California Trip, Part II - Family Get-Togethers

We were really glad to be able to spend quite a lot of time with Stephany's family (on her mom's side). They all live quite close to each other, and they're really good about getting together, especially when family comes into town. It was neat for us, because since we were last there, two years ago, two new kids have been born into the family to two of Stephany's cousins.

One night we got together to play bingo at Stephany's cousin Brian's house. Here's my wife, working the b-i-ngo.



And here is Brian. Technically, he's the oldest of the cousins, but I usurped that position by a few months when I married into the family.



It was a packed house. We had a fun time with everyone.



Here is Nana, Stephany's grandmother. She's a really neat lady - anyone who knows her is blessed. She pretty much totally fed us awesome and delicious meals and desserts while we were there (which we are now trying to work off).



This is a shot of me looking suspiciously at a soft, very pliable wrapped gift, which turned out to be a blue dish towel with a pineapple on it. I later traded this for magnetized notepads (because that's something I can use, man).



And here is Stephany holding Brian and Valerie's new child Adam. He's a big, laid-back dude. Great smile.



Another evening, several of us got together at Stephany's uncle's house to play poker. Here is me, Stephany's uncle Jimmy, Christina (we stayed at Jimmy & Christina's house), and Stephany's aunt Debbie. Debbie & Christina were both first-time players, and Debbie beat the rest of us out (oddly, that seems to happen a lot). It came down to her and me, and she very sweetly took me out.



On Sunday, after attending church with the cousins and Aunt Debbie, we went to Corner Bakery for Mother's Day breakfast. I enjoyed catching up with Brian.



And here is Brian's wife Valerie with their daughter Ashley (she abounds with energy, but she's fun - and she's definitely developing some personality).



This is Brian's brother Kevin (another cousin of Stephany's), his wife Jen, and their little new one Ryan (their first - he's a fun, composed little dude). The first time I went to California with Stephany (in mid-2006, right after we got engaged) was for their wedding.





Lots of kids, lots of fun on the floor.





Here is us with Stephany's uncle Eddie's family: Eddie, Tammy, Amanda, and Nicholas. We celebrated Amanda's 14th birthday that night at a really good pizza place, followed by dessert at Papa & Nana's house.



On the day that Stephany and I headed back to Dallas, we spent the morning with Nana (Gloria) & Papa (Ed), and we got some pictures with them before we left.





We also took a few of ourselves, as we often do.





Still have photos of Huntington Library, a Buddhist Temple, and my first visit to In-N-Out Burger to come!

California Trip, Part I - Driving Around Southern California

As soon as my Spring exams were over, we headed out of town to go visit Stephany's family out in Southern California. We hadn't been out there since shortly before law school started in August 2007, so it had been about two years. We just got back to Dallas last night. We'll be here for about three more days (enough time to attend the wedding of two friends of ours from our church home group) before we make the drive (and temporary move, for the summer) to Albuquerque. Next week, we'll head up to Denver to see the other side of Stephany's family, who we also haven't seen in about two years.

The California trip was great! We were able to spend some really great time with Stephany's family, and we all got together several times during our trip. Since we were going to be there for about six days, we rented a car to get around easier. We spent some of our time looking for the homes where Stephany's family members lived when she was a kid. We also just drove through some cities in the area, and we headed to the beach one evening (those pics to follow).

This was one of the first days of our trip. We picked up some Frappuccinos at Starbucks (we joke that they taste like income and health insurance) and drove around for an afternoon.





Here are some pictures of the area, for those of you not familiar with Southern California. Most of our time this day was spent driving around Chino Hills, Diamond Bar, and Hacienda Heights.





I love all of the varying trees and plants out there! I even saw some Magnolia trees, which I usually associate with the South, in Pasadena. They just have all kinds of greenery (and "groundcover," green stuff all over the hills and yards which prevents soil erosion) in California.







You can see the mountains from almost anywhere in the area. Unfortunately, you can also see the smog. Like most big cities, though, some days are better than others. Stephany says that's one reason why she loves the mountains in Albuquerque - it reminds her of her childhood growing up in Southern California.



The hills are one of the most distinctive aspects of Southern California, I think. They're really cool to see. In some places, you see really nice homes built up on them.







This was another day of driving around, towards the end of our trip. We started the day out at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, a coffee store chain out that way. Stephany was lookin' quite cute.





We ended up that day out towards Disneyland in Anaheim, quite unintentionally (unless Stephany has some sort of internal magnet that inherently draws her to Disneyland - which is completely possible). I know it was hard for Steph to be so close to Disneyland without actually going, but she survived. We'll look forward to going again, maybe our next trip. I love how the brown sign says "Theme Park," with an arrow - it's Disneyland! As if anyone might just happen to be in the area looking for a theme park of some sort ("Oh, hey, this one looks good.").





More to come soon.

The Mavs Game

This past Saturday, Stephany and I saw the Dallas Mavericks play the San Antonio Spurs at the American Airlines Center here in Dallas. Our friend Brian had some extra tickets apparently lying about (for an NBA playoff game) and invited us. We had been to the AAC last year to catch a Dallas Stars hockey game, and Stephany had seen the Mavs earlier with Malory, but we had never been to a Mavs game together. It was such a fun time!



Here's us at the game:



And here's me with Brian. He and his wife Andi lead our church home group. We've been part of a group with them for over a year and a half now, and we've been so fortunate to know them and share in life experiences together.



The seats were really great. We were high enough so that you could see everything very clearly, but not too far away. These shots are a bit zoomed in. The Mavs ended up winning that night, but it was back-and-forth until sometime in the third quarter when the Mavs finally pulled ahead.





After the game, we ended up hanging out for a bit in one of the lounges at the AAC. It's a nice place. Since we were killing time, Stephany took a bunch of photos (one of her favorite things to do when we're out and about, killing time). She's beautiful, isn't she?









She snapped a few of me too, sporting my new haircut.





The Mavs game was a super fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon, especially as a break in the midst of studying for final exams. I took my first exam (Evidence) this morning, and I have three more to go. Next Wednesday (May 6), I'll be done with my second year (of three) of law school! Then, for us, it's off to California to see family, back to Dallas for a wedding, up to Colorado to see more family, and then settling in back in Albuquerque for the summer! It's a good time.

Nathan

APIL Auction

Here is Stephany and me at a recent event at SMU. The Association of Public Interest Law (APIL) held its third annual auction this past Friday evening to raise money for students working at non-profits over the summer. I was a recipient last year of a $3,000 stipend which paid for six weeks' of work at Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas. It's definitely a good cause, since students can actually make a little money over the summer (summer internships for first-year law students are almost never paid) and get valuable legal experience, while also helping out organizations that have serious financial constraints. It's also a good way to see a different side of law, working with people who have very specific needs associated with poverty, immigration, homelessness, etc. It was a really good experience for me, and I'm glad to know that APIL raised some money recently to continue this program.

I volunteered at the check-in table, where I (along with about five others) spent a solid two hours taking money for admission and registering people in our auction system as bidders. Stephany joined me later in the evening, and we had a great time seeing a lot of our law-school friends there. If you're curious to know what SMU-related people and local merchants donated, here's a list of items. A bag of Starbucks coffee and a coffee cup donated by Stephany's store went for $159 - pretty awesome.

Nathan

The Austin Trip, Part II

During the second half of our trip, we spent more time in Austin. One morning, since Jed & Christine were helping Emily & Charlie at their restaurant Obee's, Stephany and I headed down to Kerbey Lane Cafe (the original one, near 35th St. & Lamar - on Kerbey Lane, of course), one of my favorite local restaurants for breakfast. We had some awesome pancakes there - buttermilk, gingerbread, and pumpkin - and some really good breakfast tacos. After breakfast, we spent most of the rest of the day driving around town, checking out the familiar places - and a lot of new buildings that have gone up since I left. I lived there for five years, but the place has changed a bit since 2004.

We also checked out the Texas State Capitol. I have been there several times, but Stephany had never been. We really enjoyed walking through the elaborate halls, seeing the Senate chamber, and learning about some Texas history. I had no idea, but they actually have an entire room there which functions as the state's agricultural museum. It was freezing and rainy outside, so we didn't linger too long on the lawn.







We ventured down some of the hallways where the tourists were not present and checked out some of the office space, etc. It was interesting to read through some of the postings they had up for various congressional committee meetings taking place that week.





They also had a lot of really old Texas flags on display in some of the hallways. You can actually read the history of these flags online. Some of them go back a ways, to the days when Texas was a Republic.







Here's a picture of the capital's rotunda. It's pretty awesome.





This is a picture of the inlay in the floor beneath the rotunda, looking down from above.



Our friend Emily turned 25 while we were there, so we out for dinner at Buca di Beppo to celebrate. It was good seeing some people we hadn't seen in a while. Here is the very pregnant birthday girl, with Charlie to her left.





Me and the birthday girl. We met when she was five. That was a long time ago.



And me and Steph. We enjoyed hanging out with some friends.



If you couldn't tell, we were in the "pope room." He was actually available on a turning stand, for all to view and receive.



And here's Jed, Emily, and me at Obee's, shortly before Steph and I left to head back to Dallas. We've been good friends for quite a while.



Me and my buddy. It had been about a year since we'd seen each other. He lives in Germany now, where he's working on a masters degree. It was good seeing him and catching up on life.



And lastly, we will leave you with something we saw heading out of Austin on I-35. It's just....awful.



It was a very good trip to Austin for us. We were glad to get out of the weekly schedule and be away from school, work, email, and Dallas for a while. And it was really good to reconnect with good friends and live life with them for a few days - it had been a while since we'd been able to do that. We came back to Dallas feeling refreshed.

Our love to you all,
Nathan & Stephany