Squash for Breakfast Anyone?

Our good friends Collin & Alicia visited a couple of weekends ago with their 10 month old Grant. It was a great time hanging out. Saturday we had a breakfast casserole, the guys hit the tv room to watch football all day and us girls hit the shops and the spa for a pedicure, then we grilled pork chops that night and had a squash casserole. The next morning I rolled out of bed and got out tortillas and what I thought was the leftover breakfast casserole to make breakfast tacos. I was obviously still half asleep b/c after I got dressed and went back into the kitchen, no one had touched breakfast. Now that I was fully awake, I realized what I had done & cracked up laughing and asked Collin if there was a problem with squash casserole for breakfast?!? LOL.

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pics over the weekend, but Alicia snapped these shots as they were leaving Sunday and I swiped a pic of Collin & Grant off Alicia's blog. They looked much like this on Saturday at our house though; all suited up in their game day attire! Isn't Grant adorable! We had so much fun with him. He entertained us all weekend. Babies just have a way of making you smile all the time!

Ags vs Hogs...

At the beginning of October, we headed to Dallas and stayed with Emily & Brad in Ft. Worth for the weekend and enjoyed the famous Joe T Garcias Mexican restaurant for the first time with them, my family and Laura & Erich. We also went to the new Cowboys stadium for the first time to watch the Texas A&M Aggies fight it out against the Arkansas Hogs. Well, there wasn't much of a fight, but we can always hope for next year. It was fun meeting up with friends at the game anyway. Mom, Ernie and Jim were also in town for the weekend so we got to spend time with them and celebrate with Mom for her birthday.

Jarrod, Mom, Ernie, Jim

And me.

Hola!! - Part 1: The Journey!

We just returned Saturday night from a week of vacationing in Zihuatanejo, Mexico. It was a fabulous trip once we finally arrived. However, we had some adventures in traveling on the way there. Let's just put it this way: arrived at Austin Airport at 4:30am, flight delays already, stood in line for 2 hours to checkin & change our connection in Houston, realized Mikalah's passport still had maiden name but the guy let us through, sat and waited and waited and waited on plane, taxi-ing, back to gate, in airport and finally departed at 4:30pm -- that's right, 12 hours after we had arrived at the airport!

There was a horrible storm in Houston so that airport was closed & no flights to Houston were leaving Austin. After many calls to Continental & changes to our connections & making decisions about whether to get our bags off the plane & just drive to Houston, our flight finally departed. This was nowhere near the end of our journey though. We got to the gate in Houston where our connecting flight (after 3 changes) was departing from and it was delayed by 2 hours, but our original connecting flight was still at the gate and would depart in 30 minutes once the first officer arrived so we decided to change our tix back to that flight (after the guy had to call for approval on my passport -- ahhhh!). So we ran over to get on the plane & were so excited that we were actually going to make it to Zihua finally!

Then we sat an hour waiting on the first officer b/c after his plane landed, there was no gate for him to pull into due to all the backups at the airport b/c of the storm. By the time he got to our plane, they called him that his flight time for the day had expired!! Our flight was cancelled & the flight we changed from, btw, actually flew out at 7:30pm!! We could have been on it!!

They told us that customer service would help us with getting a new flight. Well...that customer service line was a mile long & we moved maybe 5 feet in 2 hours! Then this supervisor lady came out and told like 250 of us that they would be closing at 10:30pm and we would not make it through the line by then so basically to "bug off" & go find someone else to help us! She sent us to another line that was twice as long, at which time, we decided to find our own way.

In the middle of all of this, we made friends with a couple from Newfoundland, Canada in the 1st customer service line & they decided we looked like we knew what we were doing (to much of our explaining that we did not and had made bad decisions all day). So the four of us went searching for anyone that would help us at a ticket counter. And I might mention here that I had called Continental on the phone & spoke to a rep who told me flights to Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo were booked solid until Tuesday! That wasn't going to work!

While Jarrod, Calvin and Judy stood waiting at one ticket counter, I, of course, decided to do some further searching around the airport for a "high up" person and finally found this wonderful gentleman in a red suit jacket at gate E4 who seemed to be waiting there just for me with no one even standing in line to talk to him! Thank you Lord for looking out for us!! He actually worked in the office, but had arrived to help out so I told him our sob story & about the customer service rep who was so rude. He kindly gave me some options, one of which was to get on a plane back to Austin which departed in about 45 minutes & start our trip over from there. The other option was to get on a stanby list for the next day. Since we had been making the wrong decision all day, I asked for his advice on this one and he felt good about our chances to get on standby the next day due to all the weather and other people missing connections, etc. He put in some code that moved us to the top 2 spots on a Stanby list that was 12 long and growing, he gave me 2 overnight kits and a number they use to give passengers their discounted rates at hotels & I ran through the airport back to where Jarrod and the others were with a big thumbs up!!

Jarrod & I took Calvin & Judy over to the guy that helped me and got them 3 & 4 on the standby list. We called the number to book hotel rooms for all of us, they sent the shuttle to pick us up, we got to take showers & get about 5 hours sleep (while many others slept in the airport).

We headed back to the airport at 6:30am Sunday morning to see if we were still at the top of the standby list and if we would get on the first of three flights that day. We sat with our new friends and waited with anticipation. They brought a printout of the standby list to the gate & to our surprise, we were still the top 4 on a list of now 60+!! They told us to be ready to make a decision of whether we would split up if we were in a party & Jarrod & I decided we would since chances were that both of us would end up getting on a flight that day. They called Gaither, & I was the first on the list so ran up and immediately said "We'll split up"! She replied, "Are you Gaither, party of 2?" I said, "oh, yes, are there 2 spots?" She said "Yes"! Music to my ears. I hollared for Jarrod and after another questioning of my passport (we held our breath each time), we boarded the plane and shortly after our 2 friends boarded as well! There were 4 spots just for us! What a blessing!! And what a sense of satisfaction & defeat! That we didn't give up & we were finally going to make it to Zihuatanejo! We were so pleased to have been able to help our friends & to form the friendship that we did with them. Had all of this chaos not happened or had our journey that day gone down a different path, we'd have never had the chance to know them & help them.

Waiting for the First Officer to arrive and thinking (key word) that we were finally going to depart for Zihua after our 15 hour journey at this point!

Our friends Calvin & Judy as we all eagerly awaited for the Standby's to be called on Sunday morning.

Taste of Louisiana

I finally got to visit Lake Charles, where Jarrod grew up, for a Fais Do Do which I learned a while back is basically a Cajun dance with zydeco music & lots of good cajun food & fun! This particular one was to raise money for Mitochondrial research. Many of you know our good friend's child named Jude has this disease. You can find out more on his website at http://www.judesmitojourney.com/. The fundraiser brought in about $25k toward Jude's fund for research for his disease. This year he will present a check at the symposium to researchers who will begin researching cures for his specific type of Mitochondrial disease.

I finally got to see Jarrod's stomping grounds. We toured around town and saw all his old hang out spots, where he went to middle school & high school, where he lived and of course ate at all the favorite spots which proved to be as good as he had described them. Friday night we went out to eat with his college buddies at Pat's of Henderson to celebrate Bryan Manley's birthday, Saturday we at breakfast at Delicious Donuts & lunch at Leonards. And of course that night we had some amazing cajun cookin' at the Fai Do Do!

Pictures of our Cajun weekend

HS Bball State Playoffs

This past weekend, Stacey and Josh came in town and stayed with us because the boy's basketball team in Stacey's hometown of Plains, Tx were playing in the 1A state playoffs here in Austin at UT's Frank Erwin Center. We went & watched their 1A playoff game and the 3A state playoff game on Saturday morning bright and early. After the games, we went with Stacey & her family to Serrano's downtown for lunch. It was fun getting to be in the "high school" scene again and getting to catch up with Stace & Josh.

McElroys Visit

Laura & I

The McElroys were passing through Austin the weekend before Valentine's Day & stopped for a visit to have breakfast with us. We had a great time catching up and enjoyed some yummy french toast, a new recipe my dad gave me. It was super rich, but super good and I'm sure super fattening!

Bananas Foster French Toast
(recipe from Food Network)

4 Large Eggs

1 Cup Heavy Cream

1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon

8 TBL Butter, Divided

8 Large croissants, Halved (preferrably Egg Challah or Brioche Bread)

1/2 Cup Dark Corn Syrup

1/2 Cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar

1 Cup Pure Maple Syrup

1 Cup Chopped Pecans

6 Ripe Bananas, Halved Crosswise & Lengthwise

1 Teaspoon Rum Extract

Directions: In a shallow dish, whisk together eggs, cream, and cinnamon. In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Dip 4 croissant halves in egg mixture to coat both sides. Using a fork, remove croissants from egg mixture, letting excess mixture drip off. Place croissant halves in hot skillet. Cook 2 to 3 minutes per side or until lightly browned. Repeat procedure with remaining butter and croissant halves. Set aside and keep warm.
In a large skillet, combine corn syrup, brown sugar, maple syrup and pecans. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer for 2 minutes. Add banana halves and rum extract. Coat with the syrup mixture, and simmer 1 minute. Spoon over French toast. Serve immediately.

Weekending in Dallas #2

Last weekend we were back in Dallas again for Stacey's wedding and also got to catch up with Hoy, the Dudleys & their new baby Aaron, and Jarrod went out to the Wetzig's on Sunday afternoon while I went to a baby shower for a friend from work & I got to visit with lots of my former co-workers who were onsite with me at Dr. Pepper when we lived in Dallas. Stacey's wedding was very quaint & beautiful, set at a little chapel in Lewisville with close friends and family. It was a special time and we wouldn't have missed it for the world!

Here is little Aaron Sayres Dudley

Weekending in Dallas #1

I met a couple of my dear college friends, Sherry & Emily , at Cuba Libre for dinner. It was great catching up and getting to see Sherry's precious Chloe. She was so good even though it was way past her bedtime too.

I stayed with my good friend Catherine for the weekend so got to catch up with her too and had lunch before the bridal shower I was helping host for Stacey.

Later Saturday evening we had dinner at a favorite spot in Dallas, Tupinambas, to kick off Stacey's Bachelorette party. Then we went to see an Improv act at Ad Libs. The show was surprisingly good. We had a great time and I definitely got a good ab workout laughing!

They pulled Stace up on stage, but didn't embarress her too bad. They sang to her and then she had to make sound effects in microphone for the next act they did. And, I must say, she did a great job with the sound effects -- that is...when she wasn't laughing hysterically.Before heading back to Austin on Sunday, I made a stop by Alicia & Collin's to see their new addition, Andrew Grant Sharp, who was born on January 3rd. He is so tiny and precious.

Dallas Fun...

Something must be in the water b/c we have a ton of family & friends that are pregnant....Kim, Amy, Liesl, April, Alicia, Erin G, Naomi, Jo Neel....and I'm sure others who have not broken the news yet or I'm forgetting about. Anyway, I am so excited for them all and thankful that some of them are giving us excuses to visit Dallas! I was delighted to host a baby shower for my good friend Alicia who is due to have a little baby boy named Andrew Grant at the end of January. We had it at a cute little bakery in Plano called Tart that has a side room especially for events like this.

Since I was in Dallas for the shower, I got to spend the weekend with Stacey & visit other friends while I was there too. It was great catching up with everyone. My voice was very tired by the end of the weekend after talking for hours with each of them. Stacey and I had dinner and a movie Friday night. We went to see Four Christmas's which had some laughs, but not a movie I would see again. After lunch at Potbelly's (yum! I hadn't been since I left Dallas!) & the shower on Saturday, I had coffee with a friend, then dinner with a few others and then on to a tacky sweater Christmas party that Stacey, Josh & Brooke were at -- it was a very full day, but so fun! Here's some pics of the tacky sweaters. Stacey won 1st place, but her future sister-in-law was the judge so there may have been some partialness there! However, Stacey did have quite the outfit with her Christmas turtleneck, vest & even some earrings to go along with it.

Reunion...

This passed weekend was a reunion of sorts. Stacey and I had not seen each other since my last night in Dallas, which had been exactly 15 weeks to the day! (I just looked at the calendar so no I'm not psycho woman) Almost 4 months! I've missed Stacey so much and her silliness a ton!! I miss our Potbelly lunch dates and grillin' nights at our place, but most of all just missed knowing I had a great friend just 10 minutes away to go hang with. Ok, dry the tears...it's only 3 hours now...well...not for Stacey & Josh --- they seemed to have managed to turn it into a 5 hour haul! She and Josh, her fiance, arrived Friday night and silly girl that she is, parked on the street so that we could run up the driveway to give each other a great big hug -- I know, dramatic, but it was funny. Anyhow, we had fajitas awaiting & had a great time visiting and getting to know Josh. Saturday morning we headed out for College Station to the A&M vs OU game, which was part of the reason for the trip (hate to admit that, but when we bought the tix, we didn't really know the extent of the horribleness that would be the Aggie season this year). But forget about that, it is about the experience of being at Kyle Field with the 12th Man and hearing the famous Fightin' Texas Aggie Band at half time, right! We stopped in at Southside in Elgin for lunch on the way to introduce Stacey & Josh to some of that great Texas BBQ that we have been finding around here. It was yummy! And for a West Texas country girl, I gotta say that I couldn't believe how grossed out Stacey was at eating meat off a bone! It was hilarious. She is so silly and that is why we love her. ;) Then on to College Station we went. I'm not going to go into anything about the game here except that we enjoyed the company we were with, getting to see my brother and some of his friends, watching the band and eating kettle corn. We also got to go onto Kyle Field after the game, which I had never done before so that was fun. Here are some pictures at the game.

On Sunday, Stacey & Josh went to Hill Country Bible Church with us. We are really growing to love this Church and haven't been anywhere else since we tried it. We visited many others before we tried it, but none of them were as alive as this church. I can just sense God moving among the people there. After church, we took Stacey & Josh to one of our faves where we take every guest that visits, Z Tejas, and it didn't dissappoint. The view was great and the food was even better! It was a great weekend! We had a great time hanging out. I didn't want the meal to end b/c I knew that meant they would be heading back to 'Big D'. I'll be there in a few weeks though, so it was just "see ya soon"!

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!

Aggieland is close, but Corpus is Home...

Although we got to visit my surrogate home, Aggieland, last weekend, this weekend we made the first drive home to Corpus from Austin. It was such a relaxing drive. Especially b/c it was 3 1/2 hours less than we are accustomed to from Dallas!! We took a back route to miss Friday afternoon traffic, but also with ulterior motives to go through Lockhart and stop for some BBQ at yet another talked about joint! This one is called Kreuz. We decided that they have the best brisket that we have ever tasted! Jarrod and I have differing views on the pork ribs. I liked them better than several of the places we have tried (although, all have been wonderful!), but Jarrod wasn't to keen on the seasoning. Nevertheless, we left there with very full stomachs!! And on to Corpus we went. It was a great time visiting family and friends. We went to a wedding of a friend of mine, Licia Dodson, from grade school who also went to business school at A&M with me.

I caught up with quite a few familiar faces whom I hadn't seen in years so that was fun, but also got to see Amber for the second weekend in a row! That never happens these days!

We were also able to celebrate with my mom on her actual birthday, which has probably not happened in quite some time -- usually it is a card sent in the mail & a phone call. Love you Mom! And I am thankful for the ## years (I won't tell) that God has blessed you with & the almost 29 years of it (getting close to the big one!) that I have been blessed by having you as my mother! Wish I had taken a picture to put here from the weekend, but these older ones will have to do.

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!

Real Living comes in the Trials...

In my previous post I spoke of a letter that we had received. This letter was from a couple named David & Alicia that we support the ministry of for Campus Crusade for Christ. Although I have not had the opportunity to meet this couple, as I have read their periodic updates & story of who they are, I am truly amazed by their character. The most recent letter we received brought devastating news concerning their 6 month old named Mark so I write this asking for your prayers. To give some background, this couple had 2 children of their own and has adopted 2 children who are from the same mother. The birthmom has 3 other children that she cares for, one of which they recently discovered had Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy. This disease is typically passed through the mother & affects boys so it was suggested that David & Alicia test Mark, their adopted 6 month old. So, a week ago, they found out that he has Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy. See the below description of MD:

Definition - One of nine types of muscular dystrophy, a group of
genetic, degenerative diseases primarily affecting voluntary muscles.

Cause - An absence of dystrophin, a protein that helps keep muscle cells
intact.

Onset - Early childhood - about 2 to 6 years.

Symptoms - Generalized weakness and muscle wasting first affecting the
muscles of the hips, pelvic area, thighs and shoulders. Calves are often
enlarged.

Progression - DMD eventually affects all voluntary muscles, and the
heart and breathing muscles. Survival is rare beyond the early 30s.

Inheritance - X-linked recessive. DMD primarily affects boys, who
inherit the disease through their mothers. Women can be carriers of DMD
but usually exhibit no symptoms.

Mark will have no symptoms for years, but will have a certain physical death no later than his late 20’s. "Of course, this is without a miracle from God...." "...We are devastated." To say the least, this family is really struggling right now and could really use all of the prayers that we can lift up for them and their precious little boy. Just 2 days after learning of the news of their son, they had to evacuate for hurricane Ike. They returned back home and thankfully their house was fine, but Alicia wrote that, "as we drove through all the destruction, seeing all the gigantic tress laid flat and twisted metal all over the place, houses ruined, and once valuables now tossed in the trash. As I looked at all this, I knew it is exactly how I feel on the inside."

However, she says "There is one conclusion I have come to~I don’t want anyone to fear adoption because of this. Adoption is still the greatest gift of my life in giving me two precious children. Having children by birth or adoption is a great risk, but I do know that this is where the real living comes. Without risk, there is no real joy. Pain is certainly a part of it, but it is NOT the burden of now having a child with a terrible disease, it is the heart-break of not getting to have him long enough. I would adopt him all over again, knowing everything I know now."


PLEASE lift up this family in your prayers. It is a devastating situation, and these that make me think how little my trials that I complain about really are! I will post updates as I receive more information.

Devastation...

Flooding in Southern Louisiana

Many of you know about our good friends who have a child named Jude that has Mitochondrial disease. You may be thinking, "I've never heard of that disease", but it is really not as rare as you may think considering most people are unaware of it. 1 in every 2,000 children are born or will develop mitochondrial disease by 10 years of age, but many cases go mis or undiagnosed so the number is probably much higher. Jude's mom Julie has made it her mission to promote awareness of this disease since Jude was diagnosed. She has led all kinds of creative fundraising efforts for the UMDF (United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation) & has spoken at many public forums to tell Jude's story & explain the symptoms & affects of Mito. Most recently, she & her mother have devoted this past year planning & preparing for a fundraising event called "Jude's Fai-do-do for Mito" to raise money for UMDF. If you are not cajun & unfamiliar with the term "fai-do-do", as I was not, it is basically a big dance with lots of cajun music & cajun food. Anyway, due to the devastation of Ike on the town in Louisiana where the event was to be held & to Julie's mother's house in southern Louisiana, the event has been cancelled. Their energies have been re-focused to getting her mom's (& other family in the area) house cleaned up and fixed from the damage of Ike. So please pray for Julie & her family as they struggle through this trying time of devastation & the dissappointment of planning for this event for so long only to have to cancel it. Also, you can read about Jude's story on the website where there is also a link to donate to UMDF if you feel so led.

Devastation seems to be the theme in those lives around me lately, whether due to natural disasters such as hurricane Ike & Gustav, loss of family & even children unexpectedly, or diagnosis of illness among adults & children we know. So through all of this I have been pondering over how God works through these devastating events in our lives and I read a letter this morning from another of our friends who has recently been devastated (I'll post later) who wrote "I do know that this is where the real living comes. Without risk (or trials or challenges), there is no real joy." (italics added by me) That is so the truth & exactly what God teaches us:

Romans 5:3-5 .... "We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love." (New Living Translation)

Over & over in the Bible God speaks to & through His disciples & prophets using examples of joy admidst trials & hardships & He promises to always "...work for the good of those who love Him..." (Romans 8:28) So if you are facing trials, challenges, risks & devastation right now, be joyful admist it, even praise God for it, knowing & trusting that God will bless you & bring you joy on the other side of it!

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!