June in photos…

It’s summer! June has been a busy month, with school ending and our big trip to Texas and Mexico. I just had to take a few weeks off to disconnect and spend time with family!

This is June in photos…

At the beginning of the month, I celebrated my 33rd birthday with a weekend full of food and fun! I’ve slowly been giving up meat and dairy over the past 6 weeks or so, so instead of the traditional birthday cake, I made myself a fruit cake, which was a big hit with the girls. Maura already requested one for her birthday next month.

On the night before my birthday, after dinner downtown sans kids, my husband and I explored the monuments at night, which I had never done before. They’re hauntingly beautiful! I highly recommend this if you’re visiting Washington, DC over the summer. No crowds and no heat!

The next couple of weeks were a blur of end-of-school events, packing, and cleaning the house, since we’re spending half the summer with family in Texas. June 13th was the girl’s last day of school, though not officially. They had to miss the last 3 days because we had to rush to Mexico for a family wedding.

Had to pick Maya and Maura up at the end of the school day and my father-in-law drove us to the airport for our flight to Austin, where grandma (my mom) would meet us! While the girls weren’t too pleased to skip field day and class parties, this was quickly forgotten as soon as we stepped foot on the plane.

I almost thought we wouldn’t be getting on that plane! An hour before our flight, a crazy storm came in, grounding all flights for an indefinite period. Even schools were put on lockdown and busses had to pull up to the nearest school to wait out the storm. It literally lasted 10 minutes, if that, and our flight wasn’t even delayed. Phew.

Recognize the skyline? We arrived in Austin late in the evening.

The next morning, on June 14th, we woke up bright and early, packed up the car, and drove to Monterrey, Mexico, about a 7-hour car ride from Austin.

Crossing the border was painless. There wasn’t anyone in line to get permits so it took all of 5 minutes. After that, another 3 hours to get to my grandpa’s house in Monterrey. I love when we start to go through the mountains. So pretty!

That same afternoon, we visited my grandmother’s grave, on what would have been her 79th birthday. I miss her dearly. Little white butterflies were flying down the mountain, through the cemetery. So beautiful.

The next day was my cousin Aby’s wedding. The girls were train bearers… is that the right word? They loved it!

Being away from their dad on Father’s Day was tough…

But it was a blessing to finally spend one with my grandfather!

The girls didn’t miss their daddy too much, hanging out by the pool and playing with their cousins all day!

And of course we had to do a little shopping…

And LOTS of eating! Mexican street food is the best.

The girls even got an impromptu tamale-making lesson from my aunt Mary.

When we got back to Austin, my mom took Maura for a haircut, as she always does. It’s their thing.

My sister has a whole list of places to go and things to see in Austin… if only it weren’t so hot! 108º over the weekend. That hasn’t kept us from hitting the zoo early in the morning, and the pool, obviously, among other fun places.

Even mom needs a break. Seeing Cyndi Lauper in concert was a perfect escape. Love her!

So that’s that. Before we leave Texas, it looks like we’ll be visiting SeaWorld, Schlitterbahn waterpark, and celebrating Maura’s birthday, too. What about you? What have you been up to?