From Houston to San Antone and Tulsa, too!

We've been enjoying the "winter" weather which is now officially spring weather while we are here in Texas.  There have been lots of sunny days with mild temperatures in the 70's: perfect walking weather.  I've been walking a little more and exploring some of the surrounding areas including a really nice residential area with gorgeous homes called River Oaks.  Mae Mo has been my walking buddy and she holds her own quite nicely.  We've done a few 5 and 6 mile walks and she is keeping pace with me until the end.  When it is a little warmer out, though, she tires a bit faster.



Mike had to carry Mae Mo for part of this walk and she actually fell asleep in his arms.



Mae Mo is very good at letting us know when she needs a break.  She completely stops mid-stride and lies down in the shade.

 

To celebrate Saint Patty's day this year, the roomies and Mike and I took a short trip to San Antonio.  We had a hotel located on the infamous downtown "Riverwalk" and enjoyed views of the dyed green river along with a boat float parade during the afternoon.  The Riverwalk area proved to have many enticing restaurants and we dined on some amazing Tex-Mex food that night.  Mike and I explored the Alamo the next day, too, which was in walking distance from our hotel.

Although it looks like we are posing in a boardroom, this was actually taken inside of our hotel room.



Tough guys with green beer.



Our beloved roomies :)



Posing outside our hotel room.



One of the floats along the green San Antonio river.



The Alamo

On our way out of San Antonio we stopped at the Friedrich Wilderness Park. This was such a cool park!  All of the animals roam free and you just drive your car along the path through the park to view all of them.  It was neat to see the animals interacting together or running in a herd.  Some of the animals would come right up to your car window!  The park gives you a bag of food you can feed to the animals.



Look at the horns on this guy!  He kept nudging some of the other animals with these when they got in his way.

 

I found the ostriches slightly terrifying.



The zebras were so gorgeous to see up close.



Not like the timid deer in Indiana!



I thought this animal looked like some sort of mythical creature from a movie.

I loved the texture on this guy's horns.  You could see where he would use his horns to rub against objects and all the texture has been worn off especially on the ends.



Tried to capture the Riverwalk area behind us but our picture was pretty low quality.

I've been in Tulsa this past week taking a little vacation from my vacation.  I've been staying with my brother, Aaron, and sister-in-law, Susanna.  I came to celebrate Susanna's birthday with her and to just catch up with the two of them.  It has been delightful :)

Celebrating Susanna's birthday with dinner out with her friends and mom.

 

 

Oyster shooters. Yuck. Yep, there's a nasty little oyster in there with cocktail sauce and vodka.  Barf.

Girls' day with just the two of us.

We are headed to meet Mike in Dallas this weekend!  I'm SO looking forward to seeing my hubby again and excited to explore Dallas, too.  Easter is this weekend and it will be fun to celebrate with family (in Dallas with Aaron and Susanna) and then with friends (in Houston with Jon and Sarah).  I wish you all a happy and blessed Easter!

 

Texas Happenings

Hello all!  It's been a busy few months here in Houston, Texas!  It's hard to believe our stay here is already over half-way finished.  Looks like we will be headed back to SoCal again in early May when I will come out of retirement and join the work force once again :)

 

In the meantime, let me update you on what we've been doing with our time.  Back in mid-February, Jon and Mike ran a FULL, yes, FULL marathon (26.2 miles) in hilly Austin, Texas.  I'm happy to report that there were no injuries and both men finished in good time.  While we were there we were able to meet up with one of my friends from high school  (Jenny Dolsen) and her boyfriend who live in the area.  Austin proved to be a great city with a nice mixture of outdoor natural areas incorporated with a great downtown full of shops, restaurants, bars, and nightlife.  We all really LOVED Austin and hope to visit again there soon. 

 

Jon and Mike posing in tutus at the expo the day before the marathon. 

 

The men watching sports and relaxing at the hotel before their big race the next day.

Running strong.

 

The supportive wives that we are made motivational signs for our men.

 

Yay, it's over!

 

Sarah and Jon after the race. Note the cool medal the boys received.

 

Enjoying the Austin nightlife with a friendly game of beer pong.

 

 

Jenny and me

One of Mike's co-workers was involved in the annual rodeo BBQ cookoff and gave all of us tickets to spend the evening eating and drinking at their tent for FREE!! The food was amazing and it was really fun walking around the grounds to see all of the competition's tents and smell the tantalizing scent of smoked BBQ everywhere.

 

 

 

 

This is one of the tents behind us at the BBQ cookoff.



Mmm...mmm...good.



Ribs!

 

Jon celebrated his 26th birthday with a visit to a really nice golf driving range called "Top Golf". The four of us took turns swinging the clubs and trying to hit designated targets.  Eventually Sarah and I left the boys to compete while we enjoyed the attached lounge/ bar in the sunshine.  We ended the day out with a few of Sarah's fellow classmates at a nearby pub.



Look at that form. (Sarah)



The birthday boy with his golf themed brownie cake made by Sarah and me.



The end of February and beginning of March brought out a few visitors.  Our friends, Alex and Michelle, came to visit from Chicago for a long weekend.  We enjoyed a little line dancing and 2-stepping, the rodeo, a Zac Brown concert, and some time relaxing in the sun while they were here.

Yee-haw! At the rodeo.

Trying to follow while doing the 2-step at a country western bar.

Alex and me

 

Walking around looking at all the vendors at the Rodeo.

Finally got to see a long horn up close!

Before the Zac Brown concert (Jon, Sarah, Michelle, Mike)

 

 

Enjoying the hot tub at Jon's parent's house.

 

Group shot at the stadium before the rodeo and Bradley Gilbert concert.

This weekend we are headed to San Antonio to enjoy a festive St. Patty's day at the infamous Riverwalk area.  Tulsa and Dallas are also in the works in the next few weeks.  We're looking forward to a little more traveling before our time here comes to a close.