Just Because…

My awesome husband gave me these roses “just because”.   He sure knows how to make my day! 

They’re so pretty – I love all the different colors!

And like everything else that comes into “her” house, Picabo had to check them out – mostly to make sure they weren’t something good to eat Ü

Candace & Jim visit ATX

This past weekend BYU played the Longhorns here in Austin. My sister Candace & Bro-in-law Jim are huge Cougar fans, and so they came down to go to the game and, most importantly, to visit us Ü.  My Mom, Dad, and sister Kelly were great & watched their kids so they could make the trip.  They got in pretty late Thursday night, so we chatted for a bit and then went to bed.  The next morning we hung around the house awhile just talking & catching up and then I showed them around the neighborhood.  Jim said he wanted some Tex Mex so we headed for my favorite Tex Mex place, Chuy’s.

Great company + delicious food =  AWESOME TIME! 

After we ate, I took them downtown and we toured the Capitol. 

Jim and Candace out front

The legislators are out of session, so we just hung out in the House Chamber for awhile & talked some more.

We then headed home ‘cause Tim was now home from work, grabbed some dinner at Pei Wei and then watched some tv and, you guessed it, talked some more Ü.

Can & me hanging out at our house

Saturday was the big game and we had so much fun!! 

Candace says everytime she sees this picture of us, the Sesame Street song “which one of these kids is not like the other” goes thru her head – HA!

Love this guy and crazy dog so much!

We went to the campus a couple hours before the game so we could show Candace & Jim around.   Here we are in front of the UT Tower.  The flags lined up on the ground in were in remembrance of those who died in the 911 attacks.

Mother Nature actually decided to be nice and kept the humidity pretty low for the few days they were in town.  But it was still 100 degrees so we made sure to take a few breaks in the shade.

I sure do love these two and miss them so much!!

Then we headed into the stadium because it was almost game time baby! 

This was my first game at UT as well and it did not disappoint!!  Jim’s friend Christy (used to work with her) got us some AWESOME seats…35 yard line, 7th row up. Nope, these seats don’t suck at all! Ü

The pregame festivities started and the 100,000+ crowd rocked the stadium

Candace teased me about being a closeted band geek and I told her there’s nothing closeted about it – I LOVE BANDS!  Goes back to my MVHS cheer days I guess Ü 

The giant screen showed the Longhorns lining up in the tunnel ready to come out…behind them a “Don’t Mess With Texas” sign that’s just awesome!

The crowd got ready…

HOOK’EM HORNS!!

Then the Cougs came on the field and it was game on!!

My ‘Horns started off pretty darn crappy and the Cougs jumped to a 13-0 lead.  Needless to say, I was not very happy

But towards the end of the 2nd quarter they brought in Case McCoy – Colt’s little brother – and McCoy, Shipley & Co 2.0 turned the game around for a 17-16 victory!  WOOHOO! 

My fave Cougar fans weren’t feeling very woohooish though.  Here’s poor Jim, crying in his nachos.

HAHAHA!  This photo cracks me up every time I look at it  Ü

The postgame festivities are pretty darn cool.  Most of the 100,000 people stick around to sing the “Texas Fight” and “The Eyes of Texas” with the team

After that, they tower goes from white to orange!

And the crowd goes freaking ballistic.  IT. WAS. AWESOME.

Candace & Jim were such great sports even though their team lost and I have to say it was one of the funnest nights I’ve ever had – most of all because these two were here!

Here’s one with Christy who got us such great seats!

Looks like I “recruited” some new Longhorn fans – sweet! Ü

I couldn’t go to a game and not get a shot of BEVO!!

On the way back to the car, I got one last picture of the tower…

Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner!

We did a little shopping on the way home for some Longhorn gear – not only for these two newly recruited fans but also for the little ones waiting for them at home.  Then we grabbed some ice cream and headed back to our place to hit the sack ‘cause these two had an early flight to catch.  THANKS again Mom, Dad & Kel for taking care of their kiddos so they could come visit us.  And THANK YOU Candace & Jim for coming down to play!  It was such a blast having you guys here and I look forward to doing it again soon.  I love and miss you very much ♥

Another SNL Lawrence Welk

Here it is Mom...The Maharelle Sisters from The Finger Lakes are back, and Dooneese has brought a friend! Ü
(it may take a bit to load but should work...if not, you can watch it here as well)

Record-breaking heat

Summers in Texas are always, always hot.  But 2011 has brought off-the-charts heat.  Up until a couple days ago, the record for days over 100 degrees for Austin was 69.  Well, we broke that record Wednesday, the 24th.

Thanks to our local news station KVUE, we can see just how hot the past 3 months have been (add 5-10 degrees to each of these days for heat index due to humidity)

JUNE

JULY – only 2 days under 100…cooled all the way down to 99

AUGUST (so far) – one day under 100…a balmy 97 – woohoo.  This month has been insanely hot!!

Unfortunately, I have a terrible feeling we’re not going to just break this record, but probably consider it shattered once this summer is truly over. 

The scariest part isn’t the heat – which definitely sucks but, like I said, summers in Texas are hot.  The worse thing this year is we haven’t gotten any rain and most of the state is in a severe-exceptional drought situation

Hopefully we’ll get some rain SOON.

Utah trip 2011

Just FYI…this is a long one! Ü  I went to Utah at the end of July to visit family & celebrate my Grandma’s birthday.  Like always, the days flew by but it was so great to see everyone!

DAVIS FAMILY TIME

I spent as much time as possible just chilling with my family at Mom & Dad’s house.  There’s been an addition to the Davis Clan since I was in town last fall…no, not another grandkid - a crazy mini Dacshund named Coop – short for Mini Cooper.  My Dad got him for my Mom for Valentine’s and HE. IS. AWESOME.

If you watch Animal Planet’s Dogs 101, then you may know that Miniature Pinchers’ were originally bred as a mix of Italian Greyhound, German Pinscher and , yep, the Dacshund.  Let’s just say that after spending a few days with Coop, I now know where Min Pins get their mischievous - but totally hilarious - personality!  I swear he & Picabo could be evil twins or something!  Definitely would not want to see the trouble these two could get if they ever got together - HA!  Of course that makes him the perfect dog for my crazy family & I had a blast playing with him.  Oh, and seeing how spoiled he is, I’d say my Mom & Dad are a bit crazy about him themselves Ü.  He loves to play “keep away” just like Picabo – a “fun” game where they have the toy (or shoe, sock, plastic bag – you know, whatever is handy!) and want you to chase them.

Here he is “helping" us weed the front flower bed.

Unfortunately he decided the flowers were more fun to pull instead! Ü

Along with the Coopster, there were the Usual Suspects…my two awesomely awesome sisters…

The three of us had a sleepover one of the nights and stayed up way too late talking and laughing.  As much as I hate to admit it, we aren’t as young as we used to be & pretty much felt like crap the next day.  It was totally worth it though! Ü

And here’s my amazing Mom & Dad…

I love living in Texas but I miss these guys so dang much it hurts some times!!

Mom posed with 2 of my sweet nieces for me…

so Dad tried to pose with “the boys”…

Phin was not in the mood for pictures and Coop kept wiggling, trying to get down and get his toy!  Jim & Andrew were in Boston the first couple days I was there so this was it for the “boy” pics that night – Thanks for trying though Dad! I also tried to get some of Can & her girls, but V was not in the mood either!  Ü

My Uncle Georgie was in town from Cal at the same time and it was great to see him every day! 

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MAREK FAMILY TIME

On Sunday I went up to Tim’s sister Heidi’s house to see the Marek-side of my family. Seth BBQed some delicious chicken & we ate, hung out & talked.

Heidi & Erik with their youngest, Maggie

Melanie & her youngest Lance, with Jamie (holding Gabby)

Here’s Seth & my nephews Logan, Will, Luke & Ben rockin’ it on the trampoline Ü

It was a lot of fun & really great to catch up with everyone!

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GRANDMA’S BIRTHDAY EXTRAVAGANZA

It was my Grandma’s 80th birthday on the 27th and my Dad & his 6 brothers and sisters had spent several months planning her party.  It’s hard living so far away because I feel like I never can help out with “stuff”, but my Dad asked me to do the invitations (probably sick of my whining Ü) and I had a blast doing it!!  He may have had second thoughts when I sent him 7-8 different layouts, but he picked my favorite one – proving once again great minds think alike Ü

The party was at a park in Lehi.  Everyone brought all kinds of delicious food  & my aunt Jeannette did the decorations…check out the great “80” balloon centerpiece!

Take my Grandma & Grandpa, add her 3 sisters & their husbands, plus her 7 kids & their spouses, mix in her 25+ grandkids and all our spouses and kids – and let’s just say it was quite the PAR-TAY! 

After dinner, the kids played on the biggest slip and slide I’ve ever seen!  (Candace & Jim borrowed it from their friends)

While the kids were slip slidin’ away, my Dad, aunts and uncles got up one by one and told some of their favorite stories about my Grandma.  They went in birth order:

Lynn & Don

my Aunt Carin, who is #3, told her stories at the same time as my Dad & Don but did it sitting down so I didn’t get a picture of her with my Grandma

Jeannette & Roger

Russell & Paul

When my Dad was 16, his father was killed in a car accident by drunk drivers.  My Grandma was left to raise her 7 kids – ages 5 to 16 – alone. There were some pretty funny stories – especially the stuff my Dad and Uncle Don did.  I have to say it’s kind of amazing she decided to have any kids after the antics of those two – not to mention FIVE more - HA! But it was the things each of them said she had taught them about life that I loved the most – even if they all did make me cry! Ü  

Good lookin’ bunch if you ask me!!  My Grandma is an amazing woman…someone I have always looked up to and I love her with all my heart! 

My Grandma has 5 sisters (her oldest sister has passed away) and 3 of them were able to come celebrate with us.  They each got up as well and I really enjoyed hearing stories about my Grandma while she was growing up.  Aunt Karma lives in Virginia, but she sent a letter with her memories.

Aunt Marie & Aunt Janice

Aunt Catherine brought her wedding dress that my Grandma made for her!  It was AWESOME.

My Grandma remarried my awesome Grandpa – here’s a couple shots of them as well.

After the family festivities, we had an open house so some of her friends could come wish her a happy birthday too.  We had some DE-licious sheet cake and I made everyone pose for more pictures!!  I’m pretty sure one of these days someone in my family is gonna break my camera. No worries though ‘cause I always have a backup Ü

Love this guy so much! And I’d steal V if they’d let me – jerks! Ü

Mom & Paul…and Cake!!

Please, please let me be as awesome as she is at 80!!

BBQ beef sandwiches – YUM! Company’s not bad either Ü

Paul & me (kinda blurry but still awesome!)

My uncle Russ

My cousin Brad - who I hadn’t seen in WAY too long!

My cousins Lacy & Kelsey (stole this photo & next one from Kels’ FB Ü)

Kels, Paul & Devin

Debbie, Roger & Me on cleanup duty Ü

Everyone worked hard to make it a GREAT night and I hope my Grandma enjoyed it as much as the rest of us did!! 

There was one bad thing that happened though and that was my sweet niece Ally fell and broke her collarbone.  Candace & Jim left the party & headed to the Urgent Care clinic.  Candace texted me this picture a couple hours later…

Poor little girl! Broke my heart :( 

I was heading back to TX the next morning, so I said my goodbyes to my sweet Kelly & her kids after the party.  Since Candace & Jim left in a rush, I didn’t get a chance to really say goodbye, sot hey came over the next morning.  I tried to stick the kids in my suitcase, but their mean mom & grandparents said NO!  I told Candace I would give her a copy of this picture to remember them by…

And she said forget it…I’m the one who gets to keep the picture…

A pretty darn cute picture of us too so I guess its better than nothin’ Ü.  One more picture with Mom & Dad…

And it was off to the airport for me!  Can’t wait ‘til my next trip out there…Love & miss you all so dang much!