When we have visitors (we have fun)

My sweet mother-in-law, Karen, came to visit recently, and we had such a good time. With no set plans for the week, each day we woke up and decided what sounded best. Despite all the rain we've had, there were a few fairly dry, albeit humid, days where we took advantage of the sun. We ate pizza and tacos, of course. We hiked. We tried to stay out of the rain, and avoided puddles from said rain. We ate a lot of good breakfast food. And we swam in the creek in our clothes and it was all Karen's idea! ;) And least notably, I got capri tan lines—how is that even a real thing?!

Each time family or friends come to visit, at least four good things happen:

1. We get to spend time with people we love (duh).
2. We get to be a little bit touristy and try new things on our Austin "to-do" list, all in the name of being good hosts
3. We eat Torchy's Tacos and visit at least one of our favorite coffee shops.
4. We get excited about "our city," and (I think) our visitors feel a little more at ease with us being so far from home

Karen traveled with Fleet's mom, and the six of us (the two of them + the "Austin kids" as they refer to us) had coffee on the river together.

Barton Springs with the three of us.

And because we couldn't resist the water:

Our perennial favorite breakfast: Summer Harms Peanut butter baked oatmeal (I follow the mods to make it without banana and I usually use coconut milk and I always eat mine with jam).

Hiking the Greenbelt in the humidity and puddles.

It was such a fun visit! We feel so loved when we have visitors.

In other news:

• Jon Foreman just released another solo EP! His Limbs and Branches EPs were some of my most-played CDs in high school and college. In a similar fashion, his new EP promises to be an equally good road trip soundtrack.
• For the first time since high school, I got new glasses!
• It's my first night off of three, and I have a few more posts planned for this week :)
• For those of you who have asked, we were not directly affected by the flooding that's happening in central Texas, although we know people who were. A lot of the worst flooding happened southwest of Austin—please keep Texas in your prayers as so many families navigate displacement and loss of their homes.