Steers and Beers

So, I am still racing to catch up with the blog, obviously. Better late than never, right? Here we go . . .

In June, I went to visit one of my dearest friends, Tiffani, and her husband and two kids in San Antonio, Texas. We had a great time. I was able to see their new home, lounge on a tube down a river, go shopping at the largest outlets I have ever seen (heaven!), play with her two cutie pies Aidan and Brinn and do the River Walk. While I was hanging out with Tiff, we watched P.S. I Love You and if you have never seen that movie, I highly encourage you to. It's a great love story and a real tear-jerker. I seriously went through almost a whole box of tissues. Tiff failed to mention how sad it was going to be!

Tiff and I only got two pictures while we were together (shame on us and we're scrapbookers!), but we had a great time. It was just as though we'd seen each other yesterday. Those are the best friendships to have and I am very grateful for her! Her family is so welcoming and sweet. Can't wait to see them again!

After my visit with Tiff, I went to Houston to spend some time with my brother Ryan and Amanda. They have a cute little one-bedroom place in a nice area of town. I got to ride in Ryan's new black Mazda Speed - very fancy, I might add. We had a blast testing the ninfaritas (possibly the best margaritas I have ever tasted at a place called Ninfa's) any chance we could, going to a brewery tour (more like a lecture, but the beer tasting was amazing!), visiting Kemah Boardwalk and feeding stingrays, lounging at the pool and of course, having some good ol' Texas fun with a big night out in the city. It was the best thing to see my brother and his girlfriend. We had such a great time and I am so proud of them both.

Texas was hot and humid (not unlike Manila) and seemed to sprawl for ages. The drivers drive fast, everything really is bigger in Texas and you gotta love the southern drawl.

Texas Showdown Photos

While I was away in Texas, Cory went on a camping trip with his brother Jeremy and best friend Aaron. The three boys almost managed to stay out of trouble as they worked their way across the Cascades via SR 12. First they stopped at Snoqualmie-Baker National Forest where they camped a couple of nights and did some hiking (at least as much as they could with there still being so much snow in the mountains for this time of year). During their stay, they actually made friends with the local sheriff who razzed Cory for driving too slow on the pothole-ridden roads, comparing his driving speeds to that of his grandma's and also saying when running into them the next day to warn them of a thirsty bear in the area (and I quote), "I knew it was you guys a mile back due to your blistering pace!" As for the bear, it actually broke into some poor lady's car (camped where the boys were at)and drank her Dr. Pepper in front of her! Luckily for the boys, they didn't need to sacrifice Aaron to the bear. Next, they tried to outrun the rain by stopping by Dry Falls, home of the world's largest waterfall (at least during the last Ice Age!) before carrying on with their shenanigans at Grand Coulee Dam. With the rain successfully avoided, the boys made their way back west retracing their route, but this time setting up camp a bit outside of Leavenworth in the Wenatchee National Forest where they could have some peace and quiet in which to delve in and practice yoga and other ancient forms of meditation (all of which involved not a single drop of alcohol, of course!).

Camping, Smart-A** Sheriffs and Thirsty Bears, Oh My! Photos