eat/relax/drink/shop/repeat.

Wonderful friends, wonderful trip.

Carefully selected photos from this year's girls get-away weekend.
Our first view of the dock behind our house.
We made a visit to Warrenton (see last post) on the way to Palacios Texas.
(Note: Palacios rhymes with molassas!)

First meal of really brown food: Fried pickles, shrimp, hush puppies.

Clear day looking toward the water.

View from my bed.

Stocking up on essentials.... peach cobbler.

Cute town square in some nearby town.

Custom partay glasses!

Testing the glasses.


The devil's snacks, including the fatty-buttocks size bag of peanut butter m&ms.

DVDs: 30 Rock, Mama Mia, Sex and the City

A mishap.
Adjusting to the idea of heading home with a last ditch meal at Threadgill's.

Warrenton Preview Weekend

Warrenton and Round Top Antique Weekends are my favorites. I don't even need to buy stuff... I just really like looking at the jumble of objects and taking pictures. This year, I seemed to get objects like dolls or photos of people looking at me in each of my shots.

I know this photo from my childhood, but it wasn't at my own home. It was either at a friend's house, a cousin's house or the doctor's office.

The last photo from my old camera... I got a fun new one after "the accident"

New York, New York!

This wasn't the first day's activity, but a nice photo to start off the report....
Joey at "Lady Liberty" as he calls the statue.

First Day in the city, Times Square





Lunching in Times Square


Blurry, but Joey's favorite memory from the trip

The American Museum of Natural History
Biological Diversity Exhibit

Joey indulges his love of weapons

Gum Gum Dum Dum



Times Square at Night


Tuesday's Walk

This is how we met New York, on foot, through lots of neighborhoods.
Our kids are troopers and walked miles
with very little complaining.


Tuesday's Lunch at a neighborhood Park
Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty


Wednesday, David and I went to the city by ourselves, so we could find some important landmarks....
and so I could fanatically be the first in line for the Daily Show taping!

Daily Show building... the sign over the door reads:
"Abandon News All Ye Who Enter Here"

Walking to the Train with Julie and Jim and David after the taping.





Emma's Required Reading in the 42nd St. Library Reading Room
(extra credit for this shot?)

St. Patrick's Cathedral..... the organist started playing while we were in there... very cool

If only Tina would have been walking out right then, I'm sure she would pick me to be a best friend!


Grand Central Terminal


Dylan's Candy Bar.... Candy for the kids, eye candy for Mom




after the candy....Central Park




Last day - Guggenheim!

Bonicles from the Toys R Us in Times Square...
(= Joey's Heaven)

Last Subway Home

Happy Birthday Dad!

Thanksgiving in New Mexico

Joey in Angel Fire

What a great Thanksgiving! We got to go play with our neighbors at their cabin in Angel Fire. Of course if we see any yard sales on the way there....

We drove through West Texas and saw cotton....

Once we got to Angel Fire the weather was perfect...

My neighbor and good friend Michele and I came early with the three boys, the daddies and daughters came out a couple of days later.


We met up with a third Bryker Woods family and took a group hike.

We'd like to think there were bears around....
Old New Mexico barn.

Things I should have posted....#1.

OK, so going back in time, before the election, before Halloween, before the heartbreaking UT loss to Tech in the final second of the game from hell.... there was a simpler time. A time when a mother could take her baby boy to a football game. A time when the mama could buy two tickets from Craig's List for a song, and a time when the next door neighbor loaned her phone, with camera!, because I forgot to grab mine on the way out of the house. Enjoy the documentation of a fun game.

My favorite memories were walking into the same gate at the same time as the Longhorn Band (Show Band of the Southwest!)

Joey getting to see the opening video and the band and players take the field thanks to a very lovely lady in the fantastic season ticket seats who picked him up and let him stand on her chair.

Finding out our seats were on the top row of the upper deck and Joey having to go to the bathroom once each quarter, down all the stairs, then back up. On our fourth trip back up, a lady on the aisle about 20 rows below us said, "I thought you left a while ago, oh my, you are a good mom!"

Getting Joey an overpriced hook 'em foam hand because he loved it.

Watching the team win. Enjoying the band and alumni band on the field at the same time.

But, most memorable was the black cricket plague. As night settled in, sitting under the huge flood lights, we became a landing pad for hundreds of the biggest blackest crickets. They crawled on our bodies, they got in Joey's cap. He thought they were cockroaches and screamed every time they got within sight. So, that was the only downside, and his fear of cockroaches/crickets persisted for several weeks.

Still thrilled

I am so excited about the future of our country.