Austin, Texas!

We headed to Austin for a nice long President's Day weekend. They call it the live music capitol of the world. Handpainted guitars were everywhere.

We had a couple rainy days, but also a couple really nice warm sunshiney days. Worked out well. We did a lot of walking & enjoyed many sights.

We walked over to Austin Speed Shop one day.

We saw West Coast Choppers semi parked out front.

Pretty cool!

We spent some time on Sixth Street

and listened to some great live music (obviously)

Plenty of outdoor activities are available too. Crewing is popular in Lady Bird Lake (felt like we were back in Boston on the Charles)

Extremely dog friendly town. Toules would have had his best vacation ever - but he is just a little too big to bring on the plane :(

Some eclectic & artsy areas too - like SoCo.

We also ran the Austin half marathon while we were there

I met Bart Yasso - super friendly guy. He wrote a fun & entertaining book called 'My Life on the Run'. I highly recommend it for all.

Our portrait after the race. We both had good races for a super hilly course. I was also recovering from a cough/cold and an injury.

We went back after we showered & cheered on the marathon finishers

Other fun activities - water bikes! A fun way to get a bike ride in - versus a stationary or trainer :)

Walking trails. In 2 days - we ran 13.1 miles and walked 17 miles. Whew, my calves were tired!

And one of our favorite finds: Barton Springs Pool. 70 degrees year round. Plenty of swimmers (and ducks)

Definitely my favorite Texas town - We will be planning another trip back here for sure!

and Shorty

Here's my other pal

Frosty

Lately, when I get to the barn, I've been riding Frosty. He's little (so I don't have far to fall, if he decides to launch ;)) He's also very smart & stubborn, but I am really enjoying him. Possible show horse for me (next year, when my triathlon season is slower) I have a lot to learn on him though. Some nights, I am just along for the ride...

A friend's baby shower

A friend is having a baby! She is very excited!
Her sisters did a great job of decorating - love the clothes line with the baby clothes hanging across the stage

Here is Rochelle - opening her gifts

And holding our friend Ana's daughter. Isn't Emma the cutest?!?

My friend, Erin, also having fun with Emma.

And finally, Ana, Emma's mom (& Emma)

It was a nice way to spend a cold & windy Sunday afternoon.

Happy Valentine's Day!

A Valentine's Dinner for a limited group at the yacht club = good times! It was also a wine tasting event. 20 people & 24 bottles of wine...

Me & Chris

Dinner was set up in different stations. One of them caused the fire alarms to go off. So, the night ended outside with wine carafes and a lot of laughter!

Yes, we are posing in front of the fire truck - obviously not too concerned about a 'fire'

Sailing lessons, anyone?

I've been spending a lot of time at the Bristol Yacht Club. A couple years ago, I was asked to be on the Audit Committee. "Sure, why not, they only meet a couple times a year" Then a couple months ago, I told my friend that I would join her House Committee (because I thought we only meet a couple times a year, when the House needed some minor repairs...). Then I was asked to be Treasurer of our junior sailing program (adult sailing lessons are part of this as well). This position I knew would be a little more time consuming, but my husband and another friend convinced me it would be good practice. All positions are volunteer, of course.

All of a sudden, the audit committee is meeting much more often, the house committee is meeting every month, and the Treasurer responsibilities are stressing me out! My personal email account is flooded with BYC emails x 10 due to the committee member responses to each email. I have a half marathon race coming up, but I'm having trouble locating the email, since it's buried between 'Refrigerator'; 'BYC financial'; and 'tax exemption' emails. I have to drive to the accounting office for the sailing program every week and sign checks... I would say that I have bitten off a little too much! I am hoping that it will all start to fall into a nice rhythm soon.

I am excited to help with the sailing program though. I will learn so much, and can't wait until this summer when I can see the kids in action. The program has been around for many years and does run smoothly. I am also planning on taking one of the adult sailing classes. They offer beginner, intermediate, and advanced. See you on the water!

Some Basketball

A trip home to watch my nephew play in his high school basketball game. Good times!

Nick was too fast - I could never get a picture with him & the basketball....

family I was also hoping to see my niece, Claire, participate in a cheer competition, but they decided to pull out of that comp & spend the time practicing for the comp in Indianapolis. Bummer - but I did get to see her practice.

I love going home & spending time with my family :)

Garage Night at Rolling Bones!

It's February - and that means only one thing to hot rodders! Rolling Bones Garage Night! It's quite the experience.

On Friday, we had a welcome dinner. So nice to see old friends and meet new ones.

Chris & Bill

We headed to the garage early on Saturday - around noon. It was nice actually having room to walk around. Garage night officially starts at 6 pm, and it gets crazy packed with people.

Keith's old couple - now a Bonneville racer

32 Roadster they are building for FL boy

Their new Bonneville racer - still have some work to do. Nice driver they have!

around 8 pm - lots more people

9:00 Awards ceremony started by Ken & Keith - the official Rolling Bones duo.

Some funny awards are given out -but you have to be there to see them! See you there next year!

Next day, we spent some time in Saratoga Springs, NY

I love any town/city that has a big park in the center. Toules & Chris love it too!

It was Chowderfest weekend in Saratoga too! So no reason not to come next year!