Game 4, Part 3: LBJ Library and Museum.

Dede, Anne and I visited the LBJ Library the day of the first game, but since Ryan and Katie were here for this one, I wanted to make sure they got a chance to walk through this museum.

It is an impressive place!
This time around, we had a little more time. We got to see the reproduction of the Oval Office, and this animatronic LBJ who told humorous stories:

It was worth the walk!

Game 4, Part 4: The Game.

After a full day of shopping, touring and tailgating, we were a little tired but really ready for some football!

Of course, Colt and Co. played a great game, and this one was just fun all around. No nail-biting this week!

In the second half, we got a great glimpse into the future of Longhorn football when John Chiles played QB and for at least one possession, every Longhorn on the field was a true or redshirt freshman.

As expected, at halftime the M.O.B. (Marching Owl Band) parodied our players' run-ins with the law. They formed our traditional block T, but instead of having players run through it, they drove "police cars" in to arrest orange-wearing players:

The LHB followed that performance with its classic Wall-to-Wall Band, another oldie but goody (like Script Texas):
And then there was Shotgun Texas:
By the time victory was won and "The Eyes" were sung, I had two bona fide Longhorn fanatics on my hands! The big 58 points put up by the Longhorns and all that blue cotton candy sure made these guys crazy!

THANK YOU, Dede and T, for letting Ryan and Katie come to a game this year! They had a blast, and the brainwashing indoctrinating training-them-up-in-the-way-they-should go just may pay off yet.

Before heading back to our hotel, we went back to the tailgate to catch--yep!--more college football on TV. We saw the end of 'Bama/UGA in the glow of our new Longhorn lights.
And there you have it: Another fantastic football Saturday!

Texas 58, Rice 14.

Why We Love Austin: Reasons #743 and #744.

Amy's Ice Cream and the Arboretum Cows!

Getting on top of some of the cows is a bit tricky...

...but teamwork makes it easier!

Then comes the fun part: sliding off!

Or in this case, sliding into a new dimension:

Ta-dah!

We've loved going to Amy's Ice Cream for years, and because the cows are at this shopping center, the kids really like the Arboreturm location.The Arboretum offers some pretty cool window shopping, too!

Up next: the Capitol, Co-op, tailgating and THE GAME!

Wunderbar!

After a long week at school and work, we were in the mood to flap our wings and shake our tail feathers. So off to Edelweiss we went! We feasted on German food and danced the chicken dance for our Friday outing this week.

Katie and Ryan are big fans of the chicken dance:


Brett and I loved the brat, knackwurst and weisswurst (didn't we HAVE to order that?), and as always, we raved about the sauerkraut and red cabbage:

Meanwhile, Katie ate a big bowl of Spaghetti Edelweiss:
...and Ryan had (surprise, surprise) CHICKEN STRIPS!Any trip to Edelweiss is a big event for us, and even though we didn't have a specific occasion to celebrate, our dinner and dancing made this Friday special!

Terrific Tuesday.

Ryan and I enjoyed a special day together Tuesday. Because we had his annual checkup, we spent a good part of the day at Cook meeting with our hematologist, hemophilia nurse, social worker and physical therapist. He got a great report! We won't know any test results for a while, but all the specialists were delighted with his health.

After the appointment, Ryan and I enjoyed some great time together! We ate lunch at Dos Gringos, walked around the Kimbell grounds, and took in "The Mirror and the Mask," the amazing portrait exhibit in its last days at the Kimbell.

"What a wonderful Mexican restaurant! I'll have the chicken strips, please."

The Pollo Veracruz: Chicken covered in guac and cheese (Mmmmmm...)

Ryan's pose, inspired by the statue

We saw Picassos, Cezannes, Van Goghs... Incredible!

Headed for home, Ryan content with Harry Potter and his iPod

Remembering...

Deepa K. Pakkala

Who won the TCU-Texas game?

Yep! The winning team is spelled out in frog legs! HOOK 'EM!

Game 2: Texas 34, TCU 13

My drive to Austin began with plenty of quality time on I-35! At least I had some cool rides keeping me company, like this orange Corvette with Longhorn flags and license plate:

Of course, we had our tailgate, which WASN'T so cool. The company, food and entertainment were outstanding as always, but it was H-O-T today!
The heat and humidity didn't keep us from eating well. On this week's menu were fajitas...
and in honor of the Horned Frogs, FROG LEGS!
Everybody had to at least taste the frog legs, including this random TCU fan who happened to walk past our tailgate. (He was a good sport!) And yes, frog legs taste like chicken.
Frog legs were a tailgating first. Another milestone: After dealing with fuzzy broadcast reception, we finally got a satellite feed this week!

We headed to the stadium earlier than last week and made it there in plenty of time for the pregame festivities. As expected, there was a huge crowd for this match-up. There were TONS of Frog fans there, including several right in front of us.
I cannot tell a lie: After last week's game, I REALLY thought we'd lose this one. Down by 10 at the half, I was worried. But once we got rolling in the fourth quarter, it was all good!
What a great ending to a busy day!