Our trip to Texas

For several years now, Brad and I talked about taking a trip to Texas to visit my dad and our friends Danny and Lindsey. When the subject came up again earlier this year, we decided enough talking and let’s just book it! And we did just that! We took advantage of the Holiday weekend and extended it to a 5-day weekend.

We flew in to Houston on Thursday night and stayed at a hotel. Friday morning, Dad and Deborah picked us up and we headed straight to San Antonio, which is one of my favorite cities. The drive was fun to see the flat terrain of Texas! Our first stop was to eat lunch at our very first BBQ joint. It was delicious! Something I realized shortly after every place we ate is, they are big on Ice Tea down there and even Sweet Tea. So we got our fill of BBQ and Iced Tea!

Side note: As the saying goes, EVERYthing in Texas is bigger. Texans are known for big money, big cars, big homes and big hair, but you can add to that list, highways and roads, bugs, food portions, drinks, thunderstorms (even the raindrops), space ships and hats! It just seemed like, everything, even the small things, were in fact bigger than what we are used to!

We finally arrived in San Antonio , and checked into the Menger Hotel, which is a historical and haunted hotel! We learned that famous people, such as Theodore Roosevelt, Sidney Lanier, Babe Ruth, Mae West, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, and Sarah Bernhardt, just to name a few, stayed there. It is located immediately adjacent to the historic Alamo and a block away from the San Antonio Riverwalk. We first headed to the Riverwalk, and, well…basically walked around! We had a beer at Durty Nelly’s Irish Pub, walked around more, ate at a great Mexican restaurant and took a boat tour of the Riverwalk.


Saturday we spent the first part of the morning on a Segway Tour of San Antonio! It was so much fun to ride the Segway and to get a great historical oversight of the city! The segways are a blast to ride and if you ever get a chance to do something like that, we highly recommend it. Brad and I got pushed back to the end of the line, but we didn’t mind, as we acted like teenagers goofing off on our machines! After that we walked through the Alamo and then headed back to Houston, where on the way, we stopped AGAIN for more BBQ!

We spent the rest of Saturday with Danny and Lindsey! When discussing where we should eat (at that point, I had to put my foot down and say no more BBQ!) the concept of BYOB came up. In Houston, you can bring your own beer or wine to a restaurant! Um…GENIUS!! Brad and I couldn’t believe such a thing could exist! We decided we must bring in our own beer to a restaurant, and Danny and Lindsey took us to a spot they enjoyed called Lola. After dinner, we went to a bar called Cedar Creek. It was like a huge outdoor party, with chairs and picnic tables everywhere and white lights hung up across the big lawn. We sat on a little deck facing a tiny creek! Another thing we aren't accustomed too, huge outdoor seating. It was a nice change.

Sunday morning we got up and Danny and Lindsey drove us around Houston, and we got to see some of their favorite spots, including where they used to live. We had lunch at Barnaby’s Cafe. Later that afternoon, we all went back to my dad’s house to have a pool party and bbq dinner. To cap off the evening, we got to experience a thunder and lightning storm in Texas! It was loud and lots of lightning!


We spent most of Monday by the pool! For lunch, Dad and Deborah took us to Chick-fil-A, and I had my first experience there. It was pretty good! Danny and Lindsey came over in the afternoon for more pool fun!


We spent our last day in Houston at NASA Space Center before we had to head to the airport. It was a neat experience and we got to see where the astronauts train and the old “Green” control room, from the Apollo missions. We learned a lot about how astronauts live in space and saw all kinds of artifacts! Then sadly, it was time to head home! Dad dropped us off at the airport and we said goodbyes! We had a GREAT time with him and Deborah and it was so fun to see Danny and Lindsey! So thank you Dad, Deborah, Danny and Linds for showing us a great time in Texas….
As we boarded our plane to head home, extreme sadness came over me. We had so much fun and I was sad to go home, and sad to say goodbye to my dad. As our plane took off, Brad was doing what he could to distract me and try to make me happy, and the minute our plane left the ground, he told me about his surprise!! He told me that we were in fact NOT going home that night, and that we are staying in Vegas for an extra day! I couldn’t believe it! I insisted that he was joking and he finally convinced me that we had another day to play! I just couldn’t believe how sneaky he was about everything!! He got it all approved with my work, booked the hotel and our flights to go home the next day, all the day before we left for Houston. I was completely surprised and sooo happy to the point I was crying over the joy of an extra day and his amazing surprise! I must say, besides him proposing to me, this is the most surprised I’ve EVER been! He did good and he got lots of extra kisses from me!! Thank you sweetie!!



We got into Vegas at 7:30pm,checked into our hotel, New York, New York and had dinner at what seems to be one of our favorite spot in Vegas, ESPN Zone! Then we set off to gamble! Brad taught me how to play Roulette, which is now my favorite way to gamble in Vegas, besides the Penny slot machines, where I seem to work hard for that money!





Wednesday we got up, had breakfast, gambled more and went on the roller coaster! We grabbed some lunch and then walked the strip to see new and old hotels. We hung out in Caesars for a bit and had a lot of fun playing roulette. Then we made it just in time to the Bellagio to see the water show before heading back to NY, NY. We had happy hour at Nine Fine Irishman and then rode the roller coaster one more time before we headed back to the airport to go home!




It was a GREAT and FUN vacation! We learned a lot about different places, spent quality time with family and friends and some quality time together! We’d love to go back again and experience the Gulf coast and see other places!

Here are a few videos, enjoy!
Segway Tour

Playing in the water


Here is a slide show of pictures!

Girls Weekend/ Boys Weekend

This past weekend, it was our annual Girls Weekend to the beach with my close sorority sisters. Except this trip, we were missing two of them!

We headed over to Seaside on Saturday morning. We got into town, unloaded our car and had lunch at a little café in the heart of Seaside. After lunch, we walked around, did a little shopping, then we stopped at my FAVORITE place in Seaside! It’s a game called Fascination. The object of the game is to roll a ball into holes. As the ball falls through one of the holes, a light on a backboard behind the holes lights up, in a pattern corresponding to the hole the ball fell through. You have to get five lights in a row, much like bingo. It cost a quarter to play one game, and I could do that all afternoon! Genny and I sat down to play and on my first game, I won!! I was pretty excited!






After my fix for Fascination, we headed back to the house for the evening where we drank Kim’s sangria, had some pizza, hung out and talked about Celebrities as if they were our friends, built a cozy fire and watched Sex in the City, and played a few rounds of Catch Phrase. The next morning, we went to breakfast and headed home!







Our husbands, all got together and went paintballing for the afternoon, went back to Nick’s house to have a barbeque and play some poker for the evening.

It was a very fun and relaxing weekend with my ladies and I’m extremely blessed to have this group of amazing girls in my life.

Goodbye Camry, Hello Sonata

So we decided to part ways with our old man car (Toyota Camry Hybrid) after three great years. We opted out for something a little sportier and age appropriate……and we wanted some color, after owning three cars that are silver! We ended up getting a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. For the few days that we’ve had it, we love it. It’s a great car with a lot of fun little features. We leased it so we have it for at least the next three years and yes, Brad is already counting the miles :)

Mother's Day Weekend

We spent a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend down in Medford this year. It’s been nine months since we’ve been home and a visit was overdue.
Friday we spent the day with my side of the family and went to lunch at Deli Down (my favorite lunch café in Medford). They have the best tomato soup. At lunch I learned that a NEW South Medford High School was built and the high school that I attended would no longer be the high school for south Medford- it was a bit sad to think about. So we took a drive around town to see the new high school and other new things that have popped up. It seems like each time we visit Medford, I feel like more and more is changing about it!
Friday night we had Abby’s Pizza for dinner (it’s a tradition for Travis and me to always have that when we visit home- it’s our favorite pizza!) and went and saw Iron Man 2.

I think what was most exciting about Friday is that my best friend from high school, Lindsey was in town. She came over Friday morning for a long visit with us, and she had in tow her two adorable kiddies- Taylor and Gavin and a little one in her tummy. Of course, I obviously gravitate towards little Taylor and play with her- she was the cutest thing. The entire time she kept calling me by three names, every time she wanted to talk to me she would say “Taylor Casey Fetrow”- it was the cutest. I got it on video and I’ll post that tomorrow.



Saturday, Brad got up early to play golf with his dad. We spent the afternoon with Brad’s parents and Grammie. Another fun treat was that our 2 month old nephew Caleb hung out with just us for the entire afternoon. It was so fun to see him and get to spend time with him. Babies change so much in just that short amount of time. We would constantly make funny noises and do little dances, just to make him smile! We decided to go down to Eagle Point street festival, mind you, this is a small, smallllllll town and it made for great people watching. It seemed like most of the time we would place Caleb on a tractor or a little horse and just take pictures of him. But I think Brad had the most fun, getting to carry Caleb in a little baby carrier.






Sunday we decided to go out to breakfast to celebrate mother’s day with my family. It was quite the adventure, but what made it memorable was the fact that the waitress handed my mom a red rose and spilled hot coffee on her lap all at the same time. I think, nothing says Happy Mother’s Day better than taking your mom to breakfast, having it turn into a disaster right before she needs to go to work! We then spent the rest of the day with Brad’s entire family, played croquet and had a great early dinner!
We hit the road and got home with just enough time to wash the sheets to snuggle into bed with!










Happy Mother’s Day to both our mom’s who we love very much and are thankful for! Also, Happy Mother’s Day to G’ma and Grammie!

Love,
Brad and Tay

Blazer Game

Unfortunately we attended the Blazers home playoff opener on the 22nd. I say unfortunately because it was not much of a game. We had about as good of a time as we possibly could have but when the Blazers are down by 29 points at half time, it is not a lot of fun. The Blazers came out flat and the Suns made them pay. The energy in the Rose Garden before the game started was amazing. It is a really fun atmosphere……not quite Autzen stadium, but as close as we can get during the football offseason. Oh well, hopefully Saturday’s game will be a little more exciting and we’ll have a happier blog posting.

Lunch with Mom

Mom has been in town for the week, she brought Dexter back to us and has been hanging with Tracey. We went to lunch and spent the afternoon with her and Tracey!

Dexter is Home!!

We welcomed Dexter home Tuesday night! We were sooooo excited to see him! Missed his cute little face! :)

Weekend with Friends

We spent this weekend, enjoying the nice weather and hanging out with friends.

We had dinner with our friend Kelly on Friday night. It was such a nice night, we walked to the store to get fixings for S ‘mores for our dessert. However, the men were not able to start a fire without the proper “kindling”, so we resorted to the gas stove. Needless to say, they were delicious and hit the spot.


Saturday we went to the season opener of the Timbers game with Alicia and Nick. If you have ever been to a Timbers game, then you know how devoted their fans are to their soccer team. Portland became an official city to host a Major League Soccer team. They will be renovating PGE park and by 2011, the new soccer stadium will be ready for its major league team. These fans are devoted to ninety minutes of constant chanting, singing, clapping and cheering!

The Timbers ended up winning, 1-0. It was a fun game to watch!


Sunday we went over to Kelly's house where she hosted a brunch for all of our friends! She is leaving again for two months on the road for her job! So, it was great to get together and spend the morning with good friends and give hugs to Kelly before she leaves!

Portland Beavers Game

At the last season opener of the Portland Beavers baseball with some friends!

Easter Weekend

We had a packed Easter weekend. Friday night, we had a date night with dinner and a movie!

Saturday we hung out with the Weber family and help celebrate a few birthdays in their family and also watched the Final Four games. Side note: I’m very excited that Duke is going to the National Finals! Mostly because I picked Duke to be the National Champion! So I’m hoping my bracket holds out!


We headed downtown Portland Saturday night to a place called Matador (off 23rd in Portland) and met up with our friends to welcome home our friend Kelly Sanders! She has been away for 6 weeks working on her new job! Needless to say, we were all excited to get together with her and catch up!













Sunday morning we meet up with our friends Bree and Sean for breakfast and attended their church. The Lindquist family (Alicia’s parents) invited us over for Easter lunch, where we got our fix for ham!! The food was delicious and we were stuffed by the time we left.













Travis and Tracey came over that night to have a family dinner. Tracey brought us yummy EASTER TREATS! And Brad and I got Easter Baskets from Mom! Thanks MOM!!



It was a fun and packed weekend filled with great friends and family! We are blessed to have spent this weekend with people we love! Happy Easter!