Visitors

Lynette - a good friend from the D.C. area came out to visit us this weekend. Our friend (and hers) Beth is also here, but she is staying with friends across town. We have had a great time showing Lynette around the sity. So far, she's a big fan! We went to Austin today and saw the Bluebonnets (beautiful purplish flowers that are famous in TX). We also went to the famous "6th Street" where all the bars, clubs, lounges and restaurants are. Austin is probably the city in TX that most resembles an Eastern city. We also sat University of Texas at Austin. This was a beautiful campus. Another notable landmark was the state capitol building which was modelled after the Capitol in D.C., except the one in Austin is reportedly larger! We ended the night at Mi Tierra, one of the best Mexican places in San Antonio. Here's a picture of us in the dining room of the restaurant. We will catch up with Beth tomorrow night and post those pictures ASAP.

Did Someone Request More Pictures of Meghan and Me?

St Patrick's Day

Here are a few pics from St. Patty's Day. there was a parade in the city and we took a few pics of some of the events. There is this small amphitheatre on the Riverwalk where they had loads of performances. This one is a traditional Scottish dance company.

Clancy

So Clancy went to the vet today to get out her stitches from her operation that she had 11 days ago. Now she is officially spayed and will never reproduce. :( It's too bad we're not into breeding because she's smart as heck and has a great temperament.

The big news is that she weighs 34 pounds as of today. That means she gained 5 pounds since her operation and grew 4 inches in length! The vet says that in a month he thinks she'll weigh 50 pounds! Woah! We've got a monster on our hands! Meghan and I can't believe how fast she's growing. It's amazing. She is also such a good girl. She is really progressing with potty training. We now can sleep up to 8 hours before letting her out and she does not have accidents. During the day when she's awake, it seems to be a little harder for her - which seems to make some sort of sense.

We will post more pics soon!

This weekend is St. Patty's Day. Initially we invited all the residents and their significant others to our house for a little party, but we've only heard from 2 couples. So we'll see if we decide to actually have people over or go out instead.

Play Dates

We have discovered since having Clancy that the best way to get her to sleep well (and consequently us) is to have play dates with our friends' little puppy, Dakota. She is actually the same age as Clancy although Clancy is already twice her weight. Dakota will probably not grow to be much bigger, as she is a Dachshund mix. they like to play for hours straight until they are unable to play anymore. They literally collapse together. It's very cute.

San Francisco

Meghan and I went TDY (Temporary Duty Leave) to San Francisco 2 weeks ago. The Air Force paid for the trip (which is what distinguishes a TDY from leave). At the confrence we went to we met up with our prior bosses from VA - Sue and Al. Although it rained the entire time we were there, we caught a short period of fair weather to take these pictures. In the background you can see Alcatraz.

Meghan likes to think she can beat up Al, despite the fact that he is a former wrestler, a wrestling coach, and specializes in the physical management of aggresive developmentally disabled clients. That is not to say Meghan is developmentally disabled, though it's hard not to wonder when she tries to take on Al! The other picture is Meghan and I in front of a candy store.

More Rodeo pics!!!!!

One of our fellow residents has two kids. This is his son Jaxon. I don't remember if he had ever been to the rodeo before, but he was certainly dressed for the occassion. He is about 5 years old and he was so excited. As you can see, we didn't exactly have VIP seats. Yeah, actually we gave our front row seats away to a group of elderly women from the local Lion's Club. We then opted for the more modest nosebleed seats. Hey, someone's got to sacrifice their VIP seats... There were also all sorts of processionals to show off the animals. Here's a picture of one formation.

We actually assumed it was simply rumor and folklore...

But we have living proof that THEY ACTUALLY EXIST! This is no hoax - you must believe us. Call Ripley's Believe It Or Not ahorrito! We camped out all night prior to the rodeo day to be sure we'd see some. We'd heard others' warn us "Be cautious," they said. "They may look friendly, but they'll turn on you in a minute." "If you're not careful," they said, "they'll spit chewing tobacco at you to stun you, lasso you to contain you, and then hog-tie you to the ground!" Meghan and I were very intimidated, yet curious about these mythical creatures. Then, all of a sudden, Meghan suspected she spotted one. This is the kind of thing you only dream of as a Tri-State native. We exited our car with the stealthy prowess of mountain lions. Ducking and weaving between automobiles, we crept quietly and deftly in search of these wonderous creatures. And as we rounded the corner of an F-150 pickup truck (apparently a vehicle these beings often choose as a means of transportation) we spotted an entire family of them! It was the most exciting thing we've seen in TX so far. I had to brace Meghan and cover her mouth, because she was bubbling with amazment and excitement. I couldn't let one of them detect us, lest they turn around and pursue us. We watched for about 1 minute, both of us: jaws open wide peering from behind the F-150. The Discovery Channel had nothing on us for that entire minute. We looked on as they slowly marched out of sight before looking at each other and saying simultaneously, "Do you believe that?" We actually saw real live cowboys!

RODEO PICTURES

We learned a few things from our trip to the rodeo. Apparently there are many events, not just bull riding. They ride horses, bulls, and wrestle baby steers to the ground. For the 5-6 year old kids they ride sheep. This was maybe the funniest part about the rodeo. The put these litle kids in helmets and then lay them on top of a sheep, tell them to hold on, and then they let the sheep loose. It was hilarious to see a sheep with a little kid clinging to the rear of the sheep with all his might! Sometimes the child could maintain a grip with his hands, but his body would dangle alongside of the sheep, as he got dragged across the arena. It was very funny.