Fun Times

Hi friends! I am so sorry I haven't updated lately, but life has just been too busy! This past week was great and the weekend was even better!

Let's see... last Tuesday night my friends Lydia, Hailey and I went to Stubbs, a fun downtown bar, to see Ben Rector and Drew & Ellie Holcomb! It was fun to actually see some musicians I knew. I was introduced to Drew and Ellie through Younglife and they have played before in Macon. The funny thing was that we were probably the oldest people there, it was lots of high school students, but we still had a great time. We got a cute picture, but unfortunately it is on Lydia's camera, so I don't have it. After 3 hours of hearing the band we decided it was way past our bedtimes since we are all grandmas and get up super early.

Drew and Ellie

Oh and Thursday I cranked out a 12 page paper that is due tomorrow, so I wouldn't have to do it this weekend when the parents were in town... don't worry I almost pulled an allnighter, but it got done and I am now an expert on HLHS also known as Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome... let's just hope that you never have to know what that is.

This past weekend mom and dad came to Austin. It was so much fun having them here and I loved it, but I am absolutely exhausted... tonight will be an early night for me. I met them at the airport Friday afternoon and we hit the ground running, first we made a trip to my apartment so mom and dad could unpack and get settled a little bit. After that I drove them around the city and showed dad UT since this was his first "official" trip to Austin. We ended up on South Congress Street and spent the rest of the night walking down the lively street and shopping and of course ended with a great dinner at a seafood restaurant called Perla's. Exciting news... the famous boots store called Allens is on South Congress and we made a trip there AND I got a pair of genuine Lucchese cowboy boots. I guess I am officially a Texan... I am obsessed!

In front of Allens with boots in hand

Saturday we slept in and then headed for a walk at Town Lake, one of my favorite places in Austin. It was fun to have some company on the trail, since its almost always me and my iPod. After walking, we came back showered, ate lunch and then mom and I headed to do some shopping. We invited dad, but of course he was more than content with ESPN and all the college football games on TV. Mom and I hit up the Domain, Nordstrom and another area which was new to me called the arboretum. Well, the minute we pull into the shopping center I see something that says Newks, well I had to look twice and then I realized it really was Newks, like my favorite restaurant in Oxford and I freaked out! I swear I googled Newks when I moved here and I was certain, since it is primarily in the South East and Mississippi, that there would not be one here. I have been craving it so much and been counting down the days until I return to Oxford next weekend so I can make a visit to Newks. Although, we did not eat there, mom and I made a drink stop there and made sure it was the same thing and oh it is... so don't worry even though it is 30 minutes away from me I will be making a trip up there when I get desperate. I feel even more at home now! Ha! After spending the whole day shopping, we came back home and got dad and then headed downtown to dinner at another fabulous restaurant known as Eddie V's. We had a fabulous meal and then walked around downtown for a little while and ended up wandering through the Driskill, a famous hotel in the city. Well mom decided it would be a great idea to take a carriage ride around Congress and the Capitol so we did. It ended up being fun and really informative... who know that the Texas Capitol is 7 feet taller than the Nation's Capitol in DC... like they say, "Everythings bigger in Texas!"

I found these at Town Lake

Mom and I before dinner

Me and Dad on the carriage ride

The Capitol at night

Today we woke up and headed to the Stone for 11:15 church. I usually go to church at night so it was nice to go in the morning and change it up. As usual it was great and we heard a great message on Genesis 18. I am so glad I got to take mom and dad there and let them experience it. I think they too liked it a lot. After church I took them to another Austin landmark, Kerbey Lane Cafe and we had yet another great meal. Sadly after I had to take them to the airport, and as sad as I was to see them go, I was ok knowing that I would see mom in 2 weeks in New York and dad in a little over 3 for Thanksgiving. And I am also getting super excited about returning to my home away from home, Oxford on Friday! Yes, I know we are playing Auburn this weekend, but I don't care I am so excited about being back in my favorite place! Let's hope this week doesn't creep by! That's all for now!

-Mo