Category: Friends

Posted on by John

After we went to Baby Signs class on Monday night, we headed to Josh and Elise’s for some smoke Alaskan King Crab and Chicken Salad.

And, boy, was it good!

When we got to their house, Jack played with Riley, their cat, and tried to steal a kiss from him… Jack liked Riley, because he’s let him get close enough to pet him (Patton runs away pretty quickly when Jack is in the vicinity).

On to the crab and salad:

The King Crab was left over from a catering that Elise did this past weekend. And it was huge. Really huge. Here’s a photo of one crab leg on a plate. Here’s Josh holding one. Here’s a photo of the bag of crab legs… there were so many. I think Josh and I ate 8 or 9 crab legs together, and there were still 8 or 9 left. And man, were they good. Chef Happy (he cooked them) did a great job.

For the girls (pregnant Elise and sensitive stomach Christine can’t eat a lot of shellfish), Josh make grilled chicken salads with his special “poblano, cilantro & avocado” salad dressing, cheese, and pomegranate seeds. The salads were pretty damn good too… actually, I didn’t try the salad, but I did taste the salad dressing and it was amazng and Christine cleared her plate… and I helped pick the pomegranate seeds out of the fruit for him, and they were really good.

Our plates were full of crab shells when it was all said and done.

After dinner, Christine and I decided to stay over with Josh and Elise, instead of waking Jack up for the drive home, so…

Josh and I retired to the deck, with his laptop and some refreshments. Christine and Elise stayed inside talking.

We took some fun photos outside: Headshot without a head, Ahhhh!, That’s gonna hurt tomorrow, Annie’s “not sure about this” pose, Surreal Josh and real Jack, Really gonna hurt tomorrow, Fuzzy girls.

After we drained a good 3/4 or 4/5 of that bottle, we turned in for the night. 5:30 a.m. (when Jack woke up on Tuesday) came real early.

Average Rating: 4.4 out of 5 based on 298 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

This past weekend can be summed up in one moment. On Sunday afternoon, Christine and I drove into our driveway after a great night out and saw Aunt Peggy and Jack sitting in the front yard on a blanket playing.

That moment made this weekend perfect.

Jack looked so happy sitting there with a few toys and a smile on his face, in Aunt Peggy’s lap. As soon as we stepped out of the car he waved at us and then acted shy and leaned into Peggy’s chest… then he realized who we were and acted excited to see us…

Jack had a good weekend.

Backtracking to Friday: Christine and Jack pulled into the driveway, after their treck to Bellville this past weekend, with Aunt Peggy in tow (she pulled up right behind them) around 6:00. I was in the middle of cooking dinner for them. As soon as they got settled in the house, we all sat down and ate. Then I bathed Jack and we all put him to bed. Peggy, Christine and I stayed up watching Ghost Whisperer and looking at photos from the Fair.

On Saturday morning, Christine woke me up at 6:00 a.m. to get up with Jack, so I got up, made myself some coffee and a bottle of for Jack, and played with Jack. I tried to feed him breakfast around 7:15, because I thought he was getting sleepy… he wasn’t hungry… and then I tried to put him down… he wasn’t sleepy either. His protestrations woke Christine up, so she joined us, and we three played in his room until Peggy got up. Then we all ate breakfast together before Jack took a nap.

I then did some yardwork in the backyard (we have a bunch of limbs that needed collecting and chopping up) and mowed the front yard (didn’t have the time or energy to mow the backyard) while Peggy took care of Jack and Christine went grocery shopping.

Christine and I were invited to Brian DeRosa and Erin Bayer’s wedding, which was a 2:00 p.m. in downtown Austin. We got ready, and headed downtown while Peggy watched Jack for us. We walked into the church with seconds to spare… the entire church saw us arrive, just before the bride’s maids entered the chapel.

The ceremony was gorgeous, as were the people in it, and Christine and I feel really special for being invited to share in their special day. Erin and Brian are those kinds of friends that we wish we hung out with more often, just because they’re so much fun to be around, and because they always make you feel like you’re special to them.

After the ceremony, we chatted with a few friends before heading home for a break. The reception was at the Austin Club downtown, but didn’t start until 5:00. So while I took a nap, Christine and Peggy chatted, and we packed a bag for the night, in case we felt like heading out to Debbie and Raymond’s lakehouse for the evening after the reception.

The reception was amazing. There was a seating chart, and Christine and I were amazed to find that we’d been set next to the bride and groom at one of the front tables. We enjoyed sitting with Adam and Erin Taylor, Erin’s mom, Phillip, Tracy Wood, Troop, Asi and Phillip. Erin, Erin, Tracy, Troop, Asi, and Phillip all used to work together at the Iron Cactus back in the day, and they’re quite the clique (not in a bad way, by any means), and we felt like they were including us in the group… that was fun.

We partied all evening… it was a lot of fun, and the food… Oh my gosh, the food was amazing. We ate filet mignon and halibut. And it was amazing. If you ever have the opportunity to plan a wedding in Austin, use the Austin Club, if you can… they did an amazing job.

Brian and Erin rode off in horse-drawn buggy, and really looked like they’d had a good time.

[More photos from the wedding here]

Also, the wedding was just perfect from a “feeling” perspective. Honestly, it’s the first wedding we’ve been to in a long time where there wasn’t any tension at all between any of the groups represented. I think that says a lot about Erin and Brian. I think the last wedding we went to that was like that was Josh and Elise’s (though I may be over looking a few… it’s been a long time since Josh and Elise got married).

At the end of the reception, Christine and I decided to call it a night (the rest of the group was heading to the Omni hotel to party it up some more). We did that two weekends ago after Brad and Kim’s wedding, and we decided we just weren’t up for it this time … nothing like having a killer hang-over and trying to take care of a 10 month old to cure you of your drinking problem! (not that either of us has a drinking problem, but if we did, we’d be cured).

So we headed out to the lakehouse, got there around 11:30 p.m. and got into bed to watch a movie (Debbie and Raymond happen to also run the Lakeway Blockbuster movie rental place out of their bedroom). We started a movie on the big screen, and turned it off 10 minutes later. We were both exhausted.

We slept in until noon, got up, showered, bathed, brushed our teeth and headed for Austin.

Which brings us back to driving into our driveway to see Peggy and Jack playing in the yard, and eating really big acorns.

[More photos from the front yard]

What a great weekend… Thank you Aunt Peggy for joining us, and for taking care of Jack all weekend!

Average Rating: 4.9 out of 5 based on 195 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

On Wednesday night of this past week, Christine and Jack drove to Bellville for the Austin County Fair.

Oh my gosh, did they have fun.

They stayed with Grandma, and got to spend a lot of time playing with Ella and Aunt Shadel.

On Thursday morning, they all got up, and headed to down the road to the Austin County Fair Parade. They found their spot on the side of Highway 159 near Mrs. Payton, Jennifer, and their bunch of kids, and settled in to watch the parade. They were also sitting next to Mrs. Hueni and Brian was there (Haven’t seen them in forever and I’m sorry I missed them).

The parade started, and soon, there were firetrucks and ambulances from all of the towns in the county driving through town, making all sorts of racket. There were a few bands, and the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts paraded through town. The fair queen candidates rode in on a trailer, as did all mannner of cheerleaders and mascots.

The kiddos were getting tired towards the end of the parade and ended up falling asleep in their strollers.

On Thursday evening, the family got dressed up and headed to the fairgrounds. The saw the opening of the rodeo, and met some goats, and pigs, and cows, and other animals, before heading over to the carousel for some fun. (The animals scared Ella just a little).

Christine finally got to meet Dixie Haverlah, who babysits Ella for Aunt Shadel and Uncle Evan. They all had lots of fun on the carousel.

Jack got to taste ice-cream at the fair for the first time ever… bad mommy… she gave in to temptation…

Ella and Jack got some whirly light toys and had lots of fun playing with them, before eventually heading home. On the way out of the fair, Christine plopped Jack on a tractor. Jack was totally in command of his element.

Now that you’ve looked at all of those photos, here’s a quick video from the Fair photos and videos that Christine shot:

See all of the photos from the Fair in this gallery.

On Friday, they all headed towards the pumpkin patch in Sealy to take photos with all of the pumpkins. Evan told them that there were plenty of pumpkins out, but the Great Pumpkin must have liberated them all, because when Peggy met the girls and kids there, there weren’t but two pumpkins left…

So they took lots of photos with the two pumpkins that were there, and then Aunt Peggy and Christine drove back to Austin.

Sounds like they all had lots of fun at the Fair this year… I’m gonna have to make sure I go next year.

Average Rating: 4.8 out of 5 based on 264 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

Mr. and Mrs. Josh Janicek sent out this Press Release tonight:

Christine and I couldn’t be happier for them. We’ve known for a little while now that they were expecting, and we’re really glad we can finally talk about it. But, we want you to go to their website to read about their news yourself:

Go to: http://www.janicek.com/

Average Rating: 4.4 out of 5 based on 168 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

I think I remember someone telling me that fall started last week.

Since when is it acceptable for it to be 101°F after 8 p.m. in the fall?

friggin' hot

Yes, Josh, it’s friggin’ hot.

Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 based on 161 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

One of my old co-workers from my Bestfares.com days just had a good looking little boy: Jordan Hayhurst.

Jordan was born 4 weeks early, because his mom’s blood pressure was getting out of whack, so, they induced her this week, and the result is Jordan.

I’m really happy for Roy and Dondi. Congrats guys!

Average Rating: 4.7 out of 5 based on 260 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

My buddy Josh is hilarious. If you’re up for an early morning laugh, read his lastest post: I don’t know Jack about where I live. Too damned funny… thanks bud.

Average Rating: 4.9 out of 5 based on 220 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

I flew to Washington, D.C. last night, so that I could visit a new potential client that asked us to come see them on short notice.

So, last night I checked into the hotel around 10:00 p.m., and I checked my email.

I had an email from Mauricio Zuazua (who I’ve written about before). Mauricio had just returned from spending the summer in Brazil on a consulting gig, and was letting us know that he’d finally settled in D.C. with his long-time girlfriend Kristina.

So, I shot him back an email, and told him to call me, so we could get together for lunch today, if it worked out.

Turns out he doesn’t start work until next week, so he had time to come meet me.

Mauricio picked me up at the client’s office… we dropped my co-worker off at the airport (his flight was leaving earlier than mine) and we headed off to find somewhere to eat.

We enjoyed each other’s company for about an hour at a Japanese steak house that had a sushi buffet… mmmmm… sushi!

It was too cool to be in the same town as Mauricio even if only for a little while…

Anyways, we chatted about many things: life, liberty and the pursuit of Brazilian women happiness. We also promised to try and see each other at least every 3-6 months… and to stay in touch.

Traveling for work isn’t so bad, if you can mix some personal time into it.

Average Rating: 4.8 out of 5 based on 208 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

Here’s a few links to some of the more recent photo galleries I haven’t linked to yet:

Average Rating: 4.8 out of 5 based on 266 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

Christine and I were going to uproot the family and move to southwest Austin. We were going to move out to suburbia.

We’re glad we didn’t.

If we had moved, we wouldn’t live next door to so many diverse people. Take for instance the couple that lives in the house next door. They got married last weekend at the anti-war demonstrations in Crawford, Texas last weekend:

WacoTrib: Dearly beloved: Austin couple gets married at Camp Casey II
MichaelMoore.com: Couple weds at anti-war campsite
MySA.com: Anti-war couple are wed at edge of Bush ranch

How many people do you know that would do that?

I know two 😉 and they’re my neighbors.

Congrats Peter and Genevieve.

Average Rating: 4.7 out of 5 based on 194 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

On Friday night, Christine, Jack and I headed to happy hour with the old Freese & Nichols crew. It was good to see everyone again. We learned that Tejashri is leaving FN to go work for Allen Plumber, a competing engineering firm. Good for her! We’re wishing her the best of luck.

Jack had a good time hanging out with all of our friends. He didn’t fuss a bit, and the place we went (the Brentwood Tavern) had a nice sand pit outside, right in front of the live (and loud) music for the evening. Very family friendly.

Christine and Cyndi decided they wanted to help celebrate Erin’s birthday at the happy hour too, so Christine and I stoped by Cold Stone Creamery and picked up a delicious chocolate ice-cream cake on the way there. Mmmmmm… it was good! [photos here]

After the happy hour, we drove home, and got to bed quickly.

On Saturday, we went to Baby’s R Us (BRU) and bought Jack a new car-seat. He’d grown out of his little one, so we got him an Even-flo Deluxe thingamabobber type new one. Man, is that one cool car-seat. Heck, I’d like to have one just like it. Jack digs it too.

After BRU, we went to the mall so I could get my new contacts fitted. It took entirely too long for me to sit through multiple contact fitting sessions, and to leave with a headache and contacts that aren’t right. I’m heading back up there on Monday. Moral of the story: don’t go to a mall based eye doctor … especially not on a Saturday when the mall is pumping with people. Oh, but the Orange Julius’s we got were scrumpious (actually the place isn’t called Orange Julius, but that’s what I know those slushy stores at the mall as).

Then on Saturday night, Jack and I took some goofy pictures on the couch, before Jack too a bath. We then shot some fun photos of Jack in the tub, taking a bubble bath, and splashing in the water:

On Sunday morning, Jack and I got up at 6:00 in the morning. We played until about 7:30, and then we went for a walk around the block. After trying to eat breakfast, Jack went down for a nap around 8:50 (he’s usually only up for two hours in the morning, never three, so this morning was a long morning for a tired and weary dad!)

Christine got up around 10:00 and told me that we were going to church. So we raced around the house, showered and got dressed, then got Jack dressed before dashing to church. We left the house at 10:55 and got to church at 11:03 (or so). We sat in the main chapel until Rev. John started his sermon, then we went up into the cry room (Jack was starting to talk and hit the woman in front of us on the back during the beginning of the sermon – gotta teach that boy some manners someday). We ran into Murphy, Benjamin and Amanda in the cry room. Ben and Jack played together during the sermon and the closing hymns, and couldn’t have cared less… they were having lots of fun. We decided to head to Serrano’s for lunch together.

We saw Erin’s sister Kaulin and her husband and Dad on the way to Serrano’s… we don’t see them often enough.

I mowed the front yard in the evening, and tried to throw down some fertilizer, but the fertilizer I bought was a little too wet, so I set it in the garage and I’ll spread it out later this week after it drys a bit.

All in all, a nice relaxing weekend.

Average Rating: 4.9 out of 5 based on 163 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

Two weeks ago (man I’m way behind) a friend of mine from Portugal dropped into Austin to check it out:

On the left, is Olivier Travers, publisher of Scifan.com, DefenseIndustryDaily.com, and one of my original partners on MarketingVox.com, and his wife.

Olivier and I first met a good couple of years ago on the internet, and we respected each other’s work. We also shared a few mutual friends. Later, we founded MarketingVox.com (as MarketingFix.com). Then I moved to Austin, and became less involved. Olivier and the other guys carried on, and then we sold it to Andy Bourland (don’t worry, I didn’t get rich)… Anyways, over the past two years, I’ve told Olivier how much I loved Austin, and they planned a trip to the States to see Austin, and a few other cities (I think about 9 cities in 12 days was their plan.

About a week out, Olivier emailed me a note saying “I’ll be there next week.”

Then I thought “crap!”

I’d just booked tickets to Knoxville, TN, on the day that they were arriving in Austin. I felt horrible, because I knew they were coming, and I didn’t put it on my calendar, and I wasn’t going to be able to show them Austin…

So, after they flew in from Portugal on Wednesday morning, we met at Mueller’s BBQ over here on the east side, and enjoyed some good old fashioned Texas Barbeque. mmmmmm…. mmmm….

Then we came back to the house for a few moments, and took a picture before I headed off to the airport.

It was really good to finally meet Olivier in person, I just wish I would have taken those days off, and really showed them Austin.

At least we met, and if Christine and I can swing it, we’re going to try and visit them in Europe sometime in the next 12 months.

Average Rating: 4.4 out of 5 based on 277 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

Bob Beuerlein, our good friend from our Army days, has been at Fort Irwin, California, home to the National Training Center for the past month. He sent this Top Ten list:

Top Ten Reasons to Live at Fort Irwin

10. Lizards outnumber humans, and taste like chicken.
9. You dont need to mow the lawn. If your really anal retentive you can rake your pebbles.
8. When its 118°F outside by the time you hang your clothes out to dry they are already dry!
7. It rained today, for 30 seconds, then it was nice and humid just like home in Texas!
6. You can make kick ass sun tea in about 30 min.
5. The post pool is free.
4. The temporary barracks are not airconditioned. Nothing like sweating off a few extra pounds while you sleep!
3. Starbucks is only 100 miles away in Victorville.
2. Las Vegas is only 3.5 hours away.

THE NUMBER ONE REASON to live at Fort Irwin, California is…

1. Any reason to leave town is a good reason!

Here’s a few photos that he sent along as well:

Pretty bleak huh?

Get home soon Bob!

(When he gets home, we’re going to have dinner with him, his daughter Sophie Kate, and his mother one night in Austin).

Average Rating: 5 out of 5 based on 278 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

On Sunday, the house woke up, and Phill went to Los Altos to buy breakfast tacos… which were much better than Mi Madre’s tacos… will definitely have to buy our there from now on (they’re much cheaper too).

After hanging out in the house for the better part of the morning, we all (James and Janice, Chase, Phill, Melissa, Steve and Abigail, Christine, Jack and I) all got ready and left Austin for the wedding in New Braunsfels at 3:00. The wedding started at 4:00, so we figured an hour was plenty of time to get there.

We were wrong.

Two things contributed to our long trip to the church:

1. It was raining.
2. The construction all the way from Austin to the church really made traffic suck bad.

Long story short, even with driving on the shoulder, trying to cut through town, and cutting it close with a couple of lights, we arrived at the wedding right as the church let out. Crap!

Chase flew down from New York and Phill flew down from Pennsylvania and I couldn’t get them to the wedding on time. Blimey!

We followed the pack from the church to the reception at Saengerhalle, and packed into the hall for a party. And boy, were we treated to one.

Saengerhalle is probably one of the coolest dancehalls in Texas. It’s rich in history and speaks Texas Country to you as you walk in the doors… if those walls could only talk…

Anyways, back to the wedding:

Before the bride and groom arrived, we all got to meet up with old friends, and family. My ol’ lady, Chip, and his wife and daughter were at the reception, and it was really, really good to see them, and to finally meet Carly Rae. She was just adorable. All of my other buddies from the band were there too, except for Rodney Kelley and Chris Morgan. Rodney is in Iraq with the Marines, and Chris is in Special Forces pilot training with the Army, learning to fly Chinooks. We really missed seeing them.

Michael Medford, Dub’s ol’ lady when Dub was on Band staff, was also there, and Greg Holland drove up from Houston. Good to see them both as well.

Stanley and Emmy Jo Miller (Dub’s parents) looked fantastic, and are now living in Pontotoc full time, ranching in their retirement (heh, ranchers don’t retire Stanley informed me). Kelly Jo and her husband were at the wedding too… Kelly Jo looked fantastic as expected, and her beau was really nice… she done good, as the saying goes.

Marci and Dub arrived to a standing ovation, the hall was packed with people… lots of friends and family, and lots of musicians to boot… They made the rounds a few times, and when they finally danced their first dance, it was a picture perfect moment:

Christine, Jack and I left a little early, as the wedding was on a Sunday, and Jack had a little fever (turns out he has a mild ear infection)… so we drove home in the rain, after a full day, and a full weekend.

Right before we left, Dub broke away during the bride/father dance, so we could snap a few “buddy photos”:

We both wish we could have stayed longer, but we had a good time, and we are really happy for Dub and Marci.

All of our photos from the wedding day are here.

Average Rating: 4.8 out of 5 based on 199 user reviews.

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Posted on by John

On Friday night (ok, I guess it was technically Sunday morning) Chase Brown flew in from Rochester, New York. I picked him up at the airport. Funnily, I also ran into Jason and Leah Eggenburger (two of our fish from A&M) while waiting for Chase at the airport.

James Rodriguez and his girlfriend Janice drove up from Houston, and got here about the same time Chase did.

We rendezvoused at the house, I let them in, we drank a beer on the back porch, and we went to bed.

We were all planning to hit the Guadalupe river on Saturday, but the weather was horrible… it’d been raining for 3 days, and when we woke up on Saturday, it was pouring. Dub called me around 8:15 and said the river trip was off, so we should just meet him at the River Road Ice House.

Saturday morning, we had breakfast tacos from Mi Madres, then Rudy Gaytan and Will Ketchen showed up, and we all hung out, catching up with each other, meeting Jack, and having a good time. Then we headed to New Braunsfels to meet up with Dub and his Fiancee, Marci.

Phill Becker beat us to New Braunsfels (he was coming from State College, PA, by way of San Antonio). We got to New Braunsfels around 1:45 or so, and met up with Jen and Mack Avery in the parking lot before heading into the RRIH. Scott Wideman showed up not long after us. Last to arrive was Mike Elmquist and his wife Carol.

Around 3:00, Dub decided it was safe to float the river, so we hit it, and boy did we. I haven’t hit the river like that since our old trips to the Guadalupe in college.

Let’s see. We lost about a case of beer on the river, I gashed my hand open really good. Dub tackled Phil and scraped up his back real good. Marci (Dub’s financee at the time) fell off the truck that took us back to the parking lot from the river (not good when you’re getting married the next day). Phill bruised his foot. James whined about being sore the next day… all in all, a good trip (and yes, someone almost got arrested, but I won’t say who here publicly).

After the river, Dub took care of his ailing fiancee, and the rest of us headed to the New Braunsfels Smokehouse to eat. And eat did we, and catch up with each other. Scott’s girlfriend Sarah met us there, and we tried to meet up with Chip and Cristy there, but it was 9:00pm and they’d taken their kiddo back to the hotel to sleep.

Steve Wiley, his wife and daughter – Melissa and Abigail, and Phill came back to our house in Austin after dinner, and we all tried to get to sleep without waking Jack. Steve, James and Phill stayed out on the front porch talking all night, while I went to bed.

On Sunday we got up to head to the wedding, which I’ll write more about in the next update.

More photos of Saturday here.

Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 based on 191 user reviews.

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