UT vs. Baylor Game

Mark took Peder and a friend from school to the UT game in Waco today. Even though the weather didn't cooperate, they still had a lot of fun. Peder even got to say hi to Bevo.

Cooper's BBQ

Seventeen years ago, when Mark and I were dating and living in Austin, he took me to all of his favorite BBQ places in and around the Austin area. He even wrote down my comments of the food in his BBQ review binder (I know, cute/weird). We don't eat BBQ much anymore, but we have revisited Cooper's BBQ in Llano, TX several times over the past few years. It's gotten awfully expensive and Mark thinks it's lost some of it's original charm. But I'm sure we'll be back sometime.


Choose your meat. There's lots of it.When the meat runs out, they close.

  

Plates are never seen at any respectable old BBQ establishment.



Mark and his brother enjoying themselves.





Maybe I should hang up a sign like this at our house. I might get rich.





Great Wolf Lodge

Peder and Mark went to Great Wolf Lodge with Peder's Adventure Guides group. How fun to go swimming in February! To think it was 2 weeks ago when it snowed!

St. Louis

Mark went to St. Louis for work so I tagged along. We went to a Cardinals game while there. The trip was a blast. Grandma and Grandpa watched the kiddos at our house while we were away. Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa!

Weekend Wedding

Mark and I attended a wedding this past Saturday for a co-worker of mine. She was a beautiful bride and her new husband is just as fabulous. We had a great time at the reception. It's been a few years since attending a wedding of a twenty-something bride so there were a few new reception ideas that I thought were kind of neat. The first was a martini potato bar. You served yourself your choice of mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes or purple mashed potatoes and then there was a huge choice of toppings. People were having fun creating their "martinis." Very interesting!

The other treat was a "candy bar" which I had heard of before. The bride and groom supply a monogrammed bag and you fill it with candy treats as you leave the reception. Great idea!

Celebration!

Mark got to play his "fiddle" with a hootenanny-style band on the Friday the 8th. We were invited to a birthday party/anniversary party for a couple from church. It was hosted by their daughters at one of their homes. Charlie and Bea both turned 90 years old and have been married for 61 years! What a celebration! We had yummy food and cake and other goodies outside and then came in towards the end of the evening for the music.

Charlie is pictured here with Mark after they finished playing. (Charlie loves playing his electric guitar--yes, electric guitar) and Mark really enjoys playing with him.

I hope I'm as spry as Charlie and Bea when I'm 90. Below is a solo Mark played that evening. He's not very proud of his playing, but I think it's fun.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Peder and Mommy made a cake for Daddy! I think Peder enjoyed it more than any of us. Any excuse to eat cake. Daddy is older than one candle, but we didn't have enough candles to represent his age! Happy Birthday Daddy! When you blew out the candle, what was your wish??

School Auction Evening by the Lake

Mark and me at the Filter Building


Larry and Diane

We recently went to a fundraiser auction for Peder's school. It was at a beautiful new location off of White Rock Lake (The Filter Building). It was a nice evening spent with other parents and our dear friends (and Peder and Caroline's godparents!), Larry and Diane. Thanks for joining us again guys! We bid on (and won) a few items in the silent auction (gift cards, etc.), but I am always so impressed by how high in price some things went for, especially the class gifts. Parents and grandparents were digging deep in their pockets for personalized class quilts, game chests (Peder's class), custom-made pottery and glassware that the kids had been involved in creating. It was especially fun seeing friendly bidding wars ensue between two sets of parents.

One event that was up for bid was an evening and dinner with a group of your friends, hosted by a local country/Christian musician at her and her husband's ranch. Bidding was going on and on and finally the singer's husband stood up and announced that they would extend it to be an overnight event hosted by them. It was so fun seeing such enthusiasm. I think the bidding stopped just under $2000. (!)

Camping with Daddy

Mark and Peder went camping with the Adventure Guides this weekend at Camp Grady Spruce, just west of Fort Worth. They drove over with a friend from school and church, Garrett, and his father. The weekend included horseback riding (Peder had a horse with blue eyes whose name was "Blue"), "mountain" climbing, boat ride, hauling wood, eating smores by campfire, and running around like crazy boys (the kids ran around too! Ha!). Mark says the accommodations weren't as nice as the previous camping trip from this past fall, but they were still in heated cabins and that's what mattered. Peder was excited to sleep in a bunk bed. Guess who always gets to sleep on the bottom bed?

In the meantime, Caroline and I had a fun girls weekend. She asked several times about "Pedie" and Daddy and going to the door, but never got upset. She had me of course! She screamed with delight when the boys got home. Mark really missed her.