This is our third year in Austin and we feel like we are starting to settle in somewhat. Not as 'busy' this year, there were still events and activities, we just don't feel like we have to hurry up and do all the 'Austin stuff'. We've done most of them, so we're starting to feel like Austinites.
Vacation, and Christmas, are broken out into there own pages as always, as are the Seton parties. The last Seton party of the year doubled as a surprise birthday party for Marie.
Everything else is my Year in Review, including some very special events this year, the highlight of which, was Thanksgiving with Aunt Sheila, Brian and Rob with Robert, Matt and Kim.

First up for our year was a small get together for the superbowl.

Easter Sunday, Gateway Church and home. Aren't we a cute couple?

Birthdays are something neither of us "celebrates". It's more like a resignation. This one is Marti's and we got together with some friends at a local bowling alley for the "acknowledgement".

The Pecan Street Festival is a purely Austin thing, (only in name, every city has a festival in downtown, with vendors, food, beer and local music. Ft Worth calls theirs the Arts festival for example. But since Austin is the "live music capital of the world", ours is better!) We're so cool!

Last year we did the open air zip lining with Laurie and Steph and Richard. This year we tried the canopy zip lining. It was a lot of fun, different. Martha prefers canopy, I still think the open air was more bang for the buck.

Early June and Marti goes to Ft Worth for a party and overnight visit. I had to work but she brought plenty of pictures home so I would know she had a good time.

Later in June we get an unexpected surprise. JW, his sister, and Delana come to Austin and want to get together for a visit. We decided to meet at the Oasis, since we had never been there, and had drinks on the veranda watching the sun go down over Lake Travis.
Everything we had heard about the Oasis was true. The food is overpriced and mediocre, the drinks likewise. But it does look very cool, like a modern day castle, huge and impressive. The kind of place you take out of town visitors to. And the view overlooking the lake is unbeatable. We had a very nice visit.

October was a very important month as we got to see another of the "girls" find and marry their 'true love'. (Barbara & Scott, Steph & Richard, and now, Jaime & Michael).
Jaime was room mates with both Andrea and Stephanie in college, BFF's with Steph, lived with the Loken's for, I don't know, a long time. She's part of the family.
We loved the wedding, loved Michael, loved the dancing, loved the open bar and the free meal. Lotta love going 'round that night. Congrats to Jaime and to Michael.

Finishing the year in review with Thanksgiving. A little different this year, this is the first Thanksgiving we haven't done together. Laurie and Martha wanted to have an old fashioned family Thanksgiving at home, with their mom and dad,(and dad's gravy), and brother Robert. I wasn't able to go due to work coverage, but I got a surprise call from Brian saying he wanted to come down for Thanksgiving and spend a few days visiting!
I had also invited Aunt Sheila to come and much to my delight she did. Rob was also able to come down and brought Matt, Kim and Robert!
I got most of the food from La Madeleines as in previous years since the food is so much better than my cooking. Had a larger group though so I miscalculated how long the larger frozen turkey would take to cook. Thanksgiving lunch became Thanksgiving early dinner. LOL.
But it was a good meal and a wonderful time spent with close family. I haven't laughed that much or that hard in years. Even Aunt Sheila was surprised how funny her nephews were. We were all laughing so hard we were crying at the non-stop jokes, most of them about Kim's 'anorexia'. haha It was a very special family day that I'll always treasure and I know they will too.
Brian was actually able to stay about a week all together so that was very cool too! Don't see my brothers as much as I should and he's farther away than Rob, so that was an unplanned special time as well.
Pics start with Thanksgiving in Albuquerque.

Pics from Austin Thanksgiving.

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