My brother and I

guest room

vern & amy

Amy, Vern, Natalie, Justin...outside Magnolia Cafe...

inside Magnolia Cafe...

at Town Lake in Austin.

after & before

This is our living room.

a closer look

I like these close up shots.

Icicles and Snow

Helado anyone?

Don't let the blue sky and ice cream deceive you. It was really cold that day. Also, I know the photo of the 4 of us is blurry but it was the only one I have of all of us together. We had so much fun with Kelly and Judy here. We were sad to see them go away. Just before they went to the airport they treated us to great Mexican food in Pflugerville. Thanks guys. For those of you "thinking" about visiting us...just remember that we'll let you take us out to lunch or dinner too. We don't just leave that up to Justin's parents.

New Year's Eve - Texas Style

I had no idea that Texans celebrated the New Year with fireworks. Since none of us had actually lit a firework in a long time...Kelly had to buy a few just for fun. Judy and I stuck to the sparklers. Justin lit off about a bajillion "flowers" (we still have some left over) and we all enjoyed a couple of these "spinning wheel" thingys pictured above that about left us deaf. We hammered it into our mailbox post and let it go. The first photo is Kelly lighting it and the last one is of Justin lighting one of the flowers.

New Year's Dinner

So we had homemade pizza for dinner. I only got the before shot as we were too eagar once it came out of the oven. Thank you H.E.B. for providing the crust and oh so fresh produce. It was pretty dang good and the leftovers were just as good. Judy took the photo of me.

Mt. Bonnell

Mt. Bonnell is a place in Austin where you have a 360 view of the Austin area. Justin and I are in front of Lake Austin here. We ate at Magnolia Cafe afterward. I love their quesadillas and...Mmmm...buttermilk pie.

Skipped Thankgiving

Since I never posted anything about Thankgiving...I thought I would throw in a few pictures.
Justin and I spent a week in Utah. On Thanksgiving day, my family came to his Dad's house and we spent the afternoon together. It was a fun and, I'm assuming, rare time.

Top to Bottom
Hai Minh & Brad
Kay, Carol & Judy
Sabrina, Luke, Isabel Ruby, Natalie
Matt, Marissa, Tristin, 1/2 of Justin

San Antonio

Justin and I, along with his Dad and Judy, went to San Antonio on Friday Dec. 29th. There was a pretty crazy thunderstorm on our way down there. We went to the San Antonio temple, which is gorgeous inside. We then went to the Alamo (pictured) and the Riverwalk. We had terribly overpriced and horrible Mexican Food there...but the Christmas lights were still up and it was really pretty. The Alamo bowl was the next day...Texas vs. Iowa...so all the fans, band members, parents, etc. were there getting pumped up. It was crowded but fun to be in on the excitment. We didn't even know who won until Sunday...go Texas Longhorns. We had a nice evening with great company and good converstation.

No empty stockings here

So this was the extent of our Christmas. Justin and I filled each other's stocking for under $20 each. We figure that our house was our Christmas present to each other. Christmas Eve was spent watching movies after church and reading the scriptures of Christ's birth. We sang a few Christmas carols at the appropriate times. Christmas morning Justin made breakfast and we checked out our stockings. More movies and relaxing. Justin did work a little...he can't help himself. It was a nice, quite and memorable Christmas.

Pretzel Salad

My favorite thing that I made this Christmas was Pretzel Salad. It is really easy and so good. My step-mother-in-law gave me this recipe because Justin really likes it. Top: all the ingredients separated and below that is the delicious result. Here is the recipe:

Pretzel Salad

2 C crushed pretzels
3 T sugar
3/4 C margarine (melted)
1 (6 oz.) pkg. raspberry gelatin
2 C boiling water
1 (6 oz.) crushed pineapple w/juice
1 (16 oz.) pkg. frozen raspberries
1 (8 oz.) coolwhip
1 C sugar
8 oz. cream cheese

Mix pretzels, sugar and margarine and pat in 9x13 in. pan. Bake at 400 degrees F for 7 min.

Mix gelatin w/ water and add pineapple and raspberries. Chill until softly set (leave out on counter). Mix cool whip, sugar and cream cheese. Spread over cooled crust and then add gelatin mixture on top. Cool.

Red & Grey

One of the first rooms we got set up was our office. I painted it a grey color called Porpoise and accented it with red vases, pen cans, lamps, etc. Justin is so happy to have so much space. Our walk-in closet serves as a "shipping room." The desk shown is mine and the window with the leaning Live Oak is to our backyard.

Power tools

Justin's art studio didn't have insulation in the attic so we put it in today. The insulation sat for a week before we actually made time to install it. We had exactly the right amount...to the inch even. I didn't think I'd get too involved but I even used the staple gun. I used the electric drill we have this week too...power tools give me a sense of...well, power.

Sack o' Potatoes and Flannel Board

More fun