texas in november + date night

THIS IS MY 100th BLOG POST! So proud. Like Texan proud...

November in Texas is beeeautiful! I was so happy to see my family for a couple days--wish it was longer. It was 61 degrees, overcast skies, and  gorgeous fall foliage (not as gorgeous as Massachusetts but way better than Arizona). Let's take a look, shall we?

Tuesday afternoon I hung out with Dad & Pi while waiting for Chan to get home from school and Mom to get home from work. So nice to relax, read a book, play with the cutest dog ever Paxton, visit with Nana and Grandpa, and help Pi with homework (and make (nice) jokes about Lane the nice boy next door haha Pi). Once Mom and Chan were home we headed to Cheddar's for dinner. This place is unbelievably inexpensive for the quality of food. So.Good.

 I recommend getting the chicken tenders that Chan gets every time! 

After dinner we went to the Coach outlet to browse their gorgeous merchandise. 

Piper looked especially fashionable in a Coach hat. 

Wednesday was Chan's birthday! Happy 17th Chan! I spent the morning with Nana & Grandpa learning about their lives and family history. I love hearing them tell stories about their lives, especially when they were younger. Thanks Nan for the homemade applesauce and to Gramps for making me a cup of hot cocoa and for the 3 hours of conversation. I love learning about the family. That's what grandparents are for. 

Mom and Pi and I headed out for a girls shopping/lunch trip. We went to Corner Bakery for some yummy paninis and soup. We loved the holiday atmosphere with the Christmas decor in the restaurant. 

I had the Club Panini and Mac and Cheese.

Next we headed to TJ Maxx for some Christmas shopping. I got James a couple things...yay! 

Nothing like a free peppermint hot chocolate from Starbucks to warm us up while listening to the best Christmas music ever!

For Chan's birthday we ate steak and Mom's homemade cheese pizza. An odd combination but that is because we are an odd family and we like it that way. Nana and Grandpa came over for cake and presents.

Homemade chocolate bundt cake with buttercream frosting.

 Dad presenting the cake to the birthday boy

 That awkward moment when everyone is singing Happy Birthday to you...even though in our family it's not that awkward. is this chan's awkward face?

 Happy to make a wish!

 Inside joke with Chan: "Selfie!"

 The many faces of Chan the birthday boy!

 Haha love this one.

 Pensive.

 Wise guy

 James would call this an "Oh heyyy" face.

 Paxton & Chan

 Nana & Gramps

 Piper & Mom

 Dad & Chan

 My birthday gift to Chan. His favorite candy, new $20 bill (perks from working at the bank), and the best card ever. It reads: 

"Some Brothers" (a poem for you on your birthday) 

Some brothers are messy,

Some are quite neat-

Some brothers have fungus

and corns on their feet...

Some brothers are nice

while others will swear-

Some brothers have dandruff

and bugs in their hair...

Some brothers are pure,

yet others have sinned...

Some brothers smell bad

'cause they break lots of wind

Some brothers are skinny

still others have guts-

Some brothers spend too much time

scratching their butts...

Some brothers are many things

those are a few...

(then it ends something like)

Happy Birthday to a brother like you!

Love you Chan!

 Piper's "graduation cap." Just being silly.

 Dad: "This picture turned out cool."

 Our sweet boy Paxton

 Best Birthday Brother!

On Thursday I wanted to take pictures with all the glorious autumn leaves. Another reason to live in Texas in November.

We went to Belk and stopped at Nothing Bundt Cakes.

Thanks mom for letting me try the chocolate chocolate chip bundt cake!

Then we headed to the Stonebriar Mall for more Christmas shopping! 

Oh and we sampled all the food in the food court & ate Sbarro's and Sonic for lunch.

Dinner was delicious at Ernesto's Fine Mexican Restaurant

If you ever go there you MUST try the brisket quesadillas! Sooo yummy.

I was going to order the sampler appetizer...maybe next time I will!

I loved every minute in Texas with my family. If only James was able to come but he was gone in Cottonwood, AZ for his Internal Medicine Rotation. After 4 weeks of hard work he is happy to move on to his Family Medicine in Scottsdale. To celebrate his return from Cottonwood on Friday we went out for dinner with our friends Kent & Cim & baby Anderson! They treated us to The Cheesecake Factory (James and Kent were roommates in Cottonwood so this is Kent's payment for gas money) and boy was it scrumptious! I had the Crispy Chicken Costoletta and James had the Factory Burrito Grande. Thank you Kent & Cim!

All the portions were huge! Especially James' 15 inch gourmet burrito!

On Saturday we saw CATCHING FIRE!!!! All I can say is it was SO SO GOOD. I would see it again in a heart beat. 

This concludes this 100th blog post.