Gorman Falls

When we first moved to Austin I had stocked up on all these local magazines to find out the best places to go and things to do around town and Gorman Falls was one of the hikes listed as a must do.  We had been meaning to do it forever but since it's a two hour drive kept putting it off.  We finally ended up with a weekend with no plans and decided it was time.  They're pet friendly so we packed up the car, Cali included, and headed out.  I'm sure Cali wishes we had left her at home though!  It ended up being a super hot long walk to the falls with no shady spots for the pup to stop and rest.  Shaun was a trooper and ended up carrying Cali a lot of the way.  But in the end it was a beautiful view and I'm glad we made the trek!  Next time we just know to leave the pup at home. 

Rodeo

We love the Austin Rodeo, I think each year Shaun get's closer to wanting to be a true cowboy buy a ranch and live off the land.  Although, I think we still have a ways go since there is a fence separating him from this longhorn ;)

St. Patty's Day

Another St. Patty's Day at Third Base, kinda odd since it's not even an Irish Beer but the giant mugs of green beer seem to get us every time ;)

SXSW

We have a good rotation going here, seems like every girls weekend I have Shaun has a guys weekend, we're lucky to have so many fun trips/visits planed with our friends this year!

Tim & Bursch came into town for the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival this year and Shaun played tourist in his own town.  He basically checked into the hotel with the boys for the weekend and they hit up all these industry events and parties.  They had a blast and once again there is no evidence of the weekend, should I be getting suspicious?!?!  Haha, just kidding ;)

Tri-State Reunion

Another Girls Weekend! Sara & Bonnie came to Austin for the weekend and we were on the go non-stop!  Unfortunately, Sara had an expected delay in her travel due to some weather up North but we were all reunited before long.

The first night, Bonnie & I and enjoyed a nice evening on the patio at the wine bar, Uncorked, which was the perfect spot to just relax and catch-up!  The next day we were up at the crack of dawn for our marathon day.  We started with the Cowboy Breakfast (this event kicks off the Rodeo season), then biked around Town Lake, headed West for lunch at the Oasis, followed by a Winery stop with the Aussies, and then headed home to clean-up.  It was a fun day with the perfect ending, Sara arrived and we ventured to Pappasitos for our favorite Mexican dinner around town!

Saturday was a relaxing day, exploring new areas around town and hitting up some of our favorite spots like Round Rock Donuts and Walton's Fancy & Staple.  We actually went through a couple model homes while we were exploring neighborhoods and of course I found my dream home.  It's not on the lake but the layout was fabulous, I'm definitely dragging Shaun back here to get some ideas ;)  We also went to Mt Bonnell which I thought was going to be more of a hike but it didn't matter because the views of town were spectacular!  Here is yet another place I will be dragging Shaun back to, they even have hidden tables where you can bring a bottle of wine enjoy the sunset and have a great little date night...thanks Sara for that idea ;) 

Sara was able to get squeezed in for a 3D sonogram appointment while she was in town so we joined her for a sneak peek at her little one.  It was the first time for Bonnie and I to witness a baby sonogram and boy was it amazing!  We saw the little one wiggling around, she sure was a mover and shaker, and the coolest part was hearing her heartbeat!  What an experience!!! 

Sunday came all too quickly but before the girls had to head home we were able to enjoy one of Austin's great festivals, the Zilker Park Kite Festival.  It was a gorgeous day and a nice way to end the weekend but I'm already looking forward to our next reunion!

Parent's Weekend

We finally get Steve and Susan to visit beautiful Austin and what happens?!?!  Rain Rain and More Rain? Go figure, we've been in a drought and never get rain here and the one weekend they're around it just pours the entire time.  But we made the best of it and didn't let the rain spoil our plans.  Just had to adjust all our outdoor fun to indoor fun, who knew darts could be so fun!

We enjoyed an afternoon barhopping on 6th Street and of course Susan spots the Bachelor's Brother right away.  She struck up a conversation and was all ready to get Brad to move to Kentucky to meet a nice southern girl ;)  You gotta love just how friendly everyone is here!

Then we headed out to Salt Lick for dinner and without any effort got another two addicted to their BBQ.  We also discovered this new concoction called a BeerRita, a new fav I must say!  And I have to confess we actually visited Salt Lick twice during their trip, I told you they were addicted ;)

The weather had cleared up by Sunday so we ventured down to San Antonio to spend a day on the Riverwalk and tour the Alamo.  Then we headed back north with a pit stop at Steiner Ranch Steakhouse to celebrate Steve's birthday.

We topped off the weekend with some cornhole so it was the perfect ending for both Steve & Shaun.  What can I say like father, like son!  Their trip flew by so we can't wait for their next visit back. We still have so much more to show them!

Wicked

I have to give Shaun tons of Brownie Points for taking me to see Wicked!  I've been dying to see this play for years now and it finally came to Austin.  I'm thinking that maybe this is one we should have saved for Broadway as it didn't live up to the hype but none the less we had a great night out and even scored passes to their special lounge at the theatre.