April in LA

If only to get the dog video off the top :)

Lunch with Uncle Jaime, Aunt Debbie, and Cousin Charity

Jaime and Deb came down to Austin for some car repairs and we got to meet up with them for lunch at Pappasitos. Charity got to come too - we finally got to see her! (She lives just miles away, how pathetic are we!).

Like a good neighbor ...

Steve is there!

Our neighbor across the street (Steve) is the best! He's a retired guy, who spends a lot of time out front, keeping an eye on the neighborhood and washing his truck. Every day. He's really the greatest. And now, he's our own personal landscaper! Michael and I don't have a lawn mower, plus we hate anything to do with lawns due to allergies and just because it stinks, so we hired some guys to come do it. When Steve found out, he offered to do it for us instead. (But yes, we do pay him!)

So, long story short, we now have an acceptable looking yard, so I took some pics. I promised I'd show you the green.

ACL Tickets - Enter to Win

Hey - click here to enter for a chance at $50 tickets if you're coming. They are doing things differently this year. Thought I'd let y'all know.

New Digs

I finally got around to cleaning the house this weekend, enough so I could take some pics and you can see where we live.

This is the only time it's been this clean since we got here. We're still working on getting things organized, in the garage mostly.

I'll take some pics outside later. It is gorgeous here right now, green, green and more green. We're always surprised when we go driving around at how clear everything seems. Then we remember "smog" is not in the Texas dictionary.

We didn't end up camping last weekend because the weather was unpredictable. We're hoping to check out Canyon Lake this coming weekend. Well see.

Going back to Cali'

Mark yo' calendars - we'll be coming home June 28-July 9. Hope to see you then! (Unless you come here first).

Some other fun things coming up:

• Michael's going to LA in April. I might go too for some beach action, uh-I mean moral support.
  
  
• Anna's friend Cristina coming to visit in April.
  
  
• Bobby Sherwood coming to visit in May HURRAY!!!!!!!!!!!!
  
  
• Austin City Limits Festival - September 14-16. This would be a great time to visit! Let me know if you want me to get for you, they go on sale next month.
  
  
• Mom and Dad (Matthew) coming to visit in October
  
  
• 10-Year Anniversary cruise in November!!! That just might be what I'm looking forward to most ;) We're going to Montego Bay (Jamaica), Grand Cayman, and Cozumel.
  
  Look how skinny we used to be.
  
  
• Also sometime we're going to visit Stacey and Sebastian in Colombia. Can't wait for that either.
  
  
• Ooh, Matthew Family all going to Maui in January too. We will be so tan this year!

BBQ with Jose

This weekend we had a real bbq and campfire with Anna and her friend Jose. He's quite the chef and made delicious homemade guacamole, and chicken skewers with rice. A nice, quiet evening, perfect weather under the big Texas skies.

Anna's officially moved OUT of her apartment and IN with us!

Next weekend, we're planning to go camping at Lake Bastrop.

Photo by Eric

Here's a portrait Eric took of Michael and me at an outside lounge on 6th street during SXSW.

Our First Visitor!

Last weekend Eric Chu (a friend of Michael's through Jerimy in LA) came to visit us in Austin. Seeing as how we don't know our way around too well yet, we didn't make the best of hosts, but it was great to have company! The South By Southwest festival (aka SXSW) was going on, so there was plenty of action to be seen around the city. Next year we plan to get our act together before the conference, and find lots of good free shows, etc.

Our camera is dying on us, so we haven't been able to get very many good pics lately. But we're thinking about upgrading this weekend. Eric is a very talented photographer and graphic artist, check out his flickr page here.

Well, nothing too exciting to report: we're still getting settled, finding our way around the city, and trying new restaurants and stores. Our favorite place to eat is the Texas Roadhouse, a chain owned by Willie Nelson. When you come to visit, we WILL take you there! Really puts CA steak houses to shame :) The best part is they serve you peanuts in a bucket and you just throw the shells on the floor.

Our favorite new place to go is called the Central Market. It is like Trader Joe's only ten times bigger and better!! A couple of nights ago, we went there to shop and had dinner in their little cafe. And wouldn't you know it, an adorable 5-piece blues/honkytonk band set up and played. That is Austin for you. Michael took some video with our stinky camera. If you come to visit us here, we'll take you there too :)

Finally Here in Austin

And getting settled in slowly. Last week it was move move move - this week it's back to work! Still getting the house unpacked - I imagine it will be a few weeks before we feel settled, but since we finally got the website up, I thought I'd mention you can check out the gallery for going away party pics and some new Austin ones. I still can't believe we're actually here!

Paul was here all last week and we managed to see some sights and have some fun before he left on Saturday. Make sure you check out their road trip video on YouTube.

The weather has been amazing - high seventies on average, all sun and just really pleasant. The dogs are having a great time.

Well, more pics and details soon! Later ya'll!