Feelings!

Hey peeps,

This is Patrick and it has been a LONG time since I have blogged. There has been quite a bit going on lately, but this week has been very eye-opening to me. Kim and I enjoyed a fun-filled weekend with family at the High Hill festival near Schulenburg, Texas. There was a cake walk, polka dancing, hundreds of pounds of fried chicken, and enough money raised to run the small town Catholic Church for the remainder of the year.

We left Schulenburg on Sunday afternoon and drove towards College Station for the Aggie game.
On our westerly journey back towards Austin after the game, we entered Highway 290 fairly close to Bastrop, Texas. Even past midnight, the flames visible from our standpoint a few miles away took our breath away. We witnessed the terrible fire than burned hundreds of homes and changed thousands of people's lives forever. We also found out that a nearby neighborhood to us, Steiner Ranch had many homes on fire as well. Two of our dear friends live in Steiner, but we soon found out that they were safe and their house was not harmed. On a more unfortunate note, I found out that two of my co-workers employed in the same section as me, both lost their homes and all possessions in Bastrop. The heartbreaking stories on the news and social media sites are simply devastating.

To change the subject, I enjoyed a three hour volunteer shift with the Foundation for the Homeless Interfaith Hospitality Network on Wednesday evening. This was as eye opening as the fires because of what these poor people have been through. One of the families barely escaped Hurricane Ike and got away with absolutely no possessions. This network provides housing to homeless people at different churches in the Austin area. The churches provide a room to sleep, along with bathroom and shower facilities. All families must pass through a strict background screening and work with a case manager to get back on their feet. This program does not just provide a free meal and bed.

I have worked with the homeless and with low income communities, but this was probably even more heartbreaking. I do not believe anyone has a desire to be homeless, but some people do not do anything about it. These people do. They are working hard, their kids are in school, and they are doing everything possible to start a good life again. My job as a volunteer was to have dinner with these families and tend to any needs they may have. Lucky for me, the only need that came across during my shift was a need for me to explain how to play a boardgame to a couple of very sweet children. They struggled with their reading, but wanted me to tell them what the words were. It took a while, but I'm glad I did, and we all had fun doing that.

In conclusion, with all the above being referenced, it kind of makes my little life struggles seem, tiny. It upsets me that I complain about my car, my job, my family, and even the Aggies potential move to the SEC. The fact is that I have all of this wonderful stuff.

Have a great weekend!

Patrick

Changes paired with lots of events...

After we returned from Gulf Shores, we knew it was going to be a busy month! So here's a recap of all the changes and events that happened over the last month.


When I returned, I started a new job at Dell, still in finance just a different role. I'm really excited about this role because it doesn't involved any travel. So far it's going well, and hoping to just continue to grow and learn. Soon after we returned, Patrick heard that there would be layoffs at the agency he works at as a result of the budget cuts, but we were blessed to have Patrick keep his job. Unfortunately his supervisor's position was eliminated, so there was a shift in leadership at his office. One thing that I've learned is that people at the state don't like change, where people at Dell thrive on change.


Two babies were born: We added another nephew to the mix, so now the count is 3 boys and 5 girls. Mr. Jeremy is calm, collected, and just chill, and with Sean as a brother that is a requirement. This picture isn't a true representation of being calm and collected:My best friend Jenny had her precious baby boy Cole, and we had the opportunity over the fourth of July to go meet mr. handsome (aka Fightin' Texas Aggie class of 2033)

Patrick's sister, Kimmi, came into Austin with her kiddos for a weekend. We had the opportunity to relax and enjoy our time with her, Aly, and Eric. Aly was crazy about Ranger, and they reunited their BFF status during the weekend. Can't you tell that Ranger is really enjoying the visit and extra attention? On Sunday of their visit we met the Bivens (Patrick's other sister and her hubby with their 3 kiddos) as well as Patrick's cousin at the Salt Lick. When you get the cousins together it typically gets a little crazy, and this trip was no exception. As you can see with these photos:

Early in July, my parents closed on their house in Austin, and just moved here last week. We are super excited to have them 15minutes away from us, and we just love their new place.

The same week that my parents moved to Austin, I was in a my good friend Lyra's wedding here in Austin. We hosted the bridal luncheon at our house, and had such a good time hosting Lyra and her family on her big day. I'm so excited for Lyra and Greg! Here's a sneak peek at the wedding: http://www.inkdfingers.blogspot.com/

Red Neck Riviera

In mid June we decided to take a trip to Gulf Shores Alabama (aka: The Red Neck Riviera). I am not a big fan of of road trips, but we decided it was going to be much cheaper to drive than to fly out there. We went a little over half way the first evening, then finished the trip the following day. Along the trip down I-10, I noticed that we passed three Bass Pro shops along the way, so I decided that this has to be part of the business model. The biggest of stores being in Baton Rouge, not in Texas...

Prior to the trip, Patrick had read on Trip Advisor about the zoo in Gulf Shores, and the ability to do encounters with lion cubs, lemurs, and kangaroos. We were so excited to have the opportunity, so we planned to do all three while at the zoo.

A little side note about the zoo... A couple of months ago we were watching an Animal Planet special about a little zoo that had survived 3 hurricanes over 18 months, and the staff at the zoo literally took the animals to their houses to help save the animals during the storms. At the end of the show, Jack Hannah brought a black panther as a gift to the zoo. It was such an amazing story.

Well, as we were pulling up to the zoo, I realized that the show that we had watched was about this zoo in Gulf Shores. Sure enough we get to the entrance, and they are selling copies of the segment that we had watched. It was such a small world... If interested the segment is called The Little Zoo that could.

Anyways, I digress.... The first encounter that we did was with the kangaroos, which were really neat animals. We bought got a new appreciation for how powerful those animals are since one started jumping off as Patrick was petting it. The second encounter was with the lemurs. We went into this enclosure, and the woman running the exhibit handed you a banana chip. The lemurs came right up to you and would do anything to get that chip from you. Once they figured out that we had treats they were literally biting everything, including my flash on my camera to ensure we weren't hiding anything. The third encounter was with the lion cubs. These guys were very young and just starting to go to the bathroom by themselves and were still drinking from a bottle. We had strict rules that we had to wear close toed shoes and long pants, which I was really excited about in 95 degrees at 100% humidity. We got into the exhibit and the woman tells us that if they start biting you need to tell them "No". This seemed so strange to me because these now cute little things were going to grow up to be an animal that could kill a person, and here we are telling them "No" like we do to our dogs.

Well, the lady was right these two little cubs were pretty aggressive. I was trying to take a picture with one, and while taking this picture with her she bit my wrist. It wasn't a bite like a kitten bite; this one hurt. Well, Patrick was playing with the other cub, and started to wrestle with like he does with Ranger (our dog). Patrick pulled back and the cub jumped up and bit his nipple. This was taken right before the incident:He commented that it hurt at the time, but four hours later he was still saying how much it hurt. When we got back to our hotel that evening he confessed that afterwards when he was changing he made sure he wasn't bleeding. It was such a neat experience to be able to interact with all these animals in Gulf Shores. Who would have though Gulf Shores would have something like this???

April to June

We are totally bad bloggers, but we've had a lot going on between April and June. The last three months I traveled to Dallas every week Monday-Thursday for work, so getting home in order truly took up all the free time on the weekends. I got a new job at Dell that will keep me in Austin, so I promise to be much better at blogging. So here's a recap of things that have been going on:

1. My parent's are moving to AUSTIN!!! We are so excited, and I can finally tell everyone. This has been in the works since January, but we had to keep our lips sealed because my mom hadn't told her office. Now, the secret is out, and we can tell everyone. They're building a house 9 miles from us, and dad's getting a 5 car garage. I'll be sure to post pictures once it's complete.




2. Early in May, we celebrated Patrick's 34th birthday with two weekends of baseball. The first weekend, I surprised him with tickets to an Astro's game, and the second weekend we hung out with our friends at the Round Rock Express game. Patrick's still disappointed that the Express is now affiliated with the Rangers, and I had to talk him out of wearing an Astro's shirt the the game.





3. We're getting ready to welcome Jenny & Luc's little boy this month, so there were a couple of showers to get her ready for being a mom.




4. Memorial Day weekend we spent between Houston and Austin. We were able to visit with Patrick's family, see Jenny and Luc's new house, and then came back to Austin to see my folks (who were scouting out the house to ensure everything was being done just right)




5. This past weekend, we celebrated the wedding of Patrick's old roommate Larissa. It was such a great weekend, and really enjoyed catching up with all of her friends that are scattered across the US. We started off the weekend with a dinner cruise for the rehearsal dinner. Neither of us had ever been on the Lady Bird Lake dinner cruise, but it was such a treat to be able to see the bats fly out to feast from the boat. Those streaks you see in the sky are millions of bats. For those of you who haven't seen these guys in Austin it's a must do! I really think that watching them from the boat is absolutely the way to go. The wedding was on Saturday downtown, and we had a great time. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day.
   
   

That officially catches you up on what we've been up to over the past two months.

June is going to be full of fun in the sun, so stayed tuned for more adventures from us!

The big 3-0

This weekend I turned 30, and I do have to say that I'm one lucky girl. My birthday weekend kicked off with closing on our old house. It was such a great feeling, but I admit that I got emotional as Patrick and I had lunch their one last time on Thursday. Trotwood held many memories from working on our first project together, our engagement, our first fight (over an Ikea desk), and lots of laughter. It was a perfect close to one chapter of our life to begin my birthday weekend on Thursday. Thursday also held my first surprise. Patrick's sister Kimmi from Phoenix was at our house having a drink with Patrick when I got home from a meeting Thursday night. I was so surprised to see her, and I couldn't believe that we got her (without the kiddos) all weekend. This was sure to be a repeat of champagne and cakeballs in Phoenix this time last year. Because there wasn't much going on Friday, we were able to show Kimmi our new neighborhood and hike with the dogs. We grabbed the flowers for the party, and Kimmi and I went to work on the centerpieces for Saturday night's party. Friday finished up with a cook out at the house, and a nice relaxing evening where Kimmi, Patrick, and I were given advice by all the family. Saturday was a day full of surprises. We woke up and made scones, and started to get ready to head to the spa. The doorbell rang, and I looked up and couldn't believe it. Breck and Derek had driven in from Dallas. (this is after Breck telling a little fib to my face that they weren't going to be able to make it) Breck, I forgive you :-) Then Jenny and Luc showed up just in time for the girls to head to the spa. It was just like our wedding weekend all over again, but without the stress. What a perfect way to spend the afternoon! After our mani/pedi and massages, we headed to the Iguana Grill for the big birthday party. All of my close friends and family were there. I just couldn't get over how blessed I was to have everyone there helping to celebrate my 30th. When we got to Iguana Grill, I started to get a little concerned to find that Patrick and Grant definitely had something up their sleeve. Sure enough, Grant starts to clap to calm the crowd, and the two of them had put together a video of the last 30years. It was incredible how much work they had done, while I had been traveling... Unfortunately it's too big to post here, but will figure out a way to post it soon. I am truly one lucky girl! Sunday we had 5 of the 7 nieces and nephews over to our house, and we decided to take them down to the neighborhood park. Patrick and I decided to join in on the fun and swing with the girls. The only problem was I decided to show the girls how to do a proper dismount from the swings, and bit it in the pebbles. Needless to say I can say today I'm feeling my age... Thank you to all who participated in the weekend festivities! I cannot express how thankful I am to have each one of you in my life!

Crusing into 2011

This year we decided to ring in the New Year on a boat, so we headed down to Galveston to board our trip into 2011. It was just a quick trip down to Mexico and back, but it was exactly what we needed after the big move of 2010. Of course the first night was the Muster drill where Patrick decided to sport the life vest, although they weren't required, and then it was time for the casino...

We rang in 2011 with our friends Danny and Sarah Webb, and had a great time with them. One mistake was that they left their bottles of wine at home, so they naturally stopped at a gas station to pick some up on the way. Unfortunately Danny thought Blackberry Merlot was a good idea, but trust me it wasn't. Not to worry we still had 3 bottles remaining to last us through the remainder of the cruise. Re-evaluating this bottle as I post, it looks a bit like a bottle of vinegar with a cheap label, but trust me it tasted like grape juice that had begun to ferment.

This was the first thing that greeted us as we walked up to the Lido deck New Year's eve night. Hello champagne filled hot tubs! So we got in the spirit, and Patrick felt that glasses were no longer required...

The next day we were greeted by beautiful 85 degrees in Cozumel, and a nice sunny day to go with it. We strolled around town shopping and had a fabulous, but slow, lunch. On the taxi ride back to the ship, I noticed the most interesting thing. The whole ceiling was covered in thumb tacks to hold up the fabric, but it was obviously a well designed plan as you can see by the work around the vents. Sarah almost killed me for taking pictures, but I just couldn't resist

As we had the perfect sunset on the trip out of Cozumel, it was time to start our first day of a new year with a day at sea. For those who have cruised before you know that those days at sea can get a little boring. However, when you are cruising with Patrick there is loads of entertainment...We found Patrick in the gift shop trying on hats that were way too small for his head.
Although it was a quick trip, we had a wonderful time, and we are looking forward to what 2011 will bring the Kainers.