The Big Catch-Up

Can it really be over a year since Randy and I posted anything on this blog?  What poor oversharers we've turned out to be.  Let's see if I can recap 2011 for anyone who stumbles over here.

January 2011 - The big pantry re-do.  This was the first step in updating our kitchen, and it was a wonderful one.  I still love the Elfa organizer, and I would love to use their products for other things down the road.  So that was a thing.  And then, of course, there was the speaker's race and the start of the 82nd Legislature in the Texas House.  Randy works for a state rep. who ran for speaker, and I worked on the campaign.  It was great working together - so it was nice to end up working together for the next several months.  Talk about adventure!

February 2011 - I started working in the same office as Randy as a legislative aide.  Work took up most of our time for the next several months.  On the weekends we were so worn out we didn't really do much, especially after March.  Maybe a couple of day trips, but I don't think I have pictures.  It snowed one day that month, too!

March 2011 - April 2011 - Yeah, not much to report.  We started planning our getaway trip - an epic Colorado road trip!  I shamefully did not blog about it at the time, so I will have another post up later with pics, etc.

May 2011 - We found out we were expecting!  Got it confirmed the day after the session ended.  Then, there were special sessions.  Our road trip was put on indefinite delay.

June 2011 - Special session.

July 2011 - EPIC COLORADO ROAD TRIP.  Also, we spent the Fourth of July in Round Rock, where this happened (Mayor McGraw parachuted down to the park where the celebration was taking place):

August 2011:  My mother passed away on the 19th.

September 2011:  The upheaval and complete rearrangement of our upstairs bedrooms to make room for our baby's arrival.

October 2011:  Pretty much the same, with added kitchen upgrades!  Painted cabinets, painted walls, and a new kitchen table and chairs (we got them for nothing, thanks to my dad who had just switched out his own set)

November 2011:  Scott and Victoria's wedding in east Texas!  A little place in Rusk.  It was beautiful!!  Later in the month, I went on my last road trip, to Fort Worth for the Texas Federation of Republican Women convention.  We spent Thanksgiving at Randy's aunt Barbara and uncle Gary's house here in Austin.

December 2011:  We celebrated our anniversary early, twice!  Once we had dinner at the European Bistro in Pflugerville (one of our favorite local places), and then again at Andiamo's in north Austin (a really great find, thanks to a gift certificate).  Our actual anniversary was spent at cousins night at Barbara and Gary's.  We also hosted my family for Christmas, a week early, and ventured out to the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar here in Austin.  That was a blast!  We visited Georgetown a couple of times, including for their courthouse lighting (I think that was in November, actually).  And, we spent a day in Lockhart and Bastrop with newlyweds Scott and Victoria - their last taste of real Texas bbq before being shipped overseas (Scott is a Marine).

January 2012:  On the 3rd, we welcomed Annalise Ruth to our family.  She's the best adventure yet.

Fourth of July on the campaign trail

We're heading out to the Wells Branch neighborhood 4th of July parade shortly.  Check out the truck!

How we celebrated the 4th of July

Planning this year's 4th of July was kind of difficult for us. We knew in May that there was going to be a special legislative session, and the rumors flew for weeks that it would be before July 4 to pressure legislators into doing quick work so they could enjoy the holiday. And sure enough, that was what happened. There was no way to know what would happen, so we opted not to travel to Missouri for my family's annual reunion, and planned to go to Randy's family's annual bbq out at the farm in Manor. At the very last minute, that got cancelled, and we were left last Friday going "huh. what now?"

While many of our friends headed down to the Capitol for the Tea Party that was being held there, Randy and I decided we needed a break from politics and government. A bit of independence, if you will. We live and breathe this stuff, after all.

Central Texas is full of patriotic attractions this time of year, like any population center blessed with easy distance to small towns. We decided fairly quickly on the Hill Country, and ended up in Stonewall, Texas. I've got a bunch of pictures from this day on our Flickr account, which you can check out here.

We left home around 10:00, stopping first at the Merrilltown Cemetery which is right on 1325 near our house. I have an odd fascination with old cemeteries, and this one has often caught my eye, but it didn't become an absolute must-see until April, when the Confederate flags appeared near some of the headstones. My guess is that someone from the Sons of Confederate Veterans or similar does this, because otherwise the cemetery is neglected and in need of attention in several places. From there we drove out to Dripping Springs just in time for lunch at Riley's BBQ. Great place to stop - Dripping Springs has become an obvious suburban victim, but it retains some Hill Country charm, especially at places like Riley's. The locals were gathered to jaw and grab early lunches, but it was otherwise surprisingly quiet, and the food was really good.

We then headed out to Blanco County, stopping for pictures of the courthouse (of course). Did a little daydreaming about owning a shop on the courthouse square. Wondered about the sign in one window for the "Pecan Street Brewery." Intriguing!

The bulk of the day was spent out in Stonewall, Texas at the LBJ Ranch and Texas White House - so very cool! It totally made up for the lack of awesome that was the LBJ Presidential Library. The ranch is a national park and has a lot of sites in addition to the Texas White House, like the cemetery, the school where LBJ went as a child, that kind of thing. Plus, herefords!! The experience was amazing, a great way to spend the 4th, learning about one of our presidents. The house was the most affecting, of course - the Texas White House was just opened to the public about a year and a half ago, after Lady Bird passed away, and parts of the house are not yet open as they await restoration (and Luci Baines Johnson still uses part of the house when she comes into town). There are good interior shots of the Texas White House here - we were told not to take pictures when we were indoors.

Afterwards, we wandered around the Sauer-Beckmann living history farm and exhibit, and then we hit the Pedernales Cellars Winery and split a bottle of Stonewall Viognier on the porch, stopped at the Vogel Orchards store for some famed Stonewall peaches, got dinner at the Hill Country Cupboard in Johnson City, and headed home.

It was a pretty amazing way to spend the 4th, I have to say. We wrapped up the day with going to see fireworks at our local park, and came home to watch the "Independence" episode of John Adams. I'll wrap this up with a YouTube clip of one of the best scenes from that episode - if you don't get chills, well, sirs and ladies, you have no soul.