UT Game

A couple weeks ago we headed down to Austin to relive our college days and attend a football game. Of course, we bought the tickets before we knew how bad this season was going to be, but the atmosphere of a UT game is fun no matter what.

It was especially fun because my college roommate, Cara, and her husband came down from New York and we got to hang out with them. Cara, Brad, and I were in a group at UT that went to all the football games together...such fun memories. In the 12 years that I have been going to games, I have NEVER seen so many empty seats! The highlight of the game was watching the Longhorn Band.

While we were in Austin, we tried out some of the food trailers we've been hearing so much about. These have gotten really popular since we left Austin and I love the concept. It gives the opportunity for all of the creative foodies in Austin to start up their own restaurants without having to take on massive debt.

The first one we tried was Torchy's Tacos. The tacos were gourmet and the queso was excellent, but don't expect fast service. That is just part of South Austin culture.

For dessert, we had cake balls from Holy Cacao which were delicious.

Our favorite mobile food vendor was Franklin Barbeque. We got to talk to the owner for a long time and he told us how he started by using friends as guinea pigs to try all of his recipes. Pretty soon, his backyard bar-b-que parties got so big that he had to get parking permits. He bought an old trailer and a smoker, fixed them up himself, and had his dad help him make picnic tables. Now he has a line of sometimes up to 60 people waiting to get his bar-b-que. You have to be quick because he is only open from 11 until the food is gone. Some of the best bar-b-que and sauce we have ever tried!

On the way home I said to Brad, "Maybe is is better we don't live in Austin...we would probably spend too much money going out to eat!".

Emma Jane

My newest niece was born on November 2nd weighing in at 7 lbs. 14 oz. and was 20.5 in. long. This is my fourth niece and the third one in the last 3 years. I see many slumber parties with the cousins in our future! Emma is so precious, sweet, and little. I know Anna was once her size but honestly can't imagine it without looking at pictures. Anna loves babies right now and will randomly say "Baby Emma" when she is thinking about her.

18 Months!

This little girl is still growing up quicker than I would like but I feel like the milestones aren't coming quite as quickly and I get to enjoy each of them a little longer. She continues to bring so much joy to our home every single day. Here are some examples:

She was a bunny for Halloween and ever since, anytime the words bunny rabbit are mentioned she runs around saying "bunny rabbit" looking for her costume. Then, often times she starts saying "jumping" and heads for our bed (cute now, but this will have to stop at some point:).

She is my little shadow and wants to be where ever I am, doing whatever I am doing (poor thing needs a sibling). I've decided to embrace these moments and use them as opportunities to teach her, in hopes that she will take over some of these chores one day. :)

She loves loading the dryer.

She has to be up at the counter while I am making dinner and pushes the stool over all by herself.

She loves to pretend talk on the phone. Multiple times a day she will pick up the phone, say "hewow" and start babbling about who knows what.

She loves to see other children when we are out and if she is in a friendly mood will wave and say "hi boy" or "hi girl". The other day we went to the Veteran's Day Parade in Fort Worth and there was a 3 year old girl next to us. Anna started by waving and telling her hi, then started touching her soft jacket, and then reached over and held the girl's hand. Melt. My. Heart. Never loose this love for others little girl.

Hoppy Halloween!

Pun-ki

I'll let Anna tell you what this post is about:

(Glad I got it on tape because now she pronounces it normally.)

Last weekend we went to the Country Critter's Farm with Brad's brother and his crew. The kids had fun

riding ponies...(well, Anna didn't really have fun doing this)

petting animals...jumping in the bounce house...(well, Anna just sat there laughing while her cousins jumped around her)

sitting in the pumpkins...(of course by the time we took this picture, the sun was right in their eyes so they were all looking down or squinting)

going on a hayride...listening to storytime...and eating snow cones. Funny story about this picture. The boy on the right is not a relative. Anna kept eyeing his snow cone during storytime. Finally she said "Hi" in a sweet little voice and then grabbed for it. The little boy had enough and immediately got up and went over to his dad. Needless to say, we got Anna her own snow cone after storytime was over.

Hopefully going to the Country Critter's Farm will become an annual tradition and next year cousin Emma will join us!

Sea World

Earlier this month we went down to San Antonio to go to Sea World with Gigi, Aunt Karri, Lucas and Marcus. I was looking forward to it since I hadn't been since like 5th grade. Anna was at the perfect age to take to Sea World because she got excited over everything. That made the experience so much more fun for me.

Poor little Marcus was not very happy in this picture because as it turns out, he had RSV. We noticed he was breathing heavy towards the end of the day, so we took him to the hospital across from Sea World. He ended up having to stay the night there. He was such a trooper!

Howdy Cowtown

I actually cringe when people refer to Fort Worth as Cowtown. Don't get me wrong, I love the cowboy culture here (I was born and raised in Texas) but it is only a small part of the city. There is a vibrant downtown, amazing arts district, live music and one of the best zoos in the nation, just to name a few things. These attractions are part of what brought us to Fort Worth, and we live only 5 minutes from all of it! Doesn't that make you want to come and visit??? Oh, and I also love that the city logo is a longhorn so it is on everything...including our trash can.

Moving is painful, not just the physical act of moving but the emotional toll it takes as well. Leaving friends and comfort, trying to make new friends, however; we believe it will be worth it in the long run and plan to grow deep roots in our new city.

Home Sweet Home. The big red oak tree and the front porch is what sold us.

We are very thankful and feel blessed to be able to raise our little family here.