Santa Barbara

(Photo from National Geographic Print Store)
Recently, spent a weekend w/ Matt and some friends camping near Santa Barbara.

The guys got some pretty great waves, and we were *this* close to Kelly Slater as he ran by on the beach.

Can't wait to go back.

NEWS FLASH: Austin is rad!

I know it's been said a million times, but Austin actually lives up to it's reputation as being super cool, a little weird, and a lot awesome.

Just got back from a trip to see my brothers, Andy and Eddie, who live there. My sister, Gloria, also made a weekend cameo. I love my siblings (there are two more...but we'll talk about them another time)!

Anyway, highlights of the weekend included:
- dinner and drinks on 4th street (old mans version of the more famous 6th street)
- a hike to (name unknown to me) river with the pups, Rocco and Sadie
- a family BBQ at my aunt's place...with birthday cake! yum
- AUSTIN CITY LIMITS MUSIC FESTIVAL (ACL) - saw some awesome bands...including Bloc Party, Ziggy Marley and Bob Dylan.

Check out the evidence of fun:

Down in the West Texas town of El Paso...

Just took a trip to El Paso for my nephew's Fifth birthday party. Bobby is a huge fan of sports! So, he had a sports themed party where everyone was asked to dress up as sports fan or player. Here are some pics from the party and more from my trip. Highlights also included getting to go to Bobby's first day of school to deliver b-day cupcakes and playing games with them in the backyard.

Just spent the week at Pinecrest Lake near Yosemite...and had a blast!

Here's the evidence: