♥ Our Olive Tree: 1st Buck Deer Lease Trip ♥

Our family loaded up the weekend of December 2nd and headed for Fredericksburg, Texas. Brandon's family has a deer lease there and they have been on this lease for 27 years. Brandon has been going since he was 18 months old. I was so excited for my boys to have their first trip. As a child, Brandon called it the Buck Deer Lease.

Brandon's sister, brother in law, parents, and grandparents are all on the lease. We all went up for the weekend. The girls planned to go to the Fredericksburg shops and the boys planned to hunt.

I was nervous about the 5 hour drive with 2 babies. Especially after figuring out Drake's fear of the dark in the car. So, I decided we should leave work around lunch time to alleviate driving in the dark.

It was ridiculous how much we had to take with us on this trip. I wish I had taken a picture of the entry way with all of the stuff before it was loaded.

Bumbos
Double Stroller
Formula
Gallon of Water
Baby Food
Cereal
Bowl
Spoon
Toys
Beanies
Pants
Jackets
Onesies
Socks
Pajamas
Towels
Wash Cloth
Baby Shampoo
Baby Lotion
Diapers
Wipes
Desitin
Orajel
Teething Tablets
Advil
Pack n Play
Blankets
Music Maker for Bedtime

Seriously?!?!?! ;)

It is also raining this weekend, so all of this had to be loaded into black trash bags. Don't forget mommy and daddy had to bring things too!

So, we loaded up in Brandon's truck and headed out. We wanted to stop at Bass Pro Shops to get the boys picture taken with Santa. We stopped at the Bass Pro in Katy. Of course, Santa was on lunch break. We needed to waste some time. We went to the truck and fed the boys. Drake kept spitting the formula out for some reason. So, it was now on his "I ♥ Santa" Onesie! We go back inside and wait. Hunter gets Stranger Danger. He cries at times when a stranger or someone he has not seen in a while speaks to him. Our plan was to go up sit babies quickly and get out of the picture. We walk up and Santa tells me he will not hold both babies. WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!? I have waited an hour and you won't hold both of my babies? He asks if I will stand in the picture. I am wearing my LPJ spirit shirt, not christmas colors at all. I ask if one of the employees can stand in since they are dressed with red and gree. He tells me they are not allowed to be in the picture. I am so annoyed at this point. I explain I have been waiting an hour and I want both the boys in one picture. He finally gives in and says he will try. By this point, our plan is out the window. We have had an entire conversation, so Hunter cried as soon as we put him down. We get our picture and he is screaming in it. I ask if we can try again, and they say yes. We get Hunter calm, walk up and sit both the boys down. We got our picture with both boys looking!!! No smiles, but that is ok! Our short stop has turned into nearly 2 hours!

We continue on our trip and I realize we are definitely going to be driving in the dark. Ugh. The boys did well for most of the trip. When it got dark, Drake flipped out. Just turning the light on was not enough. I had to sit in the back seat between the boys to calm him down. Those of you who know me know I have HORRIFIC motion sickness. After sitting in the back in the last stretch of the trip through the hill country, we had to stop because I was sick. Then we get a phone call notifying us that the electricity has gone out at the Deer Lease. We are within 30 minutes of arriving. Of course, the weekend we are all heading up the power goes out for the first time that they can remember. As we pulled up to the road, we got the call it had been restored! When we reached the road that leads up to the camp we unbuckled the boys. It is a long bumpy road that Brandon used to sit with his dad and drive down when he was young. First Drake sat in daddy's lap and helped drive. He liked touching the horn area of the wheel. Then Hunter got his chance to drive with Daddy, and he liked to hold on the wheel acting like he was actually driving.

We were excited to finally be there!!! We went to bed not long after arriving. It was very windy and rained most of the night. We woke up and planned on heading into Fredericksburg to go shopping! We waited to see if the guys killed anything on their morning hunt. Brandon killed an 8 point buck! We took the boys out to see it and take pictures. Remember they have a mounted deer on the wall of their nursery, so it is nothing new to them. It was VERY windy!

After looking at Daddy's buck we headed into Fredericksburg to go shopping! Lacey took a wrong turn somewhere and we ended up a little lost. Lacey and I found out what cattle guards are and think that is a very neat idea! HAHA! ;) We arrived in Fredericksburg and were ready for our day! The boys did great in their strollers! They have a big Christmas Tree set up, Gingerbread houses, etc. So, we had to stop and take some pictures. Here are just a few...

We spent 7 hours out shopping and the boys did great! They took two short naps in their carseats. We ate at a local restaurant and went to a chocolate shop! I had a banana dipped in chocolate! AMAZING! It was frozen and so good!

Drake

Hunter

I love to find the name Olive on a street or a store! We found this shop and I had to have a picture!

We also saw S. Olive in Fredericksburg :)

We headed in around 5:30! The boys were tired and ready to eat!

There is a photo of Brandon in a wash tub at the deer lease when he was young. As soon as we decided to go, I called to see if they still had it there. THEY DID! I could not wait to get my babies in it and get pictures!

It was an amazing weekend! We will certainly go up yearly with all the girls! The boys will go more often obviously! Hunter was teething a lot while we were there. Sunday morning you could feel the two bottom teeth starting to poke through! We took a lot of pictures, so here are a few!