Visitors!

July is turning out to be quite an eventful month! We've been fortunate to have some family and friends join us in Austin for a couple of days here and there. My sister Clari and her family from Ft. Worth, Texas were kind enough to celebrate the Fourth of July with us! Nelson and I did our best to keep our niece (Vanessa) and nephew (Ivan) as entertained as possible. Needless to say it's still as hot as ever here, so we all thoroughly enjoyed a day at a water park less than five minutes from our house (the perks of living in a big city)! Ivan has quite the interest in cooking and was my little personal chef assistant for the weekend...I could use him around more often! He helped me prepare all our meals and bake my very first cake (from scratch). It seems like just yesterday they were both itty bitty babies and I was still in middle school/ high school...man how time fly's! We are looking forward to their return for Labor Day weekend as well! Vanessa is an amazing soccer player (one of the top in the state of Texas, no exaggeration) and her club team is playing in a tournament here that weekend! This will be Nelson's very first time seeing her play and he is eager to see what all the hype is about! 

We finally got to video chat with my parents over the Fourth of July weekend as well, and got to see our other nephew (Byron) and niece (Lekari)! Byron and Lekari spent the weekend with Gma and Pops in Columbia and it was soo cool getting to see them face to face....makes us feel like we're really not that far away after all :)

Nelson won four tickets on the radio to a Round Rock Express Baseball game a week ago! We had our friends Ryan and Annetta, also newlyweds join us for an evening at the ballpark. It was so convenient to watch some really good baseball since the stadium is only 10 minutes from our house! And the best part, it was free :)    

  

  

 Danielle, a good friend of mine from nursing school and her husband Eric, were kind enough to stop by Austin on their way to Denver. They are relocating to Parker, Colorado (a suburb of Denver) and we couldn't be happier for them both! Their parents along with their twin boys (who are so adorable) were waiting for them in Colorado while they took a cross-country vacation to their final destination. Their next stop was Santa Fe, New Mexico, which is such a neat city with lots of Native American history and architecture and then finally to Denver! We were so grateful to have been able to spend an afternoon with them in Austin. As with anyone that comes here, you cannot leave until you have seen the infamous bats!

There are two bridges that these bats reside under, one 10 minutes from our house and the other is downtown.  We all ventured down to the Congress Avenue Bridge at sunset to witness them embark on their nightly journey. It is estimated that there are between 750,000-1.5 million female bats living in the bridge's crevices at any given time during the season (March-October)! And thankfully for the locals, these bats help keep our insect count rather low as they consume on average between 10,000-30,000 pounds of insects while they visit (hence, why we have little to no mosquitoes)! Now we can say we have seen both bat bridges and each is an experience in itself! We also took Danielle and Eric to a personal favorite restaurant of ours, Carmelo's for a delicious late night dinner. After a walk down 6th street and short drive home, we were all ready for a good night's rest! We cannot wait to visit them in Denver, especially since Nelson has never been to Colorado! Missing you all dearly...

Love,

The Lewis's

Au revoir June

Well we are finally wrapping up our first (full) month here in Texas and needless to say we have been busy living and loving life here in Austin! We've been enjoying a summer blues concert series at Zilker Park and even took Gesabelle along this past week. There are thousands of people that flock to this concert on Wednesdays (a similar resemblance of the Great Migration) and to our surprise, she was extremely well behaved! In fact, we managed to set up camp next to another chocolate lab and Gesabelle enjoyed his company during the concert! Despite the unbearable midday temperatures we have been experiencing lately, it cools down significantly in the evenings, making an afternoon in the park with great music and friends priceless!

"Keep Austin Weird" is the city slogan and a personal favorite of ours too! Austin is full of progressive mind set people that embrace individualism and promote diversity, a reason why it was just recognized as the 2nd best city to raise a family!

This past weekend marked the 9th annual Keep Austin Weird 5K and Festival. Although we did not partake in the 3 mile run this year, we did venture out to enjoy all the other festivities. The music was fantastic (of course) and we couldn't have asked for better weather. I forgot how enjoyable it can be sitting outside in the summer without mosquitoes eating you alive...oh the Midwest, how I have missed you!! May you have a blissful and safe week!    

--The Lewis's

P.S. We let Gesabelle join us at the dinner table...

she has such great etiquette :)

Piece by Piece

So we are slowly but surely piecing together our home here in Austin! It has been exciting making our first couple of purchases as a married couple, and has come to realize that compromising is the key! I knew the weather was very similar to Okatie, SC but I didn't imagine it would be any warmer. It is HOT here...just HOT! For the past couple of days it has been in the triple digits and it doesn't look like it will be cooling down anytime soon. Luckily there are plenty of pools, fresh springs, and rivers to go for a nice cool down! We have taken on a new project...

We haven't exactly figured out the final look we want for the table, but it will be something different and unique!

Love,

The Lewis's

New Beginnings

Whew! Moving was...well moving. We have finally unpacked and arranged the last of our boxes! It is hard to believe it has been almost a month since we packed up our lives and relocated to Austin, Texas. We've decided that it will be easiest to keep in touch with all our family and friends through a blog, and we hope you find our updates enjoyable as we share a piece our lives with you all! I must admit that it was a bit overwhelming upon our arrival to this new fast-paced city we have embarked on. Although we cannot complain, for this is exactly what the both of us have been yearning for a looonnggg time! So needless to say, we have been busy exploring our new home. Austin has soo much to offer and we are witnessing this everyday!

This past Memorial Day weekend was a fun-filled weekend to say the least. We were able to celebrate a farewell goodbye with our first friend here in Austin, Jeremy! We were sad to see him leave but excited for his new adventure! Nelson and I took Gesabelle on her own little adventure too. As you all know Labrador Retrievers LOVE water, and she is no exception! We spent a couple of hours basking in the sun while Gessie ravaged the Colorado River. We also managed to venture out to New Braunfel's, TX for a rockin' river raft down the Guadalupe River! Our friends Drew and Christi joined us and we had a blast! It was super hot and quite an experience to say the least...

One thing I have come to realize is that Nelson and I have been severely deprived of authentic Mexican food living in South Carolina. The 'Tex-Mex' here in Austin is nothing short of fabulous! We are really looking forward to a summer concert series in Austin that begins this Wednesday! The various live music venues and events is a major attraction to Austin and most of its residents, including us!! We miss and love you all very much! Have a blessed and blissful week :)