Weekend Away

This past weekend Steve and I were able to sneak away for a much needed night away.  We have learned that getting away when you have 4 children in the home is really hard.  Thankfully I have wonderful friends to come to my rescue!!  The big boys (AKA "the bigs") had a great time with the Akin's swimming and eating ice cream!  I don't worry about them at all.  The little boys ( AKA "the littles") I have harder time with.  It's very difficult with  two foster children to find respite.   Thankfully we recently have had some good friends that have become licenced foster parents and it made it so much easier to leave Evan and Hot Rod for the night.

So with all of the boys safely tucked away, Steve and I were able to get in our empty car :) and take off for our 24 hours of alone time.

A friend texted me after we dropped the  boys off and asked if we were finally on our way.  I texted her back a pic of our empty backseat and this unflattering but obviously jubilant picture of us.

I love all of my boys, I truly do but there is no feeling better than knowing that you are only responsible for yourself for a few hours!!   


We found this great little B&B in the middle of nowhere.  It was suggested by the local winery we love to frequent.  It was very cute and peaceful.  There are several cottages but we happened to be the only one staying out there that weekend.

This was the view from our cottage.  

We enjoyed a nice quiet evening at the winery, eating great food, listening to cool music and engaging in  quiet conversation.  Long overdue!

We spent the next day driving around the East Texas countryside looking for a new vineyard and winery that we had not tried before.  Steve loves to explore new wineries and pick their brains about their vineyard and wine making process.

We found this little gem in the middle of nowhere.

This is Red Road Vineyard and Winery in Naples, TX.  What a find for us.  The man in the picture is Merrill.  He is the owner and vintner.  We literally spend almost 3 hours here tasting, talking and touring his place.  It was so nice.  This is exactly what we want to do in a few years.  Our own vineyard and winery set up.  Meeting new people and making great wine.  It's a dream right now but with an acre of grapes already planted and thriving and 10 more on the way, we are getting closer.

We spent the rest of day just driving around enjoying the quiet.  It was so relaxing and great!  I have no idea when we will be able to do this again but we sure did need this!!

Thanks again to our great friends that help us pull this off!  Couldn't do it without you!