Texas in April

April 18, 2012  Thursday

Cute. Cute. As a button.
Don't you wanna make him. Stay up late.
And we're having fun. With no money.
Little smile. On his face.
Don't cha' love. The little baby.
Don't you want to make him. Stay up late.
                                       Talking Heads

We are off to Texas.  Our flight is later than we normally take.  It gets us into Love Field in Dallas at 3pm.  First time we have not rented a car.  Jen and Luke picked us up.  Luke was sleeping and there is no truth to the rumer that I woke him up when Jen stopped.  We got caught in a little traffic on the way to Jen and Brian's house.

The high chair that Jen and Brian ordered came today.  Brian put it together and Luke got to sit in it. 

Luke didn't much care for the food but seemed happy sitting in the high chair.  Jen fixed her famous pot roast and then we went on a walk and had Blue Bell Ice Cream for dessert.


April 19, 2012 Friday

We were up and were just chillin' at the house.  Did a little shopping and ate lunch.

We got our food at Whataburger.  Not too bad.  Started around the same time as In-N-Out.  We got to babysit.  Jen and Brian went to the Texas Roadhouse Grille.

Yes he is wearing his Team Grandpa onesie.

April 20, 2012 Saturday

We woke up and did some errands, shopping ate luuch and then went to Court and David's house for some burgers.  Courtney and David are great hosts.  They are also fixing breakfast tomorrow.

April 21, 2012 Sunday

We woke up and went to David and Courtney's house.  David was in charge of breakfast.  Each person could order their own breakfast. 

Bridget had an omelet and I ordered the breakfast tacos.  I was too busy to take a
picture.

Hello Bruiser.  What a good doggie.

That's what I had!

We then went back to Jen and Bria's place.  Jen and Brian fixed Broken Tacos for dinner.  We would not see Courtney and David after tonight so it was sad.  Looking forward to the next time. 


 Bath time.  Towel Grandma got him.

April 21, 2012

Our last full day in Texas.We got up and played with Luke.  Took a walk later in the day.

Love this picture!

Everyone knows I am a Trojan for life.  The fact is all my family are Trojans for life.  We are not an exclusive club but inclusive.  If you have Trojan blood, you are a Trojan for life.  FIGHT ON!

April 24, 2012 Tuesday

Time to go back to San Diego.  We are leaving early so we can do laundry etc...

Luke fell asleep on the way to the airport.  Jen said he woke up later looking for us.  It's great to be a Grandparent.

Jen'sversion:

http://jenandbrianingram.blogspot.com/2012/05/april-part-2.html


 

Football Huddle

April 14, 2012

Ooh what a day that was.
We're going boom boom boom
That's the way we live
And in a great big room and
That's the way we live.
                        Talking Heads

It's spring football time.  The USC Trojan Huddle has been a part of our lives for decades now.  We met Connie and Russ at South Coast Plaza.  For those not familiar, it is one of the largest shopping malls and the highest grossing sales.  Over $1.5 billion a year.
http://www.southcoastplaza.com/

We drove the the Los Angeles Coliseum and joined thousands of other Trojan fans for the annual spring scrimmage.  Under Pete Carroll the team was divided in half.  Lane Kiffin has the defense play the offense and the defense scores points by turnovers and defensive stops.

We are looking forward to many touchdowns.

We brought a picnic lunch and ate and watched the plays.  We have a lot of players returning including QB Matt Barkley.  We are no longer on probation from the NCAA/Reggie Bush witchhunt.  Way to go NCAA- punishing players that had nothing to do with anything.

Here is what I think NCAA:

After the scrimmage we went back to South Coast Plaza and did a little shopping. We had dinner reservations at Maggianos.

 http://www.maggianos.com/en/Pages/Menu.aspx

Thanks to a tip from Jen we ordered the 2-1 pasta dish deal.  You order one to eat there and they give you one to take home.   A great deal.

After dinner the Browns headed North and the Taylors headed south.  Dreaming of football just around the corner.

Matt and Kelly

April 10, 2012

We have concerts lined up for the next 3 months.  Tonight was Bridget's choice, May is mine and June was a joint decision.

I picked up a pizza and met Bridget at Fashion Valley.  We drove together to the Valley View Casino Center (Sports Arena).  We park off the streets because parking is $20 and it takes forever to get out of there.  We ate the pizza in the car and then walked over to the VVCC.

Bridget got fantastic seats.  Row 10 on the floor on the left side. 

First up: Matt Nathanson

I miss the sound of your voice
And I miss the rush of your skin
And I miss the still of the silence
As you breathe out and I breathe in
If I could walk on water
If I could tell you what's next
I'd make you believe
I'd make you forget
                        Matt Nathanson

He was a good performer and helped get the concert started. 

This was Kelly Clarkson's Stronger Tour and everyone was excited when she took the stage.  It cracks me up that she is barefoot on stage.

You know the bed feels warmer
Sleeping here alone
You know I dream in color
And do the things I want
You think you got the best of me
Think you've had the last laugh
Bet you think that everything good is gone
Think you left me broken down
Think that I'd come running back
Baby you don't know me, cause you're dead wrong
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
Stand a little taller
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
What doesn't kill you makes a fighter
Footsteps even lighter
Doesn't mean I'm over cause you're gone
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, stronger
Just me, myself and I
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
Stand a little taller
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
                              Kelly Clarkson

I'll give her credit.  She puts on a great show.  This is the third time we have seen her and each show gets better.  The crowd seemed to love her and most knew all the lyrics.

Miss Independent
Miss Self-sufficient
Miss Keep-your-distance
Miss Unafraid
Miss Outta-my-way
Miss Don't-let-a-man-interfere, no
Miss On-her-own
Miss Almost-grown
Miss Never-let-a-man-help-her-off-her-throne
                                 Kelly Clarkson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-MfgG2Xd4Y&feature=bf_next&list=PL348DA6AC97F3EE32

We had a great time.

Straight No Chaser

March 24, 2012 Saturday

http://www.pechanga.com/

Connie, Russ, Chris and Betsy were going to see Straight No Chaser, an a capella group, at the Pechanga Casino and invited us to join them.  Also a belated birthday celebration for Russ and myself.  Pechanga is less than 40 miles from our house close to Temecula. 

We met there and gambled a little before dinner.  Connie had picked Kelsey's for dinner because of the variety of food.  We ate dinner and then headed toward the theatre.

The theatre was nice and intimate and Connie did a great job on getting the tickets.

Time for the show.  I can't lie.  I was a little apprehensive about watching an a cappella group let alone listening to them.

http://www.sncmusic.com/

Watch the video on the link above - Chasers at sea. 

First a little background:

The group formed in 1996 at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. Together the 10 students -- Dan Ponce, Randy Stine, Charlie Mechling, Steve Morgan, Jerome Collins, Dave Roberts, Walter Chase, Mike Itkoff, Patrick Hachey, and Kevin Caroll, became Straight No Chaser. Their name was inspired by the title track of Thelonious Monk's 1967 album, Straight, No Chaser, and is a conscious evocation of the popular American slang phrase often employed in the requesting of a drink.

Well I was pleasantly surprised.  The song choices were varied and it was interesting how the voices came together to actually sound like there were some instruments being played.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzccH05dMbY

The concert was good and very entertaining.  Afterwards we gambled a little more.  No big winners as I recall.  Bridget did see a celebrity, who has a history of gambling problems.  I'll leave it at that.

Good times with the family.

Art & Brunch Weekend

March 9, 2012 Friday

Held the second Friday of every other month from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Kettner Nights in Little Italy North has become the place to be for the arts and design crowds.

In downtown San Diego’s Little Italy, the art has as much flavor as the espresso and tantalizing marinara.  Come explore this ever-growing distinctive neighborhood with an art walk through the businesses and studios on Kettner Boulevard and beyond.
(They explained it better than I could.)

We decided it was time to check this out.  Drove around for awhile looking for free parking.  Found one by the Harley dealer.  All our friends were there as they had a band playing.

http://www.noel-bazafineart.com/Noel-Baza_Fine_Art___India_Street_Gallery/Home.html

We went there and checked out the SD landscape.

Paintings of the city by 3 artists who make San Diego their primary subject. Wade Cline is one of the best known painters in San Diego. For decades his moody, softly lit scenes have captured transient moments of mist and marine layer that are a part of our daily life. Brad Maxey and Kim Reasor are both transplants to San Diego and each present a distinctive view, finding beauty in the midst of the mundane, capturing elusive light reflections and the ever evolving landscape at the edge of America.

All the Galleries had drinks and snacks and most had the featured artists there.

http://www.mixturehome.com/about_facts.php

We also went in the home design and furnishing places and antique shops.

Then it was time for dinner.  We went to Mimmos Italian Village.
http://www.mimmos.biz/index.htm

We had the Ziti with Sausage and Quattro Stagiono.  Very good.


March 11, 2012 Sunday

Sunday Brunch at Cafe Merlot at the Bernardo Winery.

We were seated outside and started with a cheese plate.  All sorts of cheeses, crackers, bread, nuts, olives and fruit.  But best of all was the pitcher of Sangria.  There were all sorts of fresh fruit mixed in with the sangria and it was heaven.

http://www.cafemerlot.com/index.html

We ordered the sausage and cheese omelets.  Great way to start Sunday.