I've never tried to upload a photo on here so we'll see if this works!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
Day 4 of Texas~ Saturday
We stopped at the University of Texas (Austin campus) coop to pick up some burnt orange souveniers! And there were a lot to choose from too. Take a look...
Longhorn sneakers...
And even a ballgown. Yes, the antlers just stick off the side. Or are they just called horns? I am very curious as to how many of those sell. :)
No, I didn't buy the cowboy hat. It was just for the picture. There was a lot of really nice stuff in there. I have never been a huge orange fan, but there were a few things that I really liked.
I wrote a post about the movie we saw here at the Texas History Museum.
They had a cool floor. 
Sweet nothings said to Texas by Texans.
Look at this carpet...have you ever seen a carpet like this? This was the carpet in the museum. I'm telling you, Texans love to see Texas stuff!
We got our picture taken under the Lonestar statue.
We got there really early to get a good spot. We had a great view of the stage. You can bring a picnic lunch and your blankets or chairs and spend the afternoon waiting for the show to start. There is a natural spring there and there are botanical gardens across the street. And playgrounds too if you have small kids. You pay $2 or $3 dollars to park, but the play itself is free, which is really nice if you have a larger family and want to do something fun together.
This guy in the chair played Gaston. He did a really good job of being an arrogant brute. No, really though, he was funny. After all, "no one shoots like Gaston, wears big boots like Gaston...da da da da da da da da da like Gaston..." (I forgot the words. :P)
I got a really short video too of the very end when they were dancing. I haven't figured out how to load it on here, so here is a picture of it.
I saw 7 Brides for 7 Brothers 2 years ago at Zilker Hillside Theater when I came with Jacqueline. That one was probably a little bit smoother, but both of the plays were great. I loved both of the performances I got to see there.Thursday, July 10, 2008
Day 3 of Texas~ Friday (Happy 4th of July!)
We tried to be out the door early on Friday morning to beat the heat. Actually, the weather wasn't too awful. It does get humid there, but I'm convinced that it gets more humid here. We reached the River Center around 9:30 am and the mall didn't open till 10 am so we walked over to the Alamo first. The Alamo is right in the middle of downtown San Antonio and is surrounded by sky scrapers. It makes it look like a small place. It's beautiful though. They make sure it stays green and pretty during the summer. I wish I had a picture of the actual walkway. This is a view looking out of the walkway at one of the buildings.
Here is the front of the Alamo. They had some re-enactors there in booths and tents and they would talk to the visitors. In one of the courtyards a speaker was giving the history of the battle of the Alamo.
Here is a view of the back of the Alamo. We saw several trees that grew out of the ground sideways. I don't think I've seen that here on the east coast. The parts of San Antonio that I got to see (aka the Alamo and Riverwalk/River Center Mall) have a very definite Spanish/Mexican flavor the the architecture, etc. It is so different from what I'm used to. I loved it. And most of the houses are shaped differently because they are built to withstand the heat more than our houses are. Most of the trees are shorter too. It's very pretty though. I think if they had more rain it would be really beautiful.
Look Mom, we're getting along. :) Cheryl kindly took a picture of us at the Alamo for me. :)
On the stairway to the River Walk. You have to go down stairs from the street to get to the River. All of the plants along the river are very green too. Some of the plants looked kind of tropical almost.
This was our tour guide. I forget his name. You can take a little boat ride along the river and the guide talks about the different sights you will see. I'm pretty sure one of the requirements for this job is to have a talent for stand-up comedy, because he was really funny! He had someone else who worked there meet him when we passed under a bridge to hand him his breakfast in a paper bag. Then he tried to pass him the money for his breakfast but he dropped it in the river. Oops! I guess he'd have to pay him back later. :)
Some of the boats that passed us. I didn't get a picture of our boat. There were all kinds of restaurants and buildings along the river. Even an old hospital that Carol Burnett and Kenneth Star (and some other people I don't remember) were born in or sick in. I don't remember if it still functions as a hospital or not. There are also hotels and apartments and offices along the river. You can live in the apartments if you are wealthy. :)
Here is one of the bridges I was talking about earlier.
Cheryl got her picture taken on one of them. I think there were 2 of them. Or maybe I just saw the same one more than once.
There was even a craft fair going on. Cheryl and Adam would not let me stop to look around. :(
There were lots of Texas stores in the malls in Texas. You go into most stores and you can find all kinds of stuff with Texas logos on them. In fact, just travel around Austin and you'll see more Lonestars, Longhorns, and Texas state shapes than you ever wanted to see. :) We got our picture taken in front of one of the Texas stores.
I snapped this picture on our way out of the River Center before we got back in the car. The red statue is called the Friendship Statue (Cheryl, correct me if I am getting this wrong) and it was a gift from Mexico. I can't remember the name of the building behind it. You can see the tops of these from the Riverwalk, but you can get a better view from the street.
We went back to Austin that evening and watched some fireworks from the Barton Creek Mall. It was a nice show. :) We were so tired! But it was a busy, fun day. :)
Here is the front of the Alamo. They had some re-enactors there in booths and tents and they would talk to the visitors. In one of the courtyards a speaker was giving the history of the battle of the Alamo.
Here is a view of the back of the Alamo. We saw several trees that grew out of the ground sideways. I don't think I've seen that here on the east coast. The parts of San Antonio that I got to see (aka the Alamo and Riverwalk/River Center Mall) have a very definite Spanish/Mexican flavor the the architecture, etc. It is so different from what I'm used to. I loved it. And most of the houses are shaped differently because they are built to withstand the heat more than our houses are. Most of the trees are shorter too. It's very pretty though. I think if they had more rain it would be really beautiful.
Look Mom, we're getting along. :) Cheryl kindly took a picture of us at the Alamo for me. :)
On the stairway to the River Walk. You have to go down stairs from the street to get to the River. All of the plants along the river are very green too. Some of the plants looked kind of tropical almost.
This was our tour guide. I forget his name. You can take a little boat ride along the river and the guide talks about the different sights you will see. I'm pretty sure one of the requirements for this job is to have a talent for stand-up comedy, because he was really funny! He had someone else who worked there meet him when we passed under a bridge to hand him his breakfast in a paper bag. Then he tried to pass him the money for his breakfast but he dropped it in the river. Oops! I guess he'd have to pay him back later. :)
This is what I meant about the plants looking almost tropical here and how the architecture looks like it is Spanish-inspired. When you are on the river tour you see lots of bridges and stairways and things like that. A lot of them curve around and aren't just straight up and down, and some of them are made of stone while others (like this one) are not entirely made of stone.
Here is one of the sights he pointed out to us. When you pass it a certain way it looks kind of like a free-standing wall with windows. It's really kind of triangular shaped.
Some of the boats that passed us. I didn't get a picture of our boat. There were all kinds of restaurants and buildings along the river. Even an old hospital that Carol Burnett and Kenneth Star (and some other people I don't remember) were born in or sick in. I don't remember if it still functions as a hospital or not. There are also hotels and apartments and offices along the river. You can live in the apartments if you are wealthy. :)
Here is one of the bridges I was talking about earlier.
Cheryl got her picture taken on one of them. I think there were 2 of them. Or maybe I just saw the same one more than once.
There was even a craft fair going on. Cheryl and Adam would not let me stop to look around. :(
The meanie moes! Just joking. :)
There were lots of Texas stores in the malls in Texas. You go into most stores and you can find all kinds of stuff with Texas logos on them. In fact, just travel around Austin and you'll see more Lonestars, Longhorns, and Texas state shapes than you ever wanted to see. :) We got our picture taken in front of one of the Texas stores.
I snapped this picture on our way out of the River Center before we got back in the car. The red statue is called the Friendship Statue (Cheryl, correct me if I am getting this wrong) and it was a gift from Mexico. I can't remember the name of the building behind it. You can see the tops of these from the Riverwalk, but you can get a better view from the street.
Adam and Cheryl getting their picture together in the River Walk Mall.
San Antonio is a beautiful city. It is also a very large city. I am sure I would get lost a million times before I became comfortable there and then I'd still probably get lost afterwards. It is a fun place to visit. It is one of the most popular places in Texas to visit, I believe. If you ever get a chance to go see the Alamo and River Center, I would recommend that you go. It is a really pretty place.
We went back to Austin that evening and watched some fireworks from the Barton Creek Mall. It was a nice show. :) We were so tired! But it was a busy, fun day. :)
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Oh by the way...
I got the job I interviewed for today. I'm really excited. I think it's going to be a good situation. I wasn't even looking for another job in the dental field. I said I didn't want work in another dental office but this practically fell in my lap so I'm going to trust that it is from God. I'm excited!
Day 2 of Texas Trip-Thursday
Day 2 and we were preparing to head out to San Antonio to see Cheryl's brother's family. And also to see the Alamo and River Center/River Walk. But you'll hear more about that in the next post.
We made it to San Antonio!
Adam played some pool with David. They got me to play a game with Adam too. I was awful. David had to give me some pointers. Hopefully by the next time I play I will be a little better.
I didn't get any pictures of Erica, Cheryl's sister-in-law. She is such a sweet person! She made us feel so at home. And she got us to try guacamole for the first time. I was intimidated by the color at first, but that is some good stuff. :)
This is Olivia. She won a Dell laptop through the Young Writers and Illustrators contests for her story. She's only 6 or 7 years old. I think I was about that age when Mom and Dad got our first computer.
Here is Ezra, Cheryl, and Olivia. The proud Auntie with her 2 adoring nieces and nephews. These kids, especially Ezra, are so funny when they are with Cheryl. The next morning we were getting ready to leave to go to the Alamo and everything and Ezra said to Cheryl, "No! You can't leave. You haven't spent enough time with me yet!" And he wouldn't let her leave to come home until she told him when she was coming back and how long she would stay.
After the kids went to sleep we stayed up and watched Dan in Real Life and had coffee and we just hung out and talked. It was really fun. I enjoyed myself. I first met David and Erica back in 2006 when I first went to Texas. It was cool to see how much the kids had grown up. They are a neat family!
And yes, Adam enjoyed his computer time there just like he does here at home. He looks like this at home too. :)
The next day we went to the Alamo and River Center. I'll write about that next time. :)
Anyway, we pulled out of the driveway and realized we had a flat tire. So that set us back a little bit. We had to get someone to come change the tire because Cheryl had had her tires changed or rotated or whatever it is they do to your tires and they put the lug nuts on so tight we couldn't get them off to change it ourselves. 
Okay, we got that fixed and we were off. This is a sign we saw on the way out.
Okay, we got that fixed and we were off. This is a sign we saw on the way out.
We made it to San Antonio!
Adam played some pool with David. They got me to play a game with Adam too. I was awful. David had to give me some pointers. Hopefully by the next time I play I will be a little better.
I didn't get any pictures of Erica, Cheryl's sister-in-law. She is such a sweet person! She made us feel so at home. And she got us to try guacamole for the first time. I was intimidated by the color at first, but that is some good stuff. :)
This is Olivia. She won a Dell laptop through the Young Writers and Illustrators contests for her story. She's only 6 or 7 years old. I think I was about that age when Mom and Dad got our first computer.
Here is Ezra, Cheryl, and Olivia. The proud Auntie with her 2 adoring nieces and nephews. These kids, especially Ezra, are so funny when they are with Cheryl. The next morning we were getting ready to leave to go to the Alamo and everything and Ezra said to Cheryl, "No! You can't leave. You haven't spent enough time with me yet!" And he wouldn't let her leave to come home until she told him when she was coming back and how long she would stay.After the kids went to sleep we stayed up and watched Dan in Real Life and had coffee and we just hung out and talked. It was really fun. I enjoyed myself. I first met David and Erica back in 2006 when I first went to Texas. It was cool to see how much the kids had grown up. They are a neat family!
And yes, Adam enjoyed his computer time there just like he does here at home. He looks like this at home too. :)The next day we went to the Alamo and River Center. I'll write about that next time. :)
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Day 1 of our trip~Wednesday
Our flight left at 9:40 am. Our flight attendants were really funny. They started off cracking jokes and saying stuff like, "let me introduce you to the captain's ex-wives," and then proceeded to introduce the rest of the flight attendants. After we took off one got on the loudspeaker and said, "to enhance the beauty of the flight attendants we are now going to dim the lights," and just made the mood kinda light. It was nice if you are a nervous flyer and while I wasn't really too nervous, several thousand feet in the air is not my favorite place to be. And to make the flight less pleasant, we had this kid (he couldn't have been much younger or older than Adam and me) who sat between us and started chewing tobacco and spitting into the water cup he had gotten from the flight attendants. It was gross. How do you spell disgusting? One of the ways I spell it is C-H-E-W-I-N-G T-O-B-A-C-C-O. His cup was about half full (or half empty depending on your mood today, ha ha) by the time we landed. I was so grossed out.
You may not be able to see it, but that clump of buildings is the capital of Texas. Most houses out there are 1 story because it apparently helps with the heat, but there is a little clump of skyscrapers that makes up North Austin. It's a really fun city. We landed just before noon, Texas time, about 20 minutes ahead of schedule. The flight attendant said, "Fred and Barney must have been peddling real hard in the cockpit today because they got you here 20 minutes early!" I never made the connection between "Fred and Barney" and the Flintstones. Jacqueline told me when I got home that was what they meant. I thought their names were really Fred and Barney and I thought it was funny. I do stuff like that all the time, unfortunately. :P
We went to the Alamo Drafthouse for dinner and a movie our first night. It's a cool movie theater where you can order dinner while you watch your movie. We watched the newest Indiana Jones movie. In Cheryl's words, it was pretty fantastical. Russian spies (the female Russian spy had the stereotypical female Russian spy haircut which I thought was funny), nuclear bombs, killer ants, surprise children, aliens, a wedding...yes this was one packed movie. I hope that hasn't ruined it for anyone who hasn't seen it yet and wants to see it. I enjoyed it pretty well. Adam really liked it. I think it was more his genre than mine. But it was a fun place. They were advertising events like an Abba singalong, a Princess Bride quote-along, and some movie where everyone can all dress up like the characters and come watch. I haven't heard of anything like that here.
This kitty was very mischevious! He hid from us for several hours and made Cheryl think he had run away! We spent an hour outside looking for him in Cheryl's neighborhood. In the end, he had been hiding inside the whole time! He finally came out of hiding and was a little bit social. He mostly stayed under Cheryl's bed though. Mesa was much more outgoing, but I didn't get any good pictures of her.
We all slept well that night knowing everyone was safe inside the house. That was day 1. The beginning of our Texas adventure. :)
You may not be able to see it, but that clump of buildings is the capital of Texas. Most houses out there are 1 story because it apparently helps with the heat, but there is a little clump of skyscrapers that makes up North Austin. It's a really fun city. We landed just before noon, Texas time, about 20 minutes ahead of schedule. The flight attendant said, "Fred and Barney must have been peddling real hard in the cockpit today because they got you here 20 minutes early!" I never made the connection between "Fred and Barney" and the Flintstones. Jacqueline told me when I got home that was what they meant. I thought their names were really Fred and Barney and I thought it was funny. I do stuff like that all the time, unfortunately. :P
We went to the Alamo Drafthouse for dinner and a movie our first night. It's a cool movie theater where you can order dinner while you watch your movie. We watched the newest Indiana Jones movie. In Cheryl's words, it was pretty fantastical. Russian spies (the female Russian spy had the stereotypical female Russian spy haircut which I thought was funny), nuclear bombs, killer ants, surprise children, aliens, a wedding...yes this was one packed movie. I hope that hasn't ruined it for anyone who hasn't seen it yet and wants to see it. I enjoyed it pretty well. Adam really liked it. I think it was more his genre than mine. But it was a fun place. They were advertising events like an Abba singalong, a Princess Bride quote-along, and some movie where everyone can all dress up like the characters and come watch. I haven't heard of anything like that here.
This kitty was very mischevious! He hid from us for several hours and made Cheryl think he had run away! We spent an hour outside looking for him in Cheryl's neighborhood. In the end, he had been hiding inside the whole time! He finally came out of hiding and was a little bit social. He mostly stayed under Cheryl's bed though. Mesa was much more outgoing, but I didn't get any good pictures of her.
We all slept well that night knowing everyone was safe inside the house. That was day 1. The beginning of our Texas adventure. :)
Home sweet home. :)
We are home! Our flight left at 6:45 am this morning so we were up dark and early at 4:30 am. I didn't get to bed until about 1 so I am really tired. Our trip was great. I really enjoy being in Texas. God gave us beautiful weather and a wonderful time. It is nice to be back home though. When I'm away I don't really get homesick, but I do realize that I love my family and I love spending time with them. So it is nice to be back with them.
I have lots of pictures to put up here so hopefully I'll do that eventually. Fortunately my interview was postponed until tomorrow so I can get some sleep and work on a resume before I head out there. All I can really think about right now is getting a good nights sleep!
I'm glad to be back. :)
I have lots of pictures to put up here so hopefully I'll do that eventually. Fortunately my interview was postponed until tomorrow so I can get some sleep and work on a resume before I head out there. All I can really think about right now is getting a good nights sleep!
I'm glad to be back. :)
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Austin 101
Okay, we are back in Austin after our brief visit to San Antonio (which was so much fun!). I've been taking lots of pictures to post all over here when I get back but until then I'll tell you about our Texas history lesson! We watched a movie at an interactive theater about Texas history while we were at the Texas history museum. It was so fun. It looked like an old fashioned stage until they pulled up the screen. We got a little talk from "Sam Houston" about all the stuff that has happened in Texas. When they talked about the hurricane that hit Gavelston, Texas these lights that looked like lightening went off in the theater and we had water misted on us and felt the wind blowing and heard waves crashing. When they talked about the grasshopper plagues we felt little things hitting us in the dark. They talked about drilling for oil and the Nasa stuff and the chairs started vibrating. My favorite part though was when they talked about the rattle snakes and how people sat on them and all of a sudden an air strip chamber in our chairs puffed up really hard and made you jump cause it felt like you were sitting on a snake. I made Cheryl and Adam laugh because I gasped really loud and jumped when my chair suddenly felt like there was a snake in it. A lot of other people had the same reaction. They talked about how the cowboys put a piece of dynamite into a snake hole thinking it would blow up the snakes but it just sent snakes up in the air and they had snakes raining down on them, so I was expecting fake snakes to drop out of the ceiling instead of suddenly feeling like I was sitting on one. That caught me off guard. In the end "Sam Houston" finished by telling us that the same Texas spirit in those settler is in us too (Texas spirit being bravery, courage, etc...apparently Texans consider those to be strictly Texan traits so we non-Texans can all carry a bit of Texas with us.) I thought that was hilarious. It's so funny to be driving down the highway and all along the walls are Lone Stars engraved in the walls and sometimes you see outlines of Texas engraved on the walls. You go into almost any store and you can find Texas stuff like tee shirts and cups and key chains and everything is in burnt orange. They are so proud of their state. It's very different from home. When I was working at the dentist office the people who worked there would wear WVU tee-shirts whenever the Mountaineers were going to play so I remember going to Walmart to find a WVU tee shirt and couldn't find anything. Here, UT stuff is all in your face.
Well, we have to go pack up some food to take with us on our next adventure! We are going to Zilker Park to the outdoor hillside theater to see Beauty and the Beast. Each year Zilker puts on a free musical show during the summer. 2 years ago Jacqueline, Cheryl and I watched 7 Brides for 7 Brothers there and it was so good so I'm really excited to go back this year. When it gets dark they start the show and you sit out with your camp chairs and blankets and dinner and watch the play. I like how family friendly it is here. Even if you don't have a lot of money, there is a lot of stuff to do.
Okeydokey, I'll end here. I miss you all back home! I'll see you Tuesday. :)
Well, we have to go pack up some food to take with us on our next adventure! We are going to Zilker Park to the outdoor hillside theater to see Beauty and the Beast. Each year Zilker puts on a free musical show during the summer. 2 years ago Jacqueline, Cheryl and I watched 7 Brides for 7 Brothers there and it was so good so I'm really excited to go back this year. When it gets dark they start the show and you sit out with your camp chairs and blankets and dinner and watch the play. I like how family friendly it is here. Even if you don't have a lot of money, there is a lot of stuff to do.
Okeydokey, I'll end here. I miss you all back home! I'll see you Tuesday. :)
Thursday, July 3, 2008
We made it!
We got here safe and sound and in spite of a little "cat-tastrophe," we had a good first day here. I'll write more about it later. I think we're going to San Antonio today. I haven't taken many pictures yet. Just some of the plane ride up. Hopefully I'll be snapping more pics today and by the time I get home will have a lot I can show you guys.
Miss you all. :)
Miss you all. :)
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