'Tis the Season...

Apparently it was the season to be too busy to blog!! Between holiday happenings, family entertaining and quarter-end at work, I am not sure where December went! However, I have a few fun things to blog about, so now I attempt to catch up!!

Ever been on a Double Double Date? No – that doesn’t mean 8 people, it means we went on two double dates in the same weekend with the same friends! Purely unplanned of course, but it was fun that it worked out that way! I just recently got to know Phil and Stacie through Brad. Phil and Brad have played softball for many years and recently talked about getting together with the wives. So, a couple of months ago, we met for dinner, had a GREAT time and vowed to do it again. Then the craziness of Thanksgiving approached and before we knew it, it was December. So, we made plans to meet for dinner and go to a fun Christmas event I had heard about.

Well, we did go to dinner and it was scrumptious!! However, time got away from us and when we got into the car, we realized the event would be ending about the time we got there. So, we came up with Plan B… drive around and look at Christmas lights. We soon found that finding a cool neighborhood with lights was harder than we thought. You hear about them but when you want one, they are tricky to find!! So after using our smarty phones, checking Facebook and calling a few friends, we were on our way!

We ended up at a cul-de-sac not far from the restaurant. It was fun to roam around but it was REALLY cold!

 

I was still interested in going to the event we missed and it would be happening again the following night, so as we dropped Phil and Stacie at their house, we made plans to see them again – about 24 hours later! The event I am talking about is called “Luminations” at the Lady Bird Wildflower Center. I had actually had the event bookmarked on my computer since last year. I found out about it after the holidays and wanted to go.  It was a free event with the admission only being canned good for the Capitol Area Food Bank. So, Sunday night, we met up again and headed South… WAY South – like past where Mopac ends. For us Northerners, it was quite the drive!

We enjoyed walking around the center. It was lit up and very festive with musicians and holiday snacks. Although the event really ended up being more a family/kid-friendly thing, we enjoyed each other’s company, had some cider and kettle corn and looked at the pretty lights. 

Our camera doesn't do that well at night, but you get the picture!

After we had seen all we could see, we headed out. Still in the mood to see Christmas lights, I suggested we find a place I had heard about called “Pete’s Trail of Lights”. The City of Austin didn’t do the traditional Trail of Lights this year (budget cuts) and 37th Street isn't what it used to be, so this sounded fun! Luckily for us, it was only about 10 minutes from the Wildflower Center. It was well worth the time!!! Pete transforms his front and back yard into this crazy, eclectic maze of holiday decorations, lights and a lot of randomness. It was very “Austin”. 

Top 10 Questions... quite funny!

Yes- that is a Santa in a hot air balloon over a nativity scene. Common holiday sight, right?

Brad couldn't escape the feeling that something was hanging over him...

So, our Double Double Date Weekend was a success and we look forward to future adventures with our new friends!