Celebrations continued...

After we enjoyed the birthday festivities, we drove up the Texadelphia located near Lakeline Mall. Shaunna and Heath were having a "Mainland Reception" to celebrate their marriage with all of the friends and family that weren't able to make it to the ceremony in the USVI. And, yes, Shaunna, I am probably beating you to blogging. (Sorry- I had too..!)

Heath co-owns the Texadelphia with his best friend, Jamie...

They shut down the place and Heath's brother provided some awesome BBQ for dinner. However, they also served the chips and queso that Texadelphia is famous for... yum-o!! It was a really fun night. We were able to reconnect with a lot of the folks that had gone on the trip and also able to see a lot of OLD friends!

Heath also spent a LOT of time sifting through the 1,100 pictures sent to them by those that were on the trip (not including the professional ones taken at the wedding). He put together a very impressive slide show that was great fun to watch! It was awesome to relive those days in paradise. We got to see the trip from the view of everyone's camera! Great job on that Heath!

The last time we saw Kitt & her husband Jack, this little guy was only a few hours old. Little Sean is now walking!!


For a while I gave Shaunna's niece, Kalie, my camera. I asked her to run around and take pictures of whatever she wanted. It was a great way to get pictures of lots of things while I visited with friends and it made Kalie super excited!! While I did get lots (and lots) of pictures of the cake and BBQ, she also got some great shots for me! Thanks Kalie! Oh, and Crystal... she is most definitely your daughter... there were also about 10 self-portraits...

Here is some of our crew from High School... the Class of 90-something.

L to R: Kitt, Cedar, Christina, Shaunna, me,
Melissa and, as usual, surrounded by women... Rodrick.

A Failure...

I got this email from my Mom today and I HAD to share it. It made me laugh SO hard...

I teach a 4 and 5 year old Sunday School class. We have been working on a series of lessons on Moses and the Israelites. We are at the stage that we are talking about how God took care of them as they wandered in the wilderness.

Last Sunday the lesson was about God providing for the Israelites by sending manna. So I built a tent out of a sheet. We sat there under the tent and had the lesson. Then the children pretended to be asleep. While they were"sleeping" I spread out manna for them to find (which was tortillas).

In the Children's Sermon in Church, the Children's Minister was talking about how God loves us. One of my students spoke up in a very proud, loud voice and proclaimed that God loved us so he threw tortillas on the floor.

I am a failure as a Sunday School teacher.

Love,

--
M

It's my party...

Today marks the end of a fun birthday week. I have survived to a ripe old age of 33... wow. In celebrating my 33rd year, I was again reminded how blessed I am with all my friends, family and co-workers.

On my birthday (Wednesday), I arrived to work to find my office COVERED in decorations. It was great fun. I literally had to wade my way through streamers, confetti and balloons to even get to my chair and computer.

There was also a huge balloon... um, thing? It was taller than me and super cool. Once Cheyenne figured out it wasn't some weird alien being that would harm her, all was well. As you can see, the dogs really could care less that it was Mom's birthday- they went about the day as usual.

We enjoyed a group lunch at RO's, a local BBQ joint down the road from our office. I enjoyed phone calls and emails from friends all day. Then that night Jason bought us dinner from Luby's (one of my favs- I am easy) and took me to Academy to buy some new (much needed) athletic shoes. Thanks honey!!


Fast forward to Saturday....

Even though I live here, there was a tour of Austin that I have always wanted to do... a Duck Tour!! For those of you that aren't familiar with Duck Tours (they have them all over the nation), a "duck" is an amphibious vessel from WWII that can move from land to sea very easily. It has been adapted to be a tour vehicle and took us around downtown Austin and splashed into Lake Austin. It was a fun tour- even with the cheesy tour guide- and I actually learned a few things about my hometown.


Jason and I were joined by our good friends, Lisa, Sally, Krissie and Colleen. It was a fun crew. We were given duck "bills" so that we could quack to people we passed and even to some music provided by our tour guide. Check out the funny video I took...

We realized during the tour that our original group from the cruise we took last year were together again. Cabin E243!!! So, below is our favorite picture from that cruise. We had rented a buggy in Cozumel and explored the island. Lisa snapped this as we barreled down the road.

So, we decided to try and re-enact that day!

After the tour, we headed over to my favorite Austin hang-out, The Hula Hut. Its a great Hawaiian/Tex-Mex restaurant that sits on Lake Austin. Super fun. We were joined by my co-workers, Mathews, Marcus and Matt, our great neighbors Heidi and Liz and our friends Joel & Cathy. We enjoyed a LOT of laughs... an Mojitos. :o)

They even caught me totally off guard with some "Birthday Nachos".

It was a great birthday. Thank you to everyone that made it possible. Again, I am so blessed.

Just a day at the office...

You guys have heard me gush about how happy I am where I work. Well, here are more reasons!!

We had a record-setting month regarding contracts, sales, etc. in May. So, last Friday our bosses, Kevin & Angie, took us to do a Zip Line Course!! I have ALWAYS wanted to do that. Lucky for us, there is actually a really cool spot out in Spicewood, only minutes from our office. It is the Cypress Valley Canopy Tours.

It was a lot of fun. Sadly, I used a cheap disposable camera for fear of harming (or dropping) my digital camera and very few of the pictures came out!!! I have included those few below.

After we Zipped, we went to a local joint in Spicewood called Angel's (this is the place that has the reserved parking spot for Willie Nelson). We shared a few pitchers, lunch and LOTS of laughs. It was a great day!!

As Kevin often says, "Life is good in Spicewood!"

The wedding pictures are in...

Here is a link to the professional pictures taken of Shaunna & Heath's wedding at Magen's Bay, St. Thomas

JUST GORGEOUS!! That sunset couldn't have been better... what a wonderful night.

Snorkeling in St. Thomas...

Here is our attempt at underwater photography!

Since you asked...

A few of you have asked to be added to the list of subscribers of my blog. There are already a few of you that give the entries this way, however, I wanted to let you know that this is something I can set up for you!!

Every time I create a blog entry, you will receive it in your Inbox. Does this interest you? Do you want to join the already millions of people that receive regular "Life of Amycita" updates? :o)

Just shoot me an email and let me know. I will add you to the list!!

Amy

Last day in paradise...

Sadly, the day came that we would leave our ocean-view room, blue skies, fruity drinks and lush rain forests. We knew the day would come, but didn't want it to!!

We were still exhausted from our Puerto Rico trip, so we had a lazy morning. We went to breakfast and then returned to our room to pack up. We decided to check-out, leave our bags with the hotel and spend our last day on the only USVI island we hadn't yet visited- St. John.

After a short cab ride from the hotel, we took the Red Hook Ferry over to St. John. It is very close to St. Thomas (could be seen from our hotel) so the ferry ride was only about 15 minutes. St. John is an entirely different pace than the other islands. It is not as populated and is very laid back. It reminded me of a surfer town. Everyone took things a bit slower and enjoyed life. I can see why Kenny Chesney has a house there. Its a great retreat and we barely saw ANY of the island, so I can only imagine what the quieter areas are like!

We shopped and wandered around the area near the ferry dock. It began raining on us when we arrived, so that made for a wet walk! Also, rain + tropics= humidity. WHEW!

We asked a local tour guide for a suggestion of a good lunch spot. We were directed to Woody's... its an island favorite and a local hang out which was just what we wanted. It is a hole-in-the-wall place with about 6 tables inside... no A/C but good seafood!

As we are eating, Jason's head pops up because he saw two familiar faces getting out of a cab outside... Shaunna and Heath!! The Newlyweds were honeymooning on St. John. They too were told of Woody's and came by for lunch! It was an unexpected surprise and we enjoyed a casual lunch with them. They were relaxed and happy.

After we ate, we said our goodbyes and caught the ferry back to St. Thomas. We could have spent so much more time there, but at least we can say we went to all 3 of the islands.

We loaded up, took a cab to airport and began the long trip home. The entire trip we had wonderful travel experiences. That is AMAZING considering we traveled a LOT during our 5 day vacation. Wouldn't you know it... we ran into weather in Atlanta that night. There was bad lightening that caused all planes to be grounded. Even after we finally got on the plane, we sat on the runway for an eternity. Luckily, Jason and I were so exhausted we slept through most of it. However, it caused us to get home around 2AM, instead of our expected midnight. UGH. Thankfully, all of our luggage made it fine- including the 6 bottles of Cruzan Rum we checked!

Overall, it was a FANTASTIC trip. We would do it all over again if possible. We were busy, but still had some down time and relaxed some. Shaunna and Heath were the best hosts and really did everything to make us happy and feel welcomed. We thank them for choosing such an amazing location and inviting us to be a part of their special day. It also allowed us a wonderful vacation that we dubbed our "Second Honeymoon".

We have laughed (halfway seriously) that for our 10 year anniversary, we would like to go spend more time on St. John and then explore the British Virgin Islands. Throw in a couple of days in Puerto Rico and it sounds awesome! That gives me about 6 1/2 years to plan... :o)

Random pictures from our trip...

Although we were busy, we did spend time around the resort. Here are some misc. pictures...

At the front of the hotel just before leaving for the wedding ceremony.

The ducks that waddled around the poolside restaurant. They were SO cute!

The afternoon of the wedding, I went by Shaunna's room to see how she was doing. She and the girls were relaxing with some food and trying not to mess up their freshly done up-do's!!

These guys were all over the place! They especially liked the beach and pool areas. They were huge and FAST... they would sneak up on you! I heard one lady reached down to grab her drink and instead grabbed Iguana. The lizard was drinking the condensation off of her cup!

This guy lucked out and found someone's drink garnish. Yummy orange!

As Jason was rinsing off our snorkel gear, this Iguana sat and drank the fresh water from the stream out of the shower area.

Me enjoying my "Cheeseburger in Paradise".

Jason, Julie, Cameron and Sarah searching for shells and sea glass.

Jason at the hotel beach.

The view looking down towards the pool.

There are about 100 stairs that lead from the hotel rooms to the pool/beach area. It made for winded walks and sore calves!!

Our day in Old San Juan, P.R...

Wow... there is so much to tell regarding our trip to Puerto Rico. The main thing I can think of is that a 4 hour tour of Old San Juan isn't nearly enough!! We barely scratched the surface and, honestly, we could spend another few days there. Maybe someday we will!

We arrived at the San Juan airport at 11AM. We were met by our tour guide, Victor. Since it was a Sunday and we weren't with a large group, the only kind of tour we could arrange was a private tour. It was well worth the extra money to have a tour guide devoted solely to Jason and I. We went at our own pace, saw what we wanted to see and had wonderful conversations with Victor.

We walked around some of "The Old City" of San Juan. These are the parts that are inside the old walls. There were only a few doors that let you past the walls of the city. The wood used for these doors is still there and the date is etched on the doors.

I was struck by the beauty of the architecture. The use of stone and natural elements as well as the paint colors. You can see influences from all the different cultures that have moved here.

We saw the former home of Ponce de Leon. He had beautiful gardens and fountains all around his house. It was a representation of who he was as a man. He enjoyed having places to reflect and "be refreshed". Victor told us all about the different fauna and where it originated from. He also talked about the political struggles and developments during de Leon's time in that house.

We then went to "El Morro" which is a huge fort that is one of two still standing in the city. They were pivotal during the attacks of all the different countries that have wanted control of P.R. throughout the years. It was an amazing sight. This was another reason it was great to have Victor to ourselves... he told us everything!!

After the fort, Victor took us to a wonderful little place for lunch. I can't say that I have ever had Puerto Rican food... but I am now a fan! It was called Cafe Puerto Rico and there were only 10 tables inside and a line down the sidewalk to get in! It was very yummy.

Then we did some souvenir shopping before heading back to the airport. The day went SO fast and it was sad to leave because we only saw a very small part of the island. During our drive back, I asked Victor how the political system works. They are US citizens, but their government is very different from ours. It was a fascinating talk.

When Victor dropped us off, we felt like we had a new friend. He had shared so much with us regarding his heritage, his family (8 daughters!) and his love of his home Puerto Rico. If anyone EVER wants to go there, I can highly a great tour service!!

We got back to the hotel exhausted. We enjoyed a very nice and quiet dinner at the Caribe restaurant in the hotel. Then we went back to our room and passed out!