Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Waco Weekend Recap! {Part 2}

Hey everyone!  I'm back on a TUESDAY for once to recap the rest of our crazy fun Waco Weekend and Baker Family Reunion!! I am pretty much a Monday, Wednesday, Friday blogger so we'll see if I can swing 4 days of posts this week.  ;)

 Yesterday, I recapped the sightseeing part of our trip in Waco.  Highlights included dinner with some of the reunion crew, a visit to the Mammoth Monument and then the Silos!  I also shared my disappointment in our hotel.  Boo. (Find Part 1 here.)

Our whole reason for going to Waco was for a family reunion.  (The Bakers are his mom's side of the family).  Craig's uncle and aunt agreed to host (and plan) the reunion at their home right outside of Waco and it could not have been a more perfect setting.  They live on 5 acres of gorgeous land that includes an enormous front yard, a large stream, nature trails, a waterfall, a gorgeous pool, covered patio and to top it all off, they had a big bounce house and slide for the kids.  But I'll stop rambling and just show you.  ;)


Uncle Rusty made this awesome little pole with all the families and how each of us traveled to get there.  So clever, right?!








Totally idyllic, gorgeous and peaceful.  Actually, it was much more peaceful this time as opposed to last time.  ;)  The last time we were there was for Craig's cousin, Emily's wedding.  She was married under the big tree in the backyard and throughout the service, you could hear the neighbor's donkeys "hee-haw"ing at the most inappropriate time.  So funny and pretty memorable!  They don't have them anymore though.

When we got to the house on Friday afternoon after our sightseeing tour, the boys were quick to jump in that pool!


Don't let his face fool you!  It was about 100 degrees and that pool felt amazing!!


They also had a big time on the slide and bounce house.


We were still missing half the reunion guests so Friday afternoon and evening was spent hanging out with Craig's parents, Scarlet, Dalton, Rusty and Kathie and their daughter Emily, her husband and 2 gorgeous kiddos as well as their other daughter, Brandy and her daughter, Emma.

Uncle Rusty (aka Uncle Rah-Rah or Uncle Shiny) took everyone on their own private tour of the property in his golf cart.



And then he pushed the kids on this (slightly scary) swing!


Can you find him!?

At one point, I looked over at the glass door and saw baby Lincoln cheesin' away at me!  I am ALWAYS giddy when there is a baby around!



When it got dark, we caught some fireflies (or lightning bugs...there was a debate over what they are actually called).  We were all pretty into it!




And then Rusty caught a frog which peed all over Matthew's leg.  And as Rusty held it out so I could snap a pic it jumped straight for me and I shrieked and ran like a little girl.  Matthew chased it into the bushes and somehow it managed to pee on him again...?!  I didn't know frogs were big pee-ers. (For the record, I know nothing about frogs.)


After that, we wrapped up the night and headed back to our super tiny and cramped hotel room with a broken fridge.  ;)  (See Part One)

We slept in a little Saturday and made our way over to the house again around 11.  The rest of the group arrived that day and we quickly got started on what Craig's family calls the Holiday Horseshoe Happening.  This is a legit horseshoe tournament where we pair off and duke it out in a double elimination tournament whenever we have a big group of family members together.  The winner walks away with the plaque.  You're supposed to add your picture to the center and get your plate engraved.  

Craig and I have won this tournament almost every time we've played since we met.  We've had 4 wins in I think 6 tournaments.  (I can pull my weight in horseshoes, y'all!  It's not all him, I swear!)  This is the only picture I could find quickly of our win on Thanksgiving 2011.


Our picture is still in the plaque from our win the time before!

Our first win was in Green Bay when he was with the Packers and I was up from college visiting him along with his parents and other relatives.  It was so cold, we'd take our turn and then run back into the house until it was our turn to throw again.

This time we switched it up though and played a mini-version of cornhole instead.  We needed it to go quicker since it was so hot outside.  Unfortunately, my bean bag tossing skills are not up to par with my horseshoe skills.  I contributed absolutely nothing to our team and we lost before we even hit the quarterfinals.  #bummer


This was the only picture I took of the tournament!  

Other pics from the day....










Matthew with Arnie--a.k.a., the coolest dog EVER



Later that afternoon, cousin Cassie got us all together for a performance.  She does a little show for kids that involves music and instruments from all over the world.  The kids LOVED it and I think the adults did too!  The company is called Mystic Drumz and you can find them on Facebook.


After that, we all headed outside for a giant group shot. Emily is an amazing photographer (mostly weddings I think) and set up the tripod and timer on the camera so we could have a big picture.  

Unfortunately, I don't have any of those pictures to show yet but once I get them I'll add them in here.

On a side note, if you or anyone you know is in need of a wedding photographer based out of the Dallas area, check out Emily Chappell Photography here.  She has major skills, y'all! Crazy good.  You can also find her on Facebook here.  There's no way you'll be disappointed!!

After the group pic, we headed back inside for a little presentation Craig's mom put together on the family history.  She had SO MUCH stuff to look at and had it all laid out in the dining room.  She put so much hard work into everything.  I'm so mad I didn't take any pictures of all the memorabilia!  I was too busy looking over everything to even think of it.  But she had thick photo albums filled with letters her dad sent to his mom when he was in  WWII that I thought was really neat.  Plus newspaper clippings, awards, certificates, little gifts and presents given to her by her dad when he was overseas.  It was really cool.  Big props to Susie Nall!


Craig's dad graciously offered to hold up the family tree she created while she gave the presentation.  :)

 After the presentation, I helped Kathie set the table and we all enjoyed a delicious catered dinner of BBQ, beans, potato salad, homemade bread, and cole slaw.  #southernlivingindeed




Kathie made all these cute bottles for some pretty table decor.

After dinner, we watched the sunset while the kids ran around playing football in the front yard.


Then Uncle Rusty broke out some pretty awesome fireworks to end the night!  (Yes, this is the best picture I got because of all the humidity!)


We wrapped up the night looking for the cat that got spooked by the fireworks and after a fruitless search, we had to get back to the hotel.  (Not to worry.  The cat returned!)

The next morning, we all met for one last breakfast at Harold Waite Pancake & Steak before everyone headed home.  This place was crazy packed and very mom and pop.  The prices were awesome and the food was delicious!


They were cold.

And sweet Scarlet was exhausted.  I just love this girl and I'm so proud to be her aunt!


And finally, my very last picture of the trip.  Scarlet, Lee, Matthew, and Mason right before we all left.

I know sometimes people hear "family reunion" and groan.  But these Bakers are fun and we love being with them!  We really did have an amazing time and can't wait for the next reunion!

I do have one regret from the trip though and it is not driving by (at the very least) a friend of mine's new home which was just done for the next season of Fixer Upper!  (What?!)  I can't say much more about it I don't think but once it airs, I will definitely post about it!  We just never found a good time to get over there and she had family in town anyway.  Next time for sure!

So if you made it through that whole recap, then God bless you!  I know it was a lot. I definitely want this to be something my kids can look back on one day and remember though and I hope they appreciate it all.  I love that they'll be able to look back on the blog and remember so much more of their childhood this way.

Have a great day, friends and I hope to see you back tomorrow!

Linking up for Tuesday Talk with Ashley and Erika!


And with all the girls here!











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10 comments

  1. Looks like so much fun! I still love a bouncy house! I am 'that' adult with the kids. =0

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    1. Me too!! I don't know if you saw the Birthday Bash post from last week but I must have gone down that inflatable waterslide 100 times after all the party guests left! I definitely played on this one too. I love these things!

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  2. Oh fun! I can't wait to see which house is theirs from the next Fixer Upper! Love the sign your Uncle made! That is something my dad would do! LOVE IT!!

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    1. They told me it is supposed to be the first house on the next season! ;) I'll keep yall posted!

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  3. What a memorable weekend! The property is amazing like you said and I love that adorable and creative sign.

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    1. Me too!! I couldn't believe that such a Pinterest-worthy project came out of Craig's uncle!! So impressed!!

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  4. This property is gorgeous!!

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    1. Isn't it!? I think I must have said 10 times that weekend "If you ever decide to sell, let me know!!" to Rusty and Kathie!! haha

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  5. I love the pole your Uncle made! That is such a cool idea!

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  6. What a beautiful place!
    That sign was so cool!!

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