Everything's Bigger in Texas! Part 1

Well, hi there, returning blog buddies, and welcome (bienvenue! willkommen! come on in!) to any folks who may be joining us here for the first time!  For those of you who may be new, please know that I write this blog just for fun and to share stories and pictures with friends and family.  I try my best to ask everyone whose image I feature on the blog for permission, but if I've missed you, I sincerely apologize; also, if you don't want your picture (or those of your kiddos) on this very small corner of the internet, just let me know - I'll take it down right away.  

As I mentioned in Part 4 of the Everlywell posts, I recently had the good fortune to adventure to Texas, specifically San Antonio (good job guessing that, Aunt Kim and Charity!), for some quality family time.  The primary reason for my trip was to help celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of Nancy and Ron, pictured below:

Congrats, you crazy kiddos!

(As a note, I took very few pictures

during these festivities,

so almost none of these photos are mine - 

thank you so much to the folks who did!)

Nancy is Dad's first cousin on his Dad's side (the Ashley side) - they are two of NINETEEN(ish) first cousins just on this side of the family (there was some mild disagreement on exactly how many cousins there were, but I think this was the number settled on) - and while everyone is scattered across the country, it was great that so many folks were able to descend upon San Antonio to celebrate this special occasion.  Everything really is bigger in Texas, particularly our family!

Most of the "James Ashley" (my Granddad's name) contingent arrived on Saturday: Dad, Risa, and I flew in from our respective home cities, and since I landed an hour before they did, I grabbed some lunch at BOSS Bagel and ate it in baggage claim while I waited for their flight to arrive.

Noms!

This was the happy vegan bagel sammy -

it had vegan sausage, spinach, cucumbers,

tomatoes, red onions, and a tofu-based schmear,

all on a rosemary/sundried tomato bagel.

No cow's milk dairy to be found,

and it was delicious!

Once Dad and Risa's flight arrived, and we'd collected all of our bags, we grabbed their rental car and drove just about 15 minutes north to the area where we'd be staying, Blossoms Park.  We were a bit too early to check into our Airbnb (it's the Ashley family motto, that), so we killed time at Hops and Hounds, a nearby taphouse/dog park.  I didn't take any shots, but here's a few from the interwebs:

We sat under those darker shade structures

near the left of the shot -

we drank some beer, pet some dogs,

and tried our best not to melt - 

it was unseasonably hot the entire time

we were in San Antonio,

around 105 for the high with 40% humidity.

It was cooler (and way less humid) at home!

After a short wait, we were able to check into our home for the next two nights, a spacious three bedroom, two bathroom house on - I'm not kidding - Ashley Court (it was a good spot with exactly what we needed - that, plus the name?  I couldn't pass it up!).  While we were winging our way east, Aunt Denise and her son, my cousin Rich, each made the drive from their house in Houston, joining us at the Airbnb just a bit after we settled in.  Aunt Denise not only brought that gorgeous anniversary cake you can see in the photo up top, but she also did us the solid of stocking our Airbnb with groceries (including almond milk!), so we had plenty of breakfast and snack options during our time together.

We visited and relaxed in the AC (this will be a theme in these blogs posts, as you'll see) for a bit, then changed clothes and made the short drive to our dinner spot, the Pompeii Grill.  During our trip to Houston in January, I'd had the opportunity to meet and connect with two of Ron and Nancy's daughters, Ashley and Maya, and they plus their other siblings, Josh and Deva (as well as all of their respective partners, of course), did a wonderful job planning the events for the anniversary weekend.  For this dinner, they booked the Pompeii's private room, and we had a wonderful time filling it up with stories, laughter, and the enjoyment of great food.  I sat next to Maya for most of the meal, and I could easily see why she and her partner Darryl were regulars at the Pompeii - the food was good, and the portions were absolutely huge!

A picture of most of the crew -

yes, I know this picture overlaps the right

page border on the blog,

but I wanted you to see everyone!

From left to right - back row:

Family friends - Amy's husband,

Amy's mother, and Amy herself

(she's the only name I remembered, obvs),

Rich, me, Dad, Nancy, Risa, Sue (Nancy's sister),

Deva, Maya, Darryl.

From left to right - in front:

Aunt Denise, Ben (Ashley's hub), Ron,

Jonah (Ashley and Ben's son), Josh,

Ashley, and Julie (Ashley and Ben's daughter).

Not pictured is Deva's partner Shely,

who did us the honor of taking this picture.

Fortified with Italian food and wine, our group crashed pretty hard when we made it back to the Airbnb; most of us had been up early to travel from the western side of the country, and we were worn out.  I slept pretty well, although the rooster a few houses down (THAT wasn't on the Airbnb listing, btw) made sure we were all awake around 5am each morning (anyone feeling like some coq au vin?).  While it was a bit earlier than I anticipated, waking up then did allow me to get myself moving and head to nearby McAllister Park for a great run.  

Sorry this is blurry, but it shows

the different walking/running trails in the park.

The Airbnb was just up the street from the park, so after a .3 mi-ish warm up on the way there, I hopped on the blue loop and did about 3 miles, waving hello to several other runners, hikers, and walkers during my jog.  McAllister is obviously a well-used park (Maya mentioned that she often takes her fur-kiddo to the dog park there), both by humans and the local fauna.  

I saw these two right at the entrance to the blue loop,

and eventually, I passed by so many deer,

I stopped taking pictures.

Some were right next to the path -

I easily could have reached out and touched them,

and they weren't worried by me at all.

The park even set out big blue bowls of water

for the local herds.

The five of us chilled at the Airbnb for the rest of the morning, and eventually, we got ourselves gussied up and headed to the west side of town, to the La Escondida Celebration Center, where the big party was being held.  The Celebration Center was a gorgeous spot, surrounded by mature trees, complete with a shaded structure out back where our group had plenty of room to spread out and enjoy ourselves.  There was music, food, and some touching speeches, all testament to the amazing life Nancy and Ron built together.

Ron and Nancy at the entrance to the event,

posing with their original wedding picture

and Nancy's dress

Proud parents and prouder kids!

The whole family!

Josh and Deva toasting their parents

Julie and Jonah at the kids' craft table - 

what a great idea!

Dad and Risa chatting with another

of those nineteen cousins

After the party, Ashley and Ben invited the gang back to their home for some additional visiting time; we took a quick break at the Airbnb to rest, cool down a bit, and change clothes, but before too long, we headed over and happily joined in the merriment!

Deva and Aunt Denise with Jonah

and his rock collection.

One of the evening's events included several folks

helping Jonah break open a geode,

and he kindly gifted each of us with a piece -

mine sits on my desk in a place of pride!

Happy grandmom and grandbaby!

Shely and I with Julie and Jonah

Dad with Jonah

Ashley and Risa

Maya, Dad, Ron, and Risa

chat around the dining table

What a wonderful time!  It was so great to see everyone, reconnecting with family I haven't seen in a while and meeting even more folks to whom I'm related (after big events like this, I'm always sure I've met my entire family, and I'm always proven wrong).  The 50th anniversary party was quite the success, and it was lovely to be included as part of this incredible celebration.  

Later!

Amy

PS - You probably saw on Facebook that I was tagged in a few posts with my Mom during this time, as we also had the opportunity to spend time together in the heart of Texas.  Don't worry!  Blogs about our adventures will be coming up in future installments.