Gruene, TX

My Cousin Lauren (the bride) had a list of places to visit on their wedding website. One of the suggestions was the city of Gruene. It was an old historic town built in the 1870's as a cotton farming establishment. Then it was destroyed by a weevil infestation in 1925. Am I the only one who thinks that a 'weevil infestation' sounds completely absurd and sci-fi? I picture little green aliens taking over the town...but apparently weevils are beetles and in fact an actual threat to farmers. Huh! Who would have known?

We walked around the main street and browsed through a handful of little shops along the way. If the cowboy hats that men were wearing didn't give it away that we were in Texas the numerous cacti sure did.

I love you, Aunt Lissa! -Johanna

We had to make a stop at the general store to get some gifts and ice cream and look what we found for Johanna, her very own cowgirl hat!

At an antique store I came across a 'boot room.' I'm not sure what else to call it because it was literally a room FULL of used boots for sale, you could take your pick from basically any color including a turquoise leather snakeskin pair...

We finished the day off with some Blue Bell ice cream, a favorite among most Texans since it originated there. It was the best ice cream I've ever had so I did some research and found out Colorado has it here, music to a pregnant ladies ears ;)

I wasn't the only one who loved it... 

Here's the little stinker walking around.

So Johanna had a bunch of shots the Friday before we left. I am always a little nervous when she gets shots because you can't help but wonder what if something goes wrong? The fear of what could happen if she didn't get the shots always outweighs the doubts. Tuesday the day before we left Johanna came down with a fever and I figured surely she must be teething considering she only has two teeth. I made sure to pack some children's ibuprofen and tylenol and hoped for the best. Turns out the first several days were quite the challenge with little Hannie. She was fussy non stop with a mild fever and then I noticed several flat red spots along her tummy, neck and groin and of course no teeth. I did some research online and found that some children may develop a mild reaction to the MMR shot. Although my Dr. told me it was most likely a virus I am still convinced it was the shots and I will not make the mistake of poor timing again! Needless to say Johanna was quite the little stinker. I know there were many factors involved; fever and body aches, no napping, tons of new faces and a time change to name a few but Johanna would not let anyone near her for the majority of the trip! I know it is very common for children her age to develop fear of everyone but their Mom and Dad but I am hoping this stage passes quickly, it is no fun. I shouldn't say she was horrible the entire time because she did have a lot of fun and there are several pictures of her smiling and laughing, but she was definitly not her normal cheeful self! Poor peanut :(

*Edit: Guess who has two top teeth popping through this morning (11/15)? Hmm...