Happy 4th of July!!!

Happy 4th of July everyone. I had such a great weekend I feel compelled to share.

John Leahy had the brilliant idea of renting out a party barge for 50 of his closest friends. It was AWESOME. There were lots of noodles and the water was perfect.

The boys brought a TON of beer and a cooler full of margaritas. I shotgunned a beer for the very 1st time ever at like 9:30 in the morning. It was terrible. Why do people do that?

We drove out about 20 minutes to an "island" and docked. Then the mayhem began.

I think the best part was the 2 story slide. We spent most of the time creating fun ways of going down the slide.

First I did the standard just go down by myself- while taking care to hold on to my top. Then we started going down 2 at a time. Two of the guys tried stacking- horizontally...it was awkward... the boat staffer guy told them not to do that...awkward.

Javi and Jaimie were great sliding partners. Jaimie even saved my sunglasses from certain drowning. She's like a super-hero!

I was supposed to go down with John too, but he preferred to watch Jaimie and I go down together. Can you blame him?

I also tried jumping off the siding on the 2nd story. It was a long way down, but so much fun. My top had a much harder time with that jump, but luckily I was fully submerged and able to adjust things before resurfacing.

It was such a blast- I can't wait to do it again!

After swimming, we needed to refuel, so we dropped by the Oasis which happens to be one of my favorite Austin places. The view is amazing! We then stuffed ourselves into a coma (at least I did with about a pound of chips and salsa and some yummy fajitas!) and drove back to Austin.

I think most of us napped for a bit and then we went to see the fireworks at Auditorium Shores. It was like 107 degrees when Javi and I got there at 7:30pm. We staked out a good spot. There was some crazy lady that sat in front of us who was yelling at her son-in-law(maybe?) because she was beating him at Sorry. It was funny.

The Austin Symphony Orchestra played while the beautiful fireworks were going off. The show lasted almost 30 minutes with an incredible finale. Oh how I love Austin.

We finished the day off with a little Kerby Lane. I had a massive brownie. It was deliciousness.

On a more serious note... as the granddaughter of a Marine, the fourth of July always causes me to stop and think about those who have fought or are fighting for our country and our freedom. I know people don't always agree with the wars that the U.S. ends up fighting, but the soldiers have to follow orders. I am so thankful for my grandfather. He earned a purple heart while fighting in the Vietnam war and I am so proud that I am part of his lineage. His courage and selflessness has made our country safer. Despite all the politics, I can truly say that I am proud to be an American.

Was that a sappy enough ending for everyone? Hope you had a wonderful fourth!

My Picture, My Thoughts

I forget all the time that Austin is the capital of Texas. Not that I don't know it, but when I think of Austin I think of UT or of keeping it weird with a bunch of hippies. I have walked to Javi's work downtown from my work a couple times and I walk through the Capitol grounds. It's nice to see the history of Austin and interesting to remember that Austin is the capital of a really conservative state.

HMD: Alamo Drafthouse

For those of you who live in Austin, you know that the Alamo is awesome. You can just go to see a movie or you can go to one of their amazing events (Master Pancake Theater, Sing-a-longs, Quote-a-longs, football games, presidential debates, etc). The food is yummy and I always have a blast. Two of the most fun things I went to were the Christmas Carol sing-a-long and the Lord of the Rings Master Pancake.
Javi and I went on a date to the Christmas Carol sing-a-long a couple years ago. It was hilarious. They had some pretty ridiculous music videos. Javi and I really enjoyed this one:

At the very end, they dropped a bunch of confetti. Javi was pretty excited about that.

After the show, we all went caroling to a few bars on 6th. It was so much fun. It was also cold, so Javi gave me his coat. Such a gentleman.

For Chris' 23rd birthday we went to the Lord of the Rings Master Pancake. It was incredible. They had to edit out like half of the movie for timing reasons, but we were cracking up the whole time. They kept making Twilight/Harry Potter/Princess Bride references which made it that much better. I can't remember what the phrase was, but every time there was a close-up of the ring, everyone had to yell and take a drink. Drinking games are always good!
They always do an intermission show/skit thing. The one for LOTR was out of control.

Gandalf the Grey talks with Frodo and Samwise...


...but then Saruman shows up. Gandalf uses his powerful beer can staff to shoot a firebolt at the white wizard.


Saruman counters with a turtle shell.


The turtle shell successfully trips up Gandalf revealing his purple briefs.

The whole scene was a little traumatizing for all who witnessed, but the show must go on!

I just love the Alamo Drafthouse. The atmosphere, people, food, beer, shows, EVERYTHING is awesome. If you've never been- GO and if you've only gone to see movies, you need to go to one of their special events.