Happy Holidays!

Happy holidays to everyone. The cold finally hit us this past week in Austin and we have a good excuse to light our fire and drink hot cocoa. Unfortunately the rain washed out the Sights and Sounds festival this past weekend...but we aren't complaining because we direly need the rain. This semester's coming to a close too quickly and we are trying to conclude our holiday preparations.

Here's our most recent holiday card:

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

Busy start to the new school year

I cannot believe it is already October and fall is upon us. Last May Stephen finally completed his Eagle project at Hays High School. He and Mike traveled to Philmont Scout Ranch over the summer and hiked close to one hundred miles. Stephen passed his board of review after they returned and became an official Eagle Scout. We held his Eagle Court of Honor at the end of August. Since then he has been on the Hays CISD website for many honors, and this past week he was featured in the Hays Free Press.

I just completed a photo book with some of these images and details.

Create your own Photobooks with Inkubook.com!

Stephen's Junior Prom

Stephen attended prom early this April with a senior. He decided to go about a week before the dance, so we all scrambled to make it all work out. Once we arrived at his friends' house for pictures, he discovered that he had left his prom ticket at home. Mike graciously drove home to search Stephen's lair for the missing ticket while they took pictures to no avail. We thought that his ninth-grade English teacher who sold him the ticket would surely allow him in the door since they had a list of students and ticket numbers at the door, but we discovered this was an incorrect assumption when he called us later to inform us they did not. Luckily, one of his friends drove him from San Marcos all the way to our home in Austin and although he was resigned to staying home if he didn't find his ticket in the first five minutes, he found it in the front hall closet right away. They drove back to prom, but missed out on the picture booth which had already closed. Thank goodness we had taken him for pre-dance pictures or we would have none to commemorate the occasion.

Spring Break 2011

The Strokes @ Auditorium Shores

This spring break was hectic although it was mostly a "staycation." Noah came to stay with us while his family went to Disney. He and Stephen lived it up gaming all night long and sleeping till late each day. Mike had to work the week, and I volunteered the South By Southwest (SXSW) festival so I could earn a music badge. I worked at the Alamo Ritz theater downtown and was able to see some celebrities while watching the antics on 6th street. The music began on Wednesday night and each day there was music everywhere to enjoy. We took Noah to see his first rock concert at Auditorium Shores on Thursday where the Strokes played. The grand finale was fireworks over LadyBird Lake. I was able to see shows for some old favorites like Filter and Puddle of Mudd. I also saw great shows from other acts such as Flogging Molly, AwolNation, Panic at the Disco, and The Bravery. Aside from the usual madness associated with SXSW there were also some cool surprises such as Dennis Quaid coming on stage to sing and play a song during the Bravery's show. The week was exciting, but also exhausting. It will be a relief for our family to get back into a semi-normal schedule.
Dennis Quaid playing with the Bravery
The Airborne Toxic Event
Irish punk rock at it's best = Flogging Molly