Momster 2012

When we were preparing to move back to Brazil after our year on furlough in the United States, I somehow with my sister as witness, finagled a promise out of my dad that he would fly me up for a visit every year for the rest of his life . . . at least that's how I remember it.  Right, Kelley?  I'm sure he'll rue the day he made that promise, but I recently cashed in on the first plane ticket and spent two weeks with my family in Texas.  I had been looking forward to that trip for months, and immediately began to feel the time ticking away as I stepped off the plane.  My twelve days in Texas flew by despite my attempts to slow it down.  We still managed to do a lot of fun things, and I managed to have quality time with each member of my family.  We even continued the tradition of Momster Weekend (a two-day getaway with my two sisters and mom that we started six years ago).

We kicked off Momster 2012 at our traditional lunch spot, Hungry's in Houston.  Then we traveled to Galveston, Texas where one of my sister's clients has a great condo on the beach.

We settled in and began relaxing--eating and shopping.  In fact, a certain Vegan got caught with her hand in the non-vegan cookie jar.  Exhibit A:

But, then again, the rest of us weren't doing too great on our diets either.  Exhibit B:

On Saturday we shopped the historic Strand and ate a delicious lunch at Yaga's Cafe.

Our weekend was about more than food.  There was reading . . .

And memory book organizing . . .

And Downton Abbey screenings . . .

And Phase 10 torture . . .

And, of course, a lot of laughter and fun as well as a few mild irritations (i.e. Kelley's oversensitivity to a certain backseat-driving sister).  Hey, we are a family after all!!!  Strangely, there was no beach outing involved in our beach-side stay.

It was wonderful to spend time with each of them and catch up after almost a year of being apart.  I treasure the relationships I have with them--each unique and different.  It is hard to maintain a feeling of closeness when we are continents apart, but email and Magic Jack help (well, Magic Jack isn't always so helpful).  And, of course, my Dad's promise to fly me up TWO times every year helps.  Right, Kelley?!?

Until Momster 2013 . . .

4th Annual Momster Weekend

As you may have gathered by the previous post, my sisters and I are really close. And it so happens that all three of us enjoy a special bond with our mother. (After all, she did bring us into this world!) A few years ago, we began what is now affectionately called "Momster" (Mom-Sister) Weekend. Momster was born out of the frustration of all being geographically close during the summer, but so busy we couldn't always get the time together we craved--essentially kid-free time with all four of us present.

The original vision included a bed and breakfast in Vermont, but was quickly scaled back to a weekend in Houston (only 30 minutes away.) We heard that Hotwire.com had amazing deals if you were willing not to know the exact location or hotel chain until after you had booked it. So, we booked our room and wound up at the Sheraton in Houston. We packed brownies, magazines, and games and headed out. And as they say, the rest is history. We had so much fun that we decided to do it again the next summer, and the next, and . . . this summer--the 4th Annual Momster Weekend.

Nathanael likes to joke that Momster is basically a gastronomical tour of Houston, but despite what you may see in the pictures below, we actually do other things too like . . . shopping. So, Momster is a big eating and shopping festival. We do manage to have some good conversations between all the stops, and room time in the evening can get pretty hilarious. We watch movies, play games, sleep in, and work on fun projects that we bring along.

I'm already thinking about Momster 2011, but here are a few pics from 2010 . . . (And remember, we do other things besides eat! It's just that I didn't really happen to capture those things on camera, and the few pictures I did capture were banned for public viewing by my sisters and mom.)

We always kick things off at Hungry's in Rice Village, a great bistro with an amazing wedge salad that we've tried unsuccessfully to imitate at home.
L to R: Kelley, Kristi, and Mom
This year we tried a couple new places, Nit Noi, a Thai restaurant where the spring rolls were either loved or loathed, and for dessert The Chocolate Bar, a chocolate/ice cream shop with the most amazing chocolate confections we've ever seen. We thought we'd died and gone to heaven!
Kelley and I at Nit Noi


The sign says "Indulge." We gladly obliged.


We took our dessert back to the hotel. My selection: Chocolate Chip Cheesecake (Notice it is not in the photograph--I wolfed that baby down!)

After a midnight run for someone's urinary tract infection medicine back home, we slept soundly and deeply until the next morning where we kept up with another tradition--breakfast at Le Peep.
A hot and steamy Texas morning outside Le Peep.

By Saturday evening, we'd had enough of wedge salads and went for steak at Taste of Texas. The hour wait was well worth it.
Sunday morning we had brunch at Sweet Tomatoes and hit a few shops before rolling out of town to meet our husbands and kids for dinner.

Until next year, Houston!