cowboy hats, fireplaces, and feathers.

I had one of those weekends that I just wanted to freeze. I wanted time to stand still, and I didn't want it to end.

Claire and I flew down to Alpine, TX to see sweet Meredith (for the first time in a YEAR!) and to meet baby Madeleine for the first time. The trip was entirely too quick, but our time together was absolutely perfect.

I'll spare sharing every single detail of our glorious trip, but I do want to share several of the pictures from the weekend.

We flew into Midland, TX, which is a couple of hours away from Mere's house. We rented a car and took complete advantage of the 80 mph speed limit (not even kidding!). Here's what our entire drive looked like:

I spent the ride as the chauffeur:

...while Claire took control of the country radio stations and snacked on an entire bag of these: (sick)

When we finally got there, we got to see this adorable little face...

...(who just so happens to be the proud owner of these adorable things):

Meredith had to go back to work for a couple of hours, so Claire and I decided to nap (we'd been awake since 4 am for heaven's sake!).

When Meredith got home, we all pretty much decided to stay in, order pizza, and relax by the fire. Now, go ahead and stop assuming that it took a man to build a fire for us.

No way.

Meredith's dear husband was out of town, so it was up to the 3 of us to build a fire. And we did just that. I even took pictures to document our masterpiece! Go ahead and grab a pen and paper in case you'd like to learn how to build your very own fire! ;)

1. First, you're going to need a fireplace.2. Next grab some firewood...

and: 3. Place the firewood strategically in the fireplace and use a starter block or 2...

4. Next, light a match, toss it into the fire...5. and VIOLA!

Isn't it a beauty? We were so proud.

We went to a fabulous Christmas party Saturday night. It was so fun to meet some of Meredith's friends! We had a blast.

Here are some pictures from our fun night: (And no...Madeleine did not go with us! Some of these were taken before we left!)

Now, do you sorta, kinda, understand why we didn't want to come back?