February Part 5, March Part 1: Austin

Brian and I went to Austin to visit Ben at the end of February. Julie and I (with a few stitches from Rachel and my mom and some pressing from Brian), made three new quilts for Ben, Tyler, and Tucker, just in time for Brian and I to take them with us. Here they are: 

Michael dropped us off in Provo before school, and then soon, we were on our way to Austin on February 27. 

Ben met us at Torchy’s on our way to his neighborhood from the airport, and it was wonderful to have those tacos again.

Brian and I started dating officially on February 29, so on non-leap years, it’s tricky about what day we should celebrate. We decided to go out to dinner together on the 28th. We found an Indian/Mexican Fusion place, and it was delicious! 

We went to church together on March 1, and the weather was amazing! 

We went for a walk around Ben's neighborhood, and it was so pretty. Spring was springing in Austin. It was amazing to see how much came back to life in the short week I was there. 

We found these chips at HEB. Only Texas would do this kind of thing! 

One of the nights we were there, we got dinner at a food truck place, and I made Brian take a picture of me with this chicken that was there. 

Another night, we headed up to Round Rock to see Adam and Sarah. It was so nice to visit with them, though we were sad we got there too late to really see their kids. We took what we could get. 

I was set to go home on Friday, and Brian originally planned to head home the following Monday, which was Ben’s birthday, but after being there, we decided Brian needed to stay longer so he changed his flight to come home a week after I did. It also gave him the opportunity to stay the night with Adam and Sarah one night so he got to see their kids.

I came home to a blizzard (one of the about 4 we had all winter), and Kirt picked me up and brought me home. The kids had gone to Lea’s the night we left for Austin and stayed the weekend while Kirt and Julie were on tour with the Tabernacle Choir. My neighbor helped get Rachel and Gabe to school since Lea needed to be at work before they needed to be at school. On Sunday night, Lea brought our kids back and stayed the night. My neighbor once again got Rachel and Gabe to school on Monday and Tuesday (with only minor setbacks). Michael got himself everywhere he needed to be. Kirt stayed with the kids at our house on Tuesday, and Julie joined him on Wednesday, and they both stayed at our house until I got back on Friday. 

Meanwhile, Brian celebrated Ben's birthday with him. 

One of the nights, Ben took Brian to an amazing barbeque place in downtown Austin called Terry Black's BBQ. Brian was raving about how good it was. 

When Brian went out to eat one afternoon, a newly licensed driver accidentally hit Brian’s rental car. The mom and teenage boy were so distressed about it, and the rental car place said they’d handle it. We have a teenage boy; we understood. 

All too soon, it was time for Brian to come back, and I was really excited to see him again. 

Huge shout-out to everyone who helped watch our kids while we were in Austin.