Marc finished week 3 of his month long rotation away from us with me flying out solo to spend the weekend with him. It was our first weekend without kids since Ruby was born. (Thats what happens when you have all your babies in college and dental school) To say the both of us were crazy excited would be an understatement.

My wish in the airplane flight over was that for the weekend time would slow down and that we could spend a lifetime together in these two and a half days.

When I landed in Waco, like a movie, Marc ran over, picked me up and spun me around. Oh, I missed his face. We went to a tasty local pizza joint and then had a crazy evening like Katy Perry’s teenage dream.

Like the true morning person I am, I woke up bright and early, even without my waking toddler wake up call. So we hit the ground running for the perfect tourist day in Waco. We learned first hand, if you make it to Magnolia Table before the sun is up there is no wait and you get seated with all the other early birds having the best breakfast in town. I could have eaten an entire plate of just strawberry butter. Mmmmmmmmm….

One of our favorite parts, other than the food and butter (mmmm strawberry butter… drool), was the conversation starter books on the tables, filled with fun questions to make you think, or laugh, and get you talking. Like, if you could have any job, real or not, what would it be? Without missing a beat Marc said, “Friday Spider-Man. There would be a lot of pressure to be Spider-Man all the time but Friday’s would keep it exciting.” I laughed. And loved him just a little more. I would be a Disney princess or be on the creative team for Anthropology or Magnolia.

Marc always insist on sitting, in his favorite place, right next to me when we go out regardless of chair placement at a table. Since our first date, he has always been willing to share what he is having and looks at me adoringly like he is the luckiest guy alive. He spoils me so. And it was just the best to soak in a whole weekend with the man who loves me the most.

Earlier in the week, before I arrived, Marc told me he had been listening to a podcast with a famous hospital administrator from Texas who credited his success by keeping the focus and always asking “What is their purpose for their care?” So Marc said he wanted the purpose for our weekend to be for me to feel at ease and on break from being the mom, feel loved and cherished, and for us to just have some serious fun together.Just another reason Marc is such a winner.

Can I say, Texas is so cute! Hearing your first, “ya’ll have a blessed day!” is kinda magical.

The Magnolia Silos were amazing! I kept squeezing Marc’s arm, trying to keep my excited squeals quiet as we walked around. I was so happy to be there. The industrial look with all the greenery and clean modern farmhouse charm is my favorite. And it just felt, and it sounds weird but, peaceful and happy there. Like coming home for the holidays or seeing an old friend. Marc and I hung out on the lawn soaking it all in. I leaned over to him and said, “all of this happened because two people had a dream and changed the world.” That’s the kind of crazy dreaming we want. I want to be an influence for good, kindness, and family that makes a ripple effect to bless people beyond my small circle.

Waco has the most charming park and trails along the Bosque River. Marc and I literally spent hours at Cameron Park. We have found that getting out and walking is when talking is the easiest so we chatted about our dreams, kids, family, Waco, our marriage, made jokes, laughed hard, and got in over 24,000 steps.

I feel silly to say but I’m a sucker for locally grown, heavy on the veggie, artisan bread, hipster food scene. Marc knows a fridge full of fresh produce is one of my love languages. So for our date tradition Texas BBQ is not really my jam. Marc did his Yelp homework and took us to Milo All Day. It was so much fun and so good we even got souvenirs to bring home.

Sunday we had lunch at the home a family from friends back in Mesa, and they showered us with the Texan hospitality that people brag about- a hot meal, good company, a Waco gift basket (complete with Magnolia shirts, Magnolia Bakery cupcakes, Baylor mugs, Baylor notepad and pens, and Dr. Pepper), and pie with fresh Texan pecans.

Waco, you were a whirlwind of a weekend and we will be back.