Austin, Texas

This week was Kyle's Grandaddy Bob's 90th birthday, so Barbara put together a big party in his honor in Austin.  IT WAS SO FUN!!!  Kyle hadn't seen this branch of his family for about 15 years so we knew we had to go.  It turns out that Kyle has some really awesome family members who I loved getting to know.  Kyle felt like he was meeting them for the first time, but they still had plenty of reminiscing to do.  We also got to hang out with Kyle's sisters and their families--and they met Ruby for the first time!!!  (We really have to get ourselves to Texas more often, clearly.)

The flight there was hectic.  The first leg of the journey, to Phoenix, was awful because we got to the gate late (first time ever) and had to be split up.  Poor Kyle handled Ruby the whole time alone, which is not easy at this stage  in her life when she wants to be running around AT ALL TIMES.  After a long and trying layover in Phoenix, we flew to Austin.

Ken and Barbara picked us up and we drove straight to...ROSA'S!!!!!  Rosa's Tortilla Factory Cafe has THE BEST TORTILLAS IN THE WORLD.  We freak out about them.  We bought a dozen and had the best meal ever.  I wish we had one in Utah!

Back at Ken and Barbara's hotel we hung out with Jennifer, Jason, and Naomi.  I was so excited for Ruby and Naomi to meet each other.  They were instantly buddies and had a ton of fun playing together.

Isn't Naomi just adorable?!

Carolyn, Travis, Sydnie, and Julian came over too.  I am so in love with Baby Julian.  He is mellow and chubby and sweet and looks so much like Kyle and Ken, it's crazy.  Kyle's baby pictures look just like Julian!

Late that night (with Ruby beside herself with exhaustion) Ken dropped us off at our hotel, the Travelodge.  It was the cheapest deal we could find in the city and we felt fairly safe because it's a chain--can't be that bad, right?  Wrong.

I was getting Ruby into her jammies when Kyle commanded me to stay on that side of the room and to not look over where he was under any circumstances.  He manfully masked what I can only assume was his own revulsion to formulate a plan and execute it, keeping me in the dark the whole time.  After he dealt with the situation, he told me there had been a dead bug.  He finally let me drag out of him what kind of bug it was--a cockroach.  Oh, and it had been alive.  My reaction surprised even me.  I clapped my hand over my mouth and started quietly screaming, which Ruby thought was hilarious.  WHAT THE WHAT?!?!  I have never been in the same room as a cockroach in my entire life.  I thought cockroaches lived in disgusting inner-city holes.  I was terrified to shower or go to sleep.  Ruby cried in her crib for one minute before we decided to keep her in our bed--I was worried that cockroaches would crawl all over in her sleep.  She slept with us quite well for a baby who hasn't slept with her parents since she was a week old, and surprisingly I fell asleep in spite of my haunted skin-crawly feeling.  Before I slept, though, I told Kyle that we were checking out in the morning.  He agreed.

The next morning I found a dead cockroach (thankfully dead) next to our bed.  Kyle went to check out and get a refund for the next two nights we had paid for, and saw cockroaches scuttling down the hallway.  I had to shower before we left--only to find clumps of black hair in my "clean" towel.  EWWWWWW.  I can't tell you how glad I am that we got out of there.  AGHGHGHGHH.

Then it was time for the party!!!  We carted all the food over to the Hyde Park Christian Church where the party was being held.  I was happy to spend time in the kitchen, chopping vegetables and assembling salads and setting up the food with Barbara.  Jason made 8 lasagnas for the party, of course using Fanelli's Finest Sauce--coming soon to a store near you!--totally delicious.  Ken has a ton of pictures from the party up on Facebook, but I tragically forgot my camera.  Suffice it to say that there were many people who love Grandaddy there.  Tons of food and visiting made for a very fun party!  It was a total success.

Later we spent time visiting at the hotel.  Ruby spent time with her grandparents, her great grandma Jewel, various great aunts, and her cousins of course.

That night, the older generation generously offered to babysit the kids in order to allow us young punks to go out to dinner together.  The 12 of us went to an awesome restaurant called Cover 3, which was way more hip and sophisticated than anywhere Kyle and I have ever been.  I ordered an incredible Brick Chicken Mac and Cheese, which was really spicy and covered in pancetta. Mmmmm.  Kyle and I sat across from Kyle's cousin Austin and his wife Annelise.  We had the best time chatting with them and laughing together.

Late that night (again) we checked into the hotel Carolyn and Travis were staying at, the Holiday Inn Arboretum.  I cannot stress to you enough how awesome this place was when compared with the Travelodge.  I mean, it was twice as expensive, but I would say more than twice as awesome.  Ruby agreed.

Clean and comfortable. Lots of pillows.  Awesome shower.  No roaches. Indoor/outdoor pool. Hot tub.  CLEAN.  NO ROACHES.  Nice restaurant.

Carolyn and Travis took us to to breakfast the next morning, and then we went swimming. The hot tub was glorious.

We met everyone at a cool place called Phil's Ice House for lunch. Ruby loved the playground there. It was too hot and humid for me, but Jennifer was willing to play with the girls.

After much-needed naps, we went back to Ken and Barbara's hotel and hung out with all the folks.  We mostly sat around the patio enjoying each other's company and eating dinner.

The next morning we had to leave our beloved Holiday Inn Arboretum.  We went to Barbara's favorite place for lunch, Abuelo's, where I ate a monstrously huge burrito.  After visiting Granddaddy and Jewel at their house for a while, it was time to go to the airport.  Our flight was irritatingly delayed so we ate dinner in the airport.

  The last leg of the journey, from Phoenix to SLC, was wonderful--the plane was half full so Ruby got her own seat and she was surprisingly mellow.

 Another bonus to this trip was that we got an iPad the night before we went.  Kyle was going to surprise me with one for our anniversary, but decided that it would be really nice to have it on the plane for Ruby.  (It was.  She watched an episode of Super Why! and Sesame Street very nicely.)  It is a very fun toy to have.

I really enjoyed Austin.  It was very green and pretty.  I know we'll go back because we promised our family there that it wouldn't be another 15 years before they saw us.  I want Ruby to know all her family!