Life in Austin

So for Halloween we went over to my first-cousin-once-removed Kate's house for soup chili (which in Texas is chili with beans, which is just what chili is in California) and some trick or treating with baby Grant (my second cousin) who is adorable. Jamie made a reappearance as Joaquin Phoenix (I practically had to beat people off him, he was a hit) and I buzzed my hair again and went as G.I. Jane.

See, I told you Baby Grant was adorable.

A few of my cousins and us went out to Sixth Street, which is nationally infamous, but especially for Halloween. Luckily it was a little tamer being a Wednesday and we could keep our group together fairly well (even after a few drinks) as we wound our way through the crowds. I wish we had spent more time people watching and less time bar hopping, but oh well.

Cousin Kate (dressed as a witch but lost her hat within 30 minutes of arriving downtown, haha), Baby Grant (was an astronaut), me, Jamie, Cousin-in-law Brooke (Corpse Bride)!

Brooke trying on the Mario Head... and Paul, Kate's husband (who went as a "hippie," haha)

I spent most of Thursday recovering from Wednesday (we were out til 2:30am, blergh... my recovery consisted mostly of reorganizing my Pinterest boards... I am ashamed), and in the evening we had a delicious dinner of steak and roasted veggies to celebrate my cousin Alex's birthday! Uncle Grant is really good at making steak... yum! It was a lot of fun, I am so glad we are able to get to know my cousins because they are awesome. =)

Friday we went out shooting (which I did not enjoy) and then we got real Texas BBQ. BBQ in California means grilled meat. BBQ in Texas means, very specifically, smoked brisket or ribs, and it is DELICIOUS. Don't you ever use to term "BBQ" around me unless you mean smoked brisket or I will give you a very dirty look. I didn't much care for shooting, at least not in an indoor range (I might try again if the shooting is happening outdoors)... it was loud and intimidating and guns are freaking POWERFUL... I do not ever want to get shot. Nor do I ever want to shoot anything. =P Unless maybe they are trying to kill me, in which case I'm very glad I kind of know how to shoot a handgun.

Today Uncle Grant and Aunt Jyl took us on a little driving tour of Austin, which was very nice. We saw the UT campus and the Capitol building, and Lake Travis. Then we went grocery shopping in a fancy store (SO MUCH WINE AND CHEESE! If I could only shop one place the rest of my life, let it be there) to get stuff for dinner that Jamie and I are making tonight! We are doing a repeat because it was so good in Redding: Homestyle Mac N Cheese with beer bread, sausage, asparagus and homemade pumpkin pie for dessert!

It was a whirlwind week... I can't believe we're leaving tomorrow morning already! We had a lot of fun in Austin, and (I sound like a broken record) I wish we could stay longer... We barely scratched the surface of this city and I'm sad to leave even MORE awesome relatives. =(

Onward to Nashville!

Goodbye, San Diego!

Today we embark on the next portion of our Year of {Vaga}Bonding. We spent our last day with the Chula Vista Montoyas by making oatmeal pancakes for breakfast (the boys started back at school today) and taking a little trip to the Old Point Loma Lighthouse while Uncle Ben was at work and Aunt Susan was home sick (poor thing!). I made a video of the lighthouse because I love lighthouses... and I want to use our video camera more. =P We got back after lunch and spent the rest of the day reading and drawing. I'm working on a mini-comic I dropped about a year ago. It's good to get back to it!

Our last evening here was spent at Islands for some burgers & brews with my uncle, where we had a great time talking about the American Church and solving all its issues. ;) Back at the house we were entertained by a five-star laughing fit, presented by Matt. He got stuck in the middle of a story (which wasn't even meant to be funny) and literally laughed his head off for about five minutes. It was great. He was supposed to be doing homework, which probably explains why he was able to laugh about nothing for five minutes. Did you know that my cousins have like half of their classes taught completely in Spanish? I was impressed. Except it's a pain for my aunt and uncle to try to help them with homework when they can't even read it half the time, haha.

We had an awesome stay with the Chula Vista Montoyas!! They were very welcoming and we felt at home with them in their house. It was a huge blessing to have a few days to just laze around and recover while they were on vacation, and when they got back we had a lot of fun hanging out with my cousins, taking them to the zoo and playing lots of Settlers of Catan! It was so nice to spend an extended amount of time with my aunt & uncle and cousins and get to know them because we see them maybe once a year (it's a long drive, lemme tell ya), and I can't wait until we can meet up again at holidays or whatever else in the future. Uncle Ben did ask when we'd be back, and we just might take him up on that offer next year. ;)

This was the perfect first stop and exactly what we hoped for when starting this journey (not to scare the rest of you who are expecting us at some point in the next few months! We don't expect much other than feeling welcome, I promise). I hope we were good guests, because my family in Chula Vista were great hosts.

Today we are on the road to stay at my aunt's house in the Sacramento Area! We will be house/dog-sitting again over the weekend but we'll still get a couple of nights to hang out with her, talk about wine, play board games, pet her adorable Daschunds, and enjoy the company. =)

A Day at the Zoo

Yesterday Jamie and I took Matt & Josh to the San Diego Zoo! None of us have been in a long time (and it was Jamie's first time at this zoo) and the SD Zoo is pretty spectacular. Here are a few of my favorites:

Orangutans & Gorillas... my favorite apes!

(There's a gorilla above Matt's head in the background)

 Okapi & Zebra

Jamie's Favorite: Polar Bear!

There's a bear butt

I believe this is a Bontebok... I love ungulates!!

Secretary Bird

Asian Elephant

Striped Hyena

Red Panda (the Giant Pandas had a HUGE line so we skipped it)

Giraffe!! The big male ("Silver) and a baby ("Robert") just past him. =)

This Zebra, Zahari, was really special... she is unusually docile and this trainer has been working with her for the last three years since she was 8 months old. She responds to Parelli Horsemanship-type cues and is used for the Backstage Pass tour and for things like the Make-A-Wish Foundation. She behaved very much like a domestic horse... super cool.

I think we all had a fun time... even though I was a bit of a nazi, but hey, we got to see everything by the time we left. ;) I seriously could spend a week at that zoo just watching the animals. If we end up near a zoo I'm buying a season pass.

Baseball and Soccer and Gymnastics, Oh My!

One thing I have learned about the Chula Vista Montoyas: they are BUSY! It seems like days have passed since their return on Friday night because we've done so much!! On Saturday both boys had games... we dropped Josh off at baseball and watched Matt's soccer game. Then we picked up Josh from baseball and took him to his soccer game... then we went home to change and get a quick bite to eat and took Josh to another baseball game... and after church on Sunday he had another soccer game as well! Both my aunt and uncle work, too... and Matt has all his own sports as well (he would have gone to gymnastics practice today but he's feeling sick). As if shuttling kids around to sporting events all day wasn't enough, Uncle Ben went to a concert and was on the worship team at church the next day (and led the Bible study for middle school).

Speaking of church, the Chula Vista Montoyas go to a downtown Presbyterian church that meets in a gorgeous building... my gosh I wish more churches made their buildings nice to look at (it's a sin to build ugly things). Jamie and I enjoyed the more liturgical style of the service and I had a great time hanging out with the youth group during second service. I met a girl who is obsessed with anime who also plays drums for the youth group worship, which is pretty bad ass. And so begins our church-tasting adventure. Jamie and I are in a lucky position to be able to "window shop" obligation-free, given our current nomadic state...

Yesterday Jamie and I made a big feast for Sunday dinner. =) It was so much fun cooking all day, and cooking for 6 people (I'm not a big fan of leftovers, which are inevitable when cooking for two). Jamie made a scrumptious Butternut Squash braid (a fall favorite), and I made roast chicken, mashed potatoes, grilled asparagus, and for dessert: grilled peaches with vanilla gelato and brown sugar and ginger snap crumbled over the top. Delicious! The Chula Vista Montoyas liked it a lot, too. =)

Tomorrow I'll post about today's trip to the San Diego Zoo with Matt & Josh!