The Scenic Route

Family Vacation

Our first family vacation was a 24 hour whirlwind to San Antonio to catch a Spurs game, go out to eat for dinner, stay overnight, eat breakfast, go to the ZOO!, and then head back home.

Clearly the terms of vacation change when you bring the kids...our fine dining highlight in San Antonio was the Hard Rock Cafe.  I'm not knocking it, though, because I was able to have a fabulous virgin colada in a huge glass.

Emma had a great time.  HER highlights include seeing the horse and buggy on the street, the coyote mascot at the basketball game, sleeping in the pack and play in a bathroom, and seeing the butterflies in the butterfly house in the zoo.  She was also pretty excited about the Grizzly bears, asking us if she could touch them.

Go Spurs!!!

Obamabration - January 20th

 We took Emma with us to a beer garden near the Austin capital to celebrate Obama's inauguration with a couple hundred strangers.  Emma wore her inauguration gold ball dress and kept clapping and saying " Rock Abamba".  She had no idea what was going on, but it was still pretty damn cute. 

Emma and the Alphabet at 20 months

Weeb You

 

A few of my favorite Emma things these days:

• Emma's version of "I love you" is "Weeb you".
• Emma says "Nooooo" when Tom and I are hugging and runs up in between us to pull us apart.
• When we change Emma, she yells, "Naked!". 
• She unhesitatingly will hug and kiss any child within reach that is slightly older than she is. 
• She recognizes the cupcake box from 'Sugar Mama's'. 
• She hugs us extra long to avoid going to bed. 
• She thinks that when I am doing the dishes that she should be getting a bath. 

The Peanut Parties with her Older Friends

Emma had TWO 2-year old birthday parties this weekend.  It was tiring chasing after her, but we did get some good pictures.  Her party requests for the future include:  a bubble machine, her parents not following her around, a trampoline / bounce house, and paint to eat.

ManWorm Wedding in Martha's Vineyard

There is nothing better than going to a wedding where the bride and groom are truly in love.  What a party!!  The ceremony just barely finished before a huge storm swept in (hence the damp hair- well, somebody had to save the cheese table).  It made it all that more fun. 
You see our wine glasses are quite full in this picture- that is how the Iron Horse champagne was being poured.  We have warm, fuzzy memories from our trip last summer to Sonoma where Marla, Chris, Tom, Luke & Laura, and I all spent an August morning trying through every Iron Horse wine the vineyard was willing to open.

5 year anniversary in Washington (mmmm, wine)

We spent our 5th anniversary in much the style that I think we would like to spend every day worth celebrating:  tasting some big, red wines.  Although our trip was brief, our consumption was not.  In true Team Thor style, we visited entirely too many wineries and found some that we may love forever.  Good way to spend the anniversary.

Holiday in Austin

Sue, Jay and Gabriel came to visit us!  Our main objectives were: Wii Guitar Hero, Salt Lick BBQ, and the pool.  Mission accomplished.  Good times, good times.

Pile 'O Meat

We took a field trip to Lockhart, TX this summer with our friends, Brooke and Heath, to have what some claim to be the best BBQ around.  For those of you not in the know about trendy Lockhart, it is about 40 minutes outside of Austin and pretty much has nothing going on in the town except for two of the most valued BBQ joints in Texas.  (When I say 'nothing', I am not being facetious.)

It was a classic 98 degree day and the guys had to wait in a long, un-airconditioned line by the smoky fire pits.  It was worth the wait.  It was delicious.  I am proud to say that Tom could barely cut up the brisket fast enough before Emma was clamoring for more.