party in the ATX

Patrick and I got to take a quick trip to Austin over the weekend.  Those of you who follow college football might have some idea of what we were up to down there.  (Don’t mind the traitor in orange. . .)

My father-in-law Paul was a little nervous about the game.

And just to prove that I was there showing my school pride as well. . .

Have you ever seen so much burnt orange in your life?

In this picture, you can see that there was some blue sprinkled here and there. . .

We got to see a great friend from our Boston days who was also in town.

The marching band was pretty darn sweet—after all, they are “the showband of the southwest!” 

Patrick was sitting on the opposite side of the stadium from the rest of us, but I was able to spot him with the binoculars!

It was a sad ending to the evening, but that was okay, because the biggest event of the weekend happened the next morning.  My newest little nephew (Patrick’s sister Meredith’s first baby) was blessed on Sunday.  Little Henry didn’t make a peep and his dad Eric gave such a sweet blessing.

Even though we only lived in Austin for three years, it’s a place that will always feel like home to me.  It is one of my favorite places in the US of A.  We took a little detour on the way to the airport Sunday night and drove down our old street.  When Patrick and I moved there back in 2001, we were lucky enough to find a house to rent in Tarrytown, which is one of the most beautiful and sought after neighborhoods in Austin.  Driving down those gorgeous tree-lined streets with all the houses that just OOZE charm made me incredibly homesick.  I’m not giving up hope that we’ll live there again someday. . . and it doesn’t hurt that we still have family that lives there either!

 

Oh, and in case you’re wondering why my girls are noticeably absent in these pictures, it’s because my sister Melayna graciously offered to watch them for us back at home.  Thanks, sis!