Sun, surf, and sand...

Hello and Happy Thursday! It's a beautiful day in Austin today! I hope all of you Houstonians out there stayed dry through the flooding at the beginning of the week!

Last weekend was a pretty lazy one for us, but we got to see and hang out with a lot of different people. Friday night, we met Karmen and Tim at a new restaurant called Zax Pints and Plates, which we really liked.

Saturday morning, our climbing plans got rained out (again!) and we retreated to our place to watch the A&M and Iowa games with Brad and Amanda and Amanda's two dogs. Lisa and her mom came up to the lakehouse to do some chores, so Richie and I went up there Saturday afternoon to visit with them and help with the chores. Well, we didn't get any chores done, but we did see lots (1400+!!!) of wedding pictures and witnessed one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen.

Sunday we continued to lounge around the lakehouse before heading back into town to catch the debut of Natalie's cousin Major's ska/punk band, the Mooseknuckle Chumps, in a battle of the bands at The Vibe. Here's Major in action (he's the lead singer):



It was a fun show! Look for a few more pics (and some silent movies) on our pictures page. We also had a chance for a quick visit with Natalie's Uncle Michael and cousin Marcie who were in town for the show.

This week we're trying to get the house in shape for our Thanksgiving visitors... but we haven't made much progress! Natalie went and tried out a new dance class on Tuesday night, and last night Richie went to play volleyball and Nat had dinner with Rachel, who recently relocated here from College Station (Via Houston!). But we're getting there. :)

Is it just me, or is anyone else in denial that it's already the middle of November! Yikes!

To follow up on all the volleyball from last weekend, Chris's team won, the team Viet was watching (Nik's sister - a senior in high school) won 4A state, and Richie's team... well... didn't make it out of pool play. :(

Natalie spent most of the day in tryouts for the Lady Wranglers, the dance team for Austin's new arena league football team the Austin Wranglers. The tryout was fun, but although Natalie felt she was competitive, she didn't make the team. She did, however, make the local news!

(And she is also a big dork and took pictures of herself on the TV. Yes, the red arrows were added. LOL!)




Sunday, the climbing got rained out, but Brad and Amanda came up and joined us for some touch football near our house (lots of fun!) and then we all vegged and watched football on TV the rest of the day.

This week's been a lazy one for us, but we're trying to take advantage of the lull to get started on our Christmas shopping and prepare for Thanksgiving dinner (since we'll be hosting the David family - and anyone else who is around - this year). So, anyone with gift or recipe ideas, please send them this way!!

We'd also like to send out a 'Whoop!' and a 'Gig'em!' to Natalie's cousin Ashley, who found out this week that she's been accepted to Texas A&M - that's fightin' Texas Aggie Class of 2008!! (Yikes!)

Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

Wow, this week's gone by really fast! Can't believe it's already Friday again! Let's see where I left off last week...

Halloween night, we handed out candy to about 25 trick-or-treaters, then closed up shop and went to the late showing of Intolerable Cruelty at Alamo Drafthouse. The movie was predictable, but still cute and entertaining.

Saturday, Richie left early for a volleyball tourney while Natalie slept in and ran some errands. Natalie joined Richie at his tournament in time to watch the last games of pool play and the finals. The result? A *WIN* for Richie's team!! Woohoo! We went out to dinner to celebrate with Richie's teammates and their wives/girlfriends.

The rest of the weekend (and into this week) was spent relaxing, doing chores around the house, etc.

Wednesday we had dinner with Brad and his new girlfriend Amanda, which was the first time we got to meet her. She seems really cool.

Last night Richie and I went to see Matrix Revolutions which was okay. Somewhat disappointing, but I'm still glad we went to see it in the theater. You'd be missing out on a lot of the special effects otherwise.

This weekend - Richie's traveling to College Station for another volleyball tourney. Oddly, Chris and Viet are traveling to Austin for volleyball tournaments as well (different tournaments, all of them) - Chris is coaching and Viet is spectating. There is a climbing outing planned on Sunday if the weather cooperates - guided, of course, by our trusty climbing expert Brad.

Have wonderful weekends, everyone! Enjoy the cooler weather!