Sun, surf, and sand...

I gues the new norm is one entry every couple of weeks? Sorry! We've been busy!

Last Friday, we headed down to the coast to see opening night of Mom B's play Opal's Million Dollar Duck. The play was cute, with the highlight being Mom B's dramatically funny rendition of "Rock of Ages" in the second act! We also enjoyed visiting with Grandad and Mom B Friday evening.

Saturday morning early, we headed towards Houston so that Richie could play in an informal sand volleyball tourney, but unfortunately the courts were unplayable due to standing water and the tournament was rained out. So we spent the afternoon visiting with Mom and Dad D and checking out Chris' new digs.

Saturday night we headed into town to celebrate Geoff's birthday by playing games at Lisa and Geoff's place and then heading to Hard Rock Cafe and Slick Willie's downtown to continue the festivities.

Sunday we headed down to Minute Maid Park to see the Astros play the Cubs. Unfortunately, they didn't play them well!! The Astros lost 11-6, but at least it was a high-scoring game. And all the Cubbies fans sitting around us (soooo many of them!) didn't seem to mind too much. Sigh.

That was last weekend... now on to the weekend before that!

We were supposed to go see Robert Earl Keen at the Backyard Friday night, but at the last minute found out that the concert's date was moved so that he could play at the Lance Armstrong victory celebration instead. So we decided to head to Houston early instead - Richie was playing in a sand volleyball tournament Saturday afternoon. We met up with the gang Friday night to get some country dancing in.

With the concert canceled, Natalie found herself without any real plans for the rest of the weekend - Lisa and Micah to the rescue! They decided to "kidnap" her (although they caved and let her in on the plan Friday night) and take her on a girls' road trip to New Orleans! Details got finalized Friday night, and they headed to the Big Easy early Saturday morning. They enjoyed strolling and shopping in the French Quarter, hanging out on Bourbon Street, and basically just enjoying a great weekend! It was especially nice considering the fantastic weather and that the city was very un-crowded.

Meanwhile, Richie and his partner Nick played okay in the tournament, but they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Viet and Chris didn't fare as well, unfortunately. But they got some good indoor play in Sunday evening before we had to head back to Austin.

So, I think that's it. A few more birthdays to catch up on... Happy Birthday to Geoff (on the 21st), Kerry (22nd), Micah (25th) and Joy(25th)!

Happy August... and never you mind that it's Friday the 13th!

Since I haven't updated in a while, I'll just do a quick recap of the past couple of weeks...

Last weekend, we invited some of the Austin crew out to the lake with us for some fun in the sun and camping afterwards. I hope everyone had a good time... we sure did! We also found some time to hang out with Lisa and Geoff Friday evening and Sunday afternoon.

Week before last, we attended a Round Rock Express game (minor league baseball) with Brad and Amanda. It was delayed a bit by the rain but turned out to be a really nice evening for a ball game. And we had great seats... right behind the visiting team dugout.

Weekend before last was out at Muleshoe Bend again... this time with Chris, Viet, Kendra, Brad and Amanda. We only spent the day that time and since it was a smaller group than usual, everyone got plenty of turns on the wakeboard/skis!

And weekend before that found us out on Matagorda Island for the annual beach party with Natalie's Dad's family. It was a lot of fun, as always. Except for the adventure of getting our boat stuck on a sandbar on the way out to the beach, that is. Luckily, we were (eventually) rescued - the boat had to be towed into deeper water by another boat plus lots of manpower to push it! All's well that ends well, though, right?

(Pics on the pictures page are now up to date!)

And of course, lots more birthdays... Happy Birthday to Rob and Brigid (07/31), Ramsey last Monday, Courtney last Wednesday, Richie's godson Paul Andrew last Saturday, and Mama B on Sunday! Whew!

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend and enjoy this amazing, spring-like weather!!