Austin, TX - The State Capitol

Before I moved back to Utah I made it a point to get to Austin to visit the famous city and see my friend Laura. 

Josh and I planned an excursion to Austin for my final days there and for his 26th birthday. Our drive to Austin was pretty easy and we got to the city park on a Sunday afternoon. Everyone and their dogs (literally all the dogs in the city) were there. We checked out the pools and the park and then met up with  Laura and headed to trivia at a local co-op restaurant!

Hanging out at the park

The next morning we headed to Magnolia Cafe for breakfast. 

After Magnolia Cafe we walked up and down South Congress street checking out the sites. 

A famous Coffee shop on South Congres

We spent an hour or more in "Uncommon Objects" browsing all the uncommon objects!

On South Congress we went into Uncommon Objects and to a really cool costume shop. There were lots of cool vintage and boutique shops to browse.

The iconic 'Greetings from Austin' wall. 

After South Congress we headed to the State Capitol for a tour. The building was really cool and had all kinds of history that went with it.

I'm a child in interactive museums..

Waiting for our Capitol Tour

One of my favorite things about the Capitol building was the 8lb hinges made especially for the building.

In the afternoon we visited University of Texas and to end Josh's birthday we ate some Thai food.

The next day we tried to go swimming, but the pools were closed so we made our way to the Green Mesquite for some great bar-be-que. 

Delicious Texas bar-be-que and beer!

Add some sauce!

Thanks Laura for a great visit to Austin!

On the way back to Anna we stopped at these really cool caves that went miles underneath the interstate and I faced my fears. I think that Austin is about the only place in Texas worth visiting and would recommend it to anyone looking for a unique and creative place to visit. 

CCAC and Getting a Job Offer

After my interview with Clearfield City and a couple other places, I was going along with life, just doing my thing and working at Collin County Adventure Camp. I received a phone call, they left a message and it said to call them back. I tried calling for a couple days and finally I spoke to someone in HR. They offered me a job! I was finally offered my big girl job, after nearly 2 years of applications! Clearfield City was offering me a job to be a recreation programmer, starting asap. 

After hanging up with HR, I called my mom sobbing and then went and told Josh. I was in tears. It was the end of a long search. So, I put in my two weeks notice and started making arrangements to move back to Utah and start wrapping things up in Texas. 

Winter in Texas

Final days at camp - learning Texas History.

In two weeks my car was packed, my new apartment had been chosen and the drug test had been taken. I was ready to be out of Texas and back to Utah! 

College Station with Bill

I was browsing Facebook on Sunday afternoon and saw that my friend Bill was going to be in Texas. I called him and we made plans to meet up at his Alma Mater - Texas A&M. I drove down to College Station on Monday and met up with Bill and his JBS co-workers. They had a promotional/recruiting dinner and after that we went 'out on the town'. Basically we visited all the sweet college town bars and pubs! 

Bill is such a great friend! I loved seeing him in TX

Dill Pickle shots at the Tipsy Turtle! 

Shot bar

After our great night out in College Station we had to stop at Whataburger. A Texas Treasure. 

The next morning I visited the Chi Omega house and had a tour, saw Kyle Field and said audios to Bill and friends. Before I left, I got a call from Pat at Clearfield City saying that I needed to get in touch and send some information to complete an interview....

Dad's Visit to Texas

Playing Host

My Dad came to visit the weekend before Thanksgiving. I was excited to have a visitor and see some family. He got in late Friday night and Josh and I picked him up from the airport. Josh played a game called "is that Brian Hill". It was funny and passed the time.

The next morning my Dad got a taste of dining hall/southern food with biscuits and gravy. We made our way to Oklahoma. I had decided to try to go to Lake Texoma on the border of SUPRISE, Texas and Oklahoma. We walked around the lake for an hour or so talking and catching up. We had lunch, went and saw Skyfall then went grocery shopping. He took Josh and I out for an amazing steak dinner. It was the best food I'd had since I got here.

On Sunday we went to church and then I took him on a Polaris ride around camp along with curriculum lecture and all. I think he enjoyed seeing what I do. We even shot arrows (I kicked his butt ;). He stayed in the infirmary. It was really funny because the first night he was here he kept saying that 'this is the way every horror movie starts. You come to a camp, late at night and stay in a place with a lot of doors and few lights." Josh and I had a good laugh about it, he told me every morning that he'd made it out and that the werewolves didn't get him. On Sunday night we had lasagna dinner, watched 'Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter', ate Blue Bell Ice Cream and played dominoes and most importantly, we introduced him to 'adult Trouble'.

I got a note from his saying how much he enjoyed the visit, and so did I!

Camp - leaves were still changing while he was here

Archery. I am Katniss.

On the bridge by the lake

At Saltgrass Steakhouse for dinner

Lake Texoma

Wish 100 of North Texas

Wish 100

I rode the Wish 100 benefiting Make-A-Wish Foundation of North Texas this year. The day of the race came, my bike was tuned and I was ready. I got there bright and early. It was the coldest day of the year up until late November. I rode 63 miles in forty degree weather and raised nearly $300. Thanks to everyone who donated.

Before the ride - Downtown McKinney

Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest in downtown McKinney
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It started to rain just as we got there. Franconia (a local brewery) hosted. 

We danced and polka-ed to a German band

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We took a break from the rain at The Pub 

Bonham State Park

We chose a rainy Saturday to go visit a nearby state park - Bonham. We hiked around the lake and then Kristyn and Josh went for a cold swim.  We finished the day off with Pat Thai!

At the Lake

Swimming

Brewery Tours

Brewery Tours 

Firewheel Brewery - October 9

Deep Ellum Brewery - Sept 7

Lakewood Brewery - Oct 27

Texas Happenings Too

More Fall Happenings in Texas!
Life at camp, Dallas Zoo and Anna Football


Hanging by the pool - so hot here!

Lake Lindberg at camp

Lake Lindberg

Meal time at the Dining Hall - pure chaos 

A Scorpion 

Turtle in the road! 

A visit to the Dallas zoo

Dallas Zoo

Zoo Time

Zoo times.

Gorilla

Anna High School Football Game

They seriously love football here

Josh and I at the football game