in with an armadillo in the wild, but it was roadkill -

Such natural beauties, Coady & Lauren posing together, clearly related -

We normally had vague awareness of where Collin was throughout the trip, but he had lots of caring relatives playing with him. From those patient enough like Leah and Brownie to attempt basic tennis to those who burnt up his endless energy at the gym like Jackson and Uncle Bobby, both Cas and I and Collin had a great time. I get such joy watching my son thoroughly love and enjoy spending time with family, and for the most part, the family equally enjoying time with him (though he does have his terrible two's moments).

Reading and playing with Jackson -

And obviously my favorite part of the long weekend is the time with family. From cousins like Jasper who we lived with for a month, to my cousin Leah who has lived in NYC and Seattle the last two years and we only get to see twice a year, I have a great time catching up with, playing games with, hitting the tennis ball with, and of course, posing with for pictures!