Visitor #2

This past weekend my mom, dad, and little (although she is not so little anymore) sister came to visit. It was a wonderful FAST 3 days, but it was worth it. They saw our new house, saw our puppy that is in the overgrown toddler stage, and took them to some new sites here in San Antonio.

Thursday, when they flew in, we wasted no time in heading straight for some good ol' BBQ. Remember that place I told you about a while back? Texas Pride? Well this is a new place, WAY closer, and just as good. It's called Rudy's. Have you heard of it? They have the best cream style corn, they sell their own BBQ sauce (in different sizes) and they even had Peach Cobbler for my dad! Best (or worst?) of all? It's located right at the entrance of our subdivision...so what do you think? Good or bad? ;)

Friday while Kyle was at work we went dress shopping while dad was in heaven at Bass Pro. We met up later and went home, and mom and I took a nice long walk with Tucker while Ashley soaked up the sun. (Yes, it is that warm here right now!) We grilled and had margaritas. YUM. We also played Farkle. Ever heard of it? It's a dice game I got for Christmas from my friend, Ann, and it's SO much fun. Check it out!

Saturday we went to the San Antonio Rodeo. We walked the grounds, the coliseum, saw different vedors, sampled different Texas foods, and had a great time. We also saw Bull Riding that night (as MN was getting dumped with snow!) and mom and dad even got to dance at the dancehall. Sunday the boys checked out Cabelas as the girls had a VERY productive shopping day. I can't remember the last time I had a shopping day like that!

Overall the weekend was a blast, but as always, it went way too fast. Until next time!

Wicked

Last week I had the amazing opportunity to go see the musical Wicked. It was awesome. I highly suggest to anyone that has not seen it to try their best to go. I had amazing seats, and went with a girlfriend, and it made for a fun night out. It helps that the theater that houses the plays here in San Antonio is the oldest and most grand theater in town; The Majestic. It is breathtaking in itself.

The entire play was awesome, and I especially loved the fact that they told the story before, during, and after Dorothy (from the Wizard of Oz). Again, I highly recommend you see it, I don't wan to give anything away!

My favorite part of the play...the one where I got the most goosebumps (I got them numerous times) was during the song "Defying Gravity," right before intermission takes place. The lights, the show, the voice of the actress...everything. Amazing. LOVED. IT.

Puppy Face

You've heard the expression, right? "Oh what a puppy face," or "Look at those puppy eyes!" Well, last night I captured a photo that has all those lines in it. It is the one picture I have gotten of Tucker where I just stop everything and stare. Maybe it's because he is our puppy, I'm not sure.

But just take a look at this photo and TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE PUPPY EYES!

See what I mean?!

San Antonio Rodeo

On Saturday Kyle's work purchased a suite to take out some clients and show some appreciation to families of co-workers, so Kyle and I headed to the AT&T Center. To a suite. To watch a rodeo. It was furnished with leather seats, sandwhiches, snacks, beer, and wine. Then someone ordered a pitcher of margaritas. Let's just say I was SPOILED and not sure how I will ever go back to the plastic blue seats again...

Anyway. I thought we were going to see Easton Corbin, but, there were rodeo events BEFORE the concert! I was pleasently surprised! We saw bareback bronco's, saddle broncos, kids riding sheep, roping, team ropin, and of course, bull riding...all before Easton Corbin took the stage.

Here is the suite we were able to hang out in:

Some of the rodeo events:

And of course, the man of the hour, Easton Corbin! I nicknamed him a "young George Strait." He sounds like him and some of his lyrics remind me of his, too. It helped that he sounded amazing life as well :)

It was another great "Texas" experience, and glad the rodeo comes back every year for a month. I could really get used to this ;)

First Visitor

The Bruns' Hotel is officialy open, and we had our first visitor the past weekend. My very dear friend, Sarah Mathiowetz, came down for a long weekend to escape the cold and snow (although she did get to experience a Texas snow day!). We had a blast and I was so happy she was able to come down for a visit.

Friday we treated ourselves to pedicures and manicures. There is something that is so relaxing about getting your hands and feet massaged! Saturday we headed out on the town to see the sites. We went to the Alamo, took a river boat tour, and experiences the night life on the River Walk.

We went to the Coyote Ugly Bar and was fortunate enough to see them perform the "Devil Went Down to Georgia." If you have ever seen the movie "Coyote Ugly" you know why that is exciting!

After downtown, we saw the Japanese Tea Gardens, and I love that even though its winter, they have foilage that is "winter proof." Plants were still green and there were still flowers planted.

On Sunday we were blessed with a beautiful day so we played lawn games (Sarah was in capris and a tank-top!) before the Super Bowl game. We hosted a party, so Sarah met alot of our friends down here, and we all had a great time!

Thanks for coming down, Sarah! Had a blast...and now I can't wait for the next one!

Snow Day

On Thursday night, light rain fell, and froze. That was followed by a light dusting on snow.

Yup, that's right. I am still stuck with snow, even in South Texas! It turned out a little different than up north, though. Less than a 1/4 of an inch fell, and the city shut down. Literally. There were over 300 accidents reported by Friday AM. There were semi trucks, pick-ups, and cars left abandoned in the middle of the Interstate. Kyle's work had a 'snow day,' as did mine.

Credit cards were being used as ice scrapers. Laundry baskets and boogie boards were being used to go sledding. I saw pictures of people making 'snow men' that totalled about 12 inches in height. Crazy, right? I know it's hard for all the people up North to picture, but here are some visuals:

(I do need to clarify, there was a layer of ice under the dusting of snow, so that was a major part)

Here is what my yard looked like. See that white stuff in the grass? That is the snow. All of it was gone by 11 AM.

And (in my opinion) the best of all...the family that was trying to sled down the golf course hill in our backyard with boogie boards. I think the dad was more into it than the kids were!

Never thought I would say that I had a 'snow day' here in San Antonio; but never say never, right?!

Kyle vs. Tucker

They have a new game to play. Its called "Tucker chases Kyle." Kyle gets him all excited and then runs around the house. Tucker gets annoyed because he can't get traction on the tile floor, and he can't catch Kyle. So what does he do? Barks. It's not an 'attack bark,' more of a 'slow down I can't catch you' bark.

Take a look:
(don't mind the messy house...remember we just moved!)

SA Rodeo BBQ Cookoff

Every year San Antonio hosts a month-long rodeo. You read right, a month-long rodeo. Every day there are activities, events, concerts, amazing food (that is horrible for your diet) and every year they host of BBQ Cookoff competition for anyone who wants to enter. Last year we attended; not knowing many people, things, or Texas traditions as we had only been down here for 3 weeks. This year, however, we had experienced it before, knew what to expect, and I was eagerly anticipating the arrival!

Last Saturday, Kyle's work hosted a team called "Performance Cooking." Unfortunely, they did not place in the BBQ, but it was still delicious. This was their set-up:

They had thier scafolding guys come and set up the booth, and of course, had to sport the TX flag. They had seating, the game of washers (a standard in TX) and of course, a tent complete with a full bar and stage for a band.

See the neon yellow shirts? That would be our team. Can you tell men arranged this all? ;)

Anyway, along with the BBQ, there is the "Cowboy Olympics" that teams can register for and play. They have races and silly games that is all -too fun to watch grown men do. Of course, Performance Cookers had a team! Here are a couple events they did:

We had a chance to walk around to see all the set-ups as well, and it is always amazing to me to see all the different grills and booths set up. Some are very, very creative, and some or just...Texan.

Here are a few: Top Left: This was a guy that did a lot of work with PCI, and had turned an old John Deere tractor into a grill pit! Top Right: Texas Pride, anyone? Bottom Left: This one was very 'rustic' and you can see a kid playing washers in the front! Bottom Right: This was a BIG pit. For some people, this is more than a hobby. It's a passion. Can you tell?!

Even though Kyle was still a little under the weather, he went and socialized with customers and we all had a good time. Can't wait for next year!