CRAIG'S 40TH!

My sweet hubby turned 40! in May.  As per tradition, we ate out for dinner.  The kids love to eat at Babes.....and they cracked up when Craig had to wear the chicken hat and dance.

I surprised Craig with a card at dinner.  I took the day off work for both of us and we headed to Fredericksburg, Texas for a long weekend.  First stop....Luckenbach.

After Luckenbach, we went to a nice dinner at the Hilltop Cafe.  I would have never pulled into this place if I had just driven by it.  It was a hole in the wall.  It was totally unlike the upscale food they served.  The food was amazing!!  After we ate, we walked down the main street and did a little window shopping.  We stumbled into a little courtyard set off the main road.  We sat down and ordered a drink.  While we were sitting there, 4 guys who had obviously just met each other started setting up their instruments.  It was so neat to watch them play.  They would call out a song to each other and demonstrate how they wanted it to sound.  Then, they would all start playing and singing.  They were really good and we definitely enjoyed ourselves.  After that, we called it a night.

The next morning, we headed out of Fredericksburg to a tiny town called Hye.  We went to a bourbon distillery for a tour.  Visiting Garrison Brothers Distillery was our favorite thing that we did on the trip!  It was so interesting to see how they made bourbon from start to finish.

Cooking the grains down

First taste test - the grains.  They were really sweet.

This was the next taste test.  They called this sour beer.  It was bubbling like crazy.  They had us stick our fingers in the vat as we walked by.

Distilling the alcohol

Third taste test.  This was 140 proof alcohol!  They told us not to smell it.  They also instructed us to put a tiny sip on your tongue and swirl it around.  It cracked me up because they served it in communion cups and in a communion tray.

Final taste test......

Craig's birthday present!  He chose bottle number 3 out of 56.  It is labeled and signed by the master distiller.

Taking paper seal off and adding a deer skin tag

Dipping his own bottle in the wax

I got to place the star on the top

We spent the rest of the day walking around the main street.  We went in to some really neat shops.  We enjoyed grown up time.  And then, we did the best thing.....took a nap!!!  It was wonderful!!  We went to a German restaurant for dinner.  It was very tasty.

The next morning, we got up early and hit a really neat bakery for breakfast.  Then, it was time to head home.  We were ready to hug our kids!!

Such a pretty drive

Our kids had so much fun while we were gone.  They got to spend one night with Grandpa and Nana and then they went to the farm with Grandmama and D-Daddy.  They were surprised at the farm with a new treehouse.  They had so much fun playing with their cousins!!