Our talented family

Our fall has been crazy busy. Our first anniversary has come and gone along with many other important events. Today we are reflecting on our fun and talented family.

This past October I traveled to a professional development and stayed in Houston with my big sister Stephanie and Tim. We went to dinner at the Redfish for my birthday and then later that evening Tim demonstrated his monkey boy impression.



Mike’s big brother and Michelle married this past September. At the wedding celebration Mike’s dad was a dancing fiend, and showed his grandson, Jordan, how to impress the ladies.



Stephen celebrated his 16th birthday. After his birthday dinner, he chose to go to Amy’s ice cream for dessert. The man behind the counter asked him why he was wearing a sombrero, and after Stephen told him that it was his birthday, a deal ensued. Stephen would get free ice cream….as long as he could catch it.



Also, Mike has finally finished his long endeavor of completing our 90 gallon tank stand. Everything but the canopy is completed. It looks great.

We are looking forward to our Thanksgiving week break…we sooo need a break!

Colorful House

Last month a wonderful friend came to visit and helped us paint 5 rooms in our house in only 3 days. It was quite a feat! Now we have 6 total colorful rooms. Here are some pictures to give you and idea of our new color scheme.
Master Bedroom Master Bath
Stephen's bedroom
Guest bathroom
Game Room
Dining Room
Kitchen

Signs around Austin...

So this past few weeks we've been paying closer attention to some unusual signs around Austin. They are too colorful not to share...

Summer's Slipping Away...

We have about one week until Stephen begins grueling football two-a-days and two weeks before I return to work. Where did summer go so quickly? It has been a hot one without enough rain. Last week I stayed with my big sister in Houston while some co-workers and I attended professional development and then I brought my niece, Hannah, home to visit a few days. My sister asked what it was like to trade for a daughter....I must say nice. Mike asked me if I was trying to trick him into wanting a daughter since she was sweet, didn't talk back, and was interested in helping out with his fish.

I took Hannah tubing on the San Marcos river one day and we ran into some interesting folks (as usual). An older group kept calling out "Ticca-tacka, ticca-tacka...Oi, oi, OI!" We have no clue what they meant... Later that Friday we drove her to downtown so she could watch the bats take flight from underneath Congress Street bridge and later we dinned at one of our favorite quaint local Brazilian restaurants, Sao Paulo's. After dinner she declared that Brazilian is now her favorite kind of food.

Saturday morning Hannah and I enjoyed the local favorite spot for crepes, Fliphappy. About noon Stephen finally returned from his Canada trip and to celebrate we all went swimming at Barton Springs Pool. There isn't much else worth doing on a scorching hot summer day. That night we drove to Houston to return Hannah to her parents. Sunday we we able to spend the day with my Aunt Suzanne and Uncle George who were visiting from Tennessee. It was great to see them. Hopefully next time they'll come to see Austin.

Yesterday Stephen and I spent the day at the Lost Pines Resort in Bastrop with Marga, Jonah, and Hannah. That evening Jenny and Molly stopped by to see us as well. This weekend we are picking up Jordan, Mike's nephew, to hang with us for a week. I suppose we're trying to squeeze in as many family visits as possible before summer subsides....

Keep Cool!
Laura, Mike, n Stephen

Birthdays, Reunions, and Beaches....

June flew by already? Last month we had a lot of excitement. Misty and her kiddos visited from Marshall and we gave them a brief tour around Austin and visited SeaWorld in San Antonio. Next we celebrated Noah's birthday at the lake house. We hosted a surprise poker party for Mike's birthday. It was great that so many friend's made it over to celebrate with us...he didn't figure it out until we crossed the threshold at our house where we were (so he claims). We served a plethora of his favorite foods, hot wings, pizza, chips, and cake. He was not as successful at poker, but still enjoyed the game. The last weekend of June we drove to Dallas for Mike's 20-year high school reunion which was fun. Earlier in the day we ate lunch with a couple of his high school friends who have been living overseas. Later that night he had fun seeing who recognized him with his drastic change in hairstyle. Sunday morning, after the reunion, we caravaned south and spent a few days at North Padre Island with Mike's parents. We stayed at their old favorite spot, Island House, right on the beach. We brought Noah along to offer Stephen some youthful company. On Tuesday morning we woke up very early to witness the release of a few hundred Kemp's Ridley sea turtle hatchlings. Each time a turtle made it out to the sea the audience applauded their triumph. The sad truth is that only a handful of the hatchlings we saw released will live through their first year.

For the 4th, Mike, Stephen, and I went downtown to Auditorium Shores to listen to the Austin Symphony play and to witness the fireworks. It was a pleasant way to celebrate Independence Day.

Early Monday morning Stephen and a group of fellow boy scouts began their trek to Canada. They are off to the Northern Tier of Canada where they will canoe and portage along the lakes and great wilderness for about 10 days. He is scheduled to return on the 18th. We hope his trip is safe and he steers clear of grumpy Caribou.

Summertime!

So tomorrow's the official last day of school before summer break begins. We are anxiously awaiting our time off from our hurried daily lives, unfortunately Mike still has to work over the summer. Since we returned from our honeymoon time has flown. We have traveled to see our family and enjoyed time in Garland, Houston, and Lake Livingston. The weekend we traveled to Lake Livingston we enjoyed boating and watching Grandaddy mercilessly throw the kids off the tube (over and over). They were gluttons for punishment, and kept hopping aboard for another thrill ride. Also, since we experienced the awe of the Great Barrier Reef, Mike has been newly inspired to have a small piece of nature. In our living room we now have a new salt water aquarium with various corals and fish. He's even set up a separate blog to keep track of the progress of the tank. http://livingroomreef.blogspot.com/ Hobbes (our cat) keeps a careful watch over the tank and frequently plays hide-n-seek with the red flame hawk we named KGB. He obviously thinks we started up the tank solely for his own enjoyment. Stephen has been busy with scouting events lately. He completed his ordeal for the Order of the Arrow (an honor-society for scouts) and earned his Life scout rank (the last rank advancement before Eagle). We are looking forward to a summer spending time with family and friends, and continuing to settle in our new home. Stephen's off in July on a scouting canoe trip trekking across the Northern Tier of Canada.

Cheers,
Laura, Stephen, & Mike


Stephen's Advancement Court of Honor

Pictures from our visit to Lake Livingston:





Stephen in camping gear and holding some sort of gardening tool...
Stephen passed out after a looong day
Kylie after having her nails clipped (finally!)
Hobbes watching tank

Last but not least, a video of the tubing excitement!