Visiting the new Mommas...

Well, we made our first trip back to Dallas together this past weekend to go to Liesl & Dudley's (Jonathon's) couples baby shower in Frisco.

We had a great time getting to catch up with them & others at the shower who we hadn't seen for a while. I also got to meet Dudley's parents whom I have heard so much about, but had never met. So that was fun. I also got to meet Liesl's sisters. Liesl is due to have Aaron Sayres Dudley on December 31. Doesn't she just look so cute at 8 months pregnant though!

We also got to stay with Alicia & Collin and see the beginnings of the baby room. So far, the closet is painted blue & all decked out with baby boy stuff and the bedding/decorations she chose are farm animals, which of course I love! (being that I am a farm girl) We enjoyed our short stay with them. It was great to be with close friends for the weekend! We didn't get to fit in our usual Spades card game though (not sure who is ahead right now -- girls or guys), but Alicia and I have been known to kick their tails at Spades! We also didn't get to fit in a ping pong tourney. Last time we played, Collin was the champ, but I made it to the finals (yes, it is what you are thinking -- I BEAT JARROD)!! If you cannot tell, I am very proud of that. ;) It is a loving competitiveness that we have though, right Dear? LOL Anyhow, we'll have to make another visit to fit in all the competition with the Sharps.

Alicia is due January 30 & is so cute pregnant too! I hadn't gotten to see her since she was showing a little.

And, on Sunday, we went to service back at our old church, Stonebriar. The new sanctuary was completed about a month ago so we were so excited to go back and worship there! It was wonderful! The choir sounded so good & the organ pipes that were just put in sounded & looked amazing! It was great to hear from Chuck & just be in a place that was so familiar. After church, we made a pass by our "old house", which is really weird to say. It was still there of course and things looked pretty good, but the grass wasn't near as green as when we left it and my flowers I planted had grown a lot! But they looked pretty wilty & dying after going through the hot summer. Next, we went for some sushi at our old fave, Chaucers. It was yummy! And a stop in Frisco just wouldn't be the same without getting some custard at Sheridan's ---

It was a short visit so we hope to make it back up again soon to see everyone!

Spirit of Aggieland Never Changes...

Our lives are ever changing, but it never ceases to amaze me that the same spirit I knew while I was at A&M, is still there & is felt the moment I drive into College Station. It is also that feeling like you get when you go back to your hometown to visit family -- it was so exciting to be home in Aggieland this past weekend! And if you are reading this and thinking, "what is she talking about?", I guess it is like they say, "those inside cannot explain it & those outside don't understand it (my husband included in this bunch)". It was a great time of visiting friends and being a part of the 12th Man (fans) at Kyle Field! Army was the opponent so it was fitting that special tributes were done in honor of those men who proudly serve our country.

There is usually a fly over at all the games, but I had never seen paratroopers dropped from helicopters to drift down to Kyle Field...

The band played a piece for each branch of the military,

And of course, the standard block "T"...

God Bless America! And God Bless our Troops.

The singing cadets sing as the flag covers Kyle Field.

The guys were focused on the game,

Jarrod & Brad


While Emily & I chatted & caught the highlights...

After the game we met up with friends.

Amber, Me, Rachel, Emily

To bring the weekend to a close, on our way back to Austin Sunday we stopped through Elgin to check out 2 BBQ places we keep hearing people rave about. We got BBQ at both & taste tested that night. And the winner is.....

Southside Market! Their pork ribs are tasty!

We're famous!

We started out our weekend as we do many weekends, our Friday night sushi date. We have many sushi places we like to go to, but we went to our fave that I've mentioned before, Tomo. It was yummy! We had missed a couple of Fridays b/c of various reasons so it was great to get back to our routine. After dinner we went to the movie theatre to see the new movie "Fireproof" with Kirk Cameron (http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/)







If you haven't seen it, you should check it out. It is made by the same folks that produced "Facing the Giants". It presents some great lessons and a WONDERFUL message. After the movie, our names became "famous" in Austin as we debuted on The Word 99.3 FM radio in an on the spot, live interview about the movie. Being on the radio was certainly a first for me!

It's Magic...

Ok, men, this is a post you can skip over, but if any of you women out there have ever experienced fading or creasing of your eye shadow, look no further as I have found the magic solution -- "shadow insurance" by Too Faced. I was introduced to it by a lady at Ulta who highly recommended it, I have been using it for the past couple of weeks & I love it so far! It really makes my shadow more vibrant and my shadow doesn't seem to fade by the end of the day. Usually when I get ready to take off my makeup at night, it looks as if I never put any shadow on in the first place, but when I use the shadow insurance primer, my shadow looks the same at the end of the day as it did in the morning when I just applied it! I just thought I would pass on this secret that I have discovered using eye shadow primer, which many of you may be thinking "man, that girl is behind the times, we've been using that stuff for years!" Even if so, you should check out this brand because it is really magic! I haven't used other brands, but I know this one works. It is a new fave for sure!

River Trip 2008

This is part of the Frio River where we float to and take out at.















We stayed at dad & Jim's new cabin in the Mountain Valley area of Concan called 'Boondocks' -- they also own Casa Del Sol so click on the link & check 'em out for your next family gathering! There are great views and is so quite & peaceful out there sitting out on the porch and gazing at the beauty God created. Every now and then a deer will wander by. We had a relaxing weekend.














I have to admit that I did not take any pictures on the river or with us in them this year so I stole these 2 from last year. It is always a great time floating the river. This year the water level was not quite as high, but was still good floatin', great relaxin' & lots of laughin'. There are no cares or worries in mind when floating down the Frio!














My brother fried up some catfish & Jarrod provided some famous Catahoula fries to go along with it on Saturday night. We had enough to feed an army! We had some friends over from the cabin next door and chowed down. Our good friend Bryan Hoy's birthday was on Sunday so we brought out some cupcakes that we had brought with us from Cupprimos, one of our faves in Austin, and burst out in song to celebrate his 33rd year! We did fit in some football watching & poker playing while we were there. Even the rookie poker player that I am managed to beat up on the guys a little, but in the end Jarrod & Jim were the last ones standing (I was snoozing by that point as I think it went until 1am in the morning). Jarrod & I drove back on Monday, but took a different route up through Fredericksburg. It was a beautiful drive. We saw lots of wildlife & rolling hills. It was a great end to the weekend. However, when driving through Fredericksburg, I could definitely feel a magnetic force wanting to pull the car off to park & go shop in all those cute little stores!! That'll have to be another trip!

Our First Visitor...

My brother came to visit us this weekend & we toured him around Austin. Friday night we introduced him to our favorite sushi place here called Tomo Sushi. This was also Jim's first time to try any sushi that wasn't at least partially cooked. I was glad that he embraced the experience! We had a great time! Saturday, I went and picked up donuts from Roundrock's World Famous Donut shop so Jim could try them. http://www.roundrockdonuts.com/ We live just a few blocks from it, but Jarrod & I don't really get what the fuss is about. The donuts are a little different b/c they have an orange based batter, but we aren't that impressed. However, typically the line is out the door! After having our donuts & laying around a bit, we headed out to drive around the city, to the area where we will be living & on down to the lake before making our way to have some small town, good eatin' Texas BBQ in Lockhart, Texas. We went to a place called Smitty's that has been filmed and shown on Food Network.

There was an open fire at the end of the pit where they were smoking the BBQ right there where you placed your order.

We (the boys) ordered a total of like 5 lbs of meat!! We did at least have a few left overs, but we definitely did not need dinner that night!

On our way back into Austin we drove by Barton Springs area where Town Lake is & there were a ton of people out swimming, canoing, kayaking, etc. It looks like a fun area that we'll definitely have to go back to. We brought our suits, but the line to get into the swimming hole was way too long! So we headed back toward Round Rock, but we didn't get too far before Jarrod spotted a snow cone stand & I knew we would be stopping & finding some room in our tummy's. Jarrod tried to get out of standing in the hot sun by saying he would watch the car to which I quickly responded, "oh, I'll be glad to watch the car". So he & Jim braved the heat for some unbelievable snow cones! Thanks guys! The cones were yummy & definitley worth the stop!

After church on Sunday we went and ate at Z Tejas in the Arboretum area. Another of our faves! What a great view! And it was such a pleasant day to sit outside on the deck.

It was a great visit! Glad you got to come Jim!