Tuesday, December 1, 2009

The Grady Kids Visit!

About a month ago my cousins came to visit from San Diego.  I wasn't able to go many places with them because both of our cars only seat five.  But that's okay because Mom and Dad took lots of pictures! Here are some of the highlights from their trip.




When the kids got off the plane they were starving! So, they voted on pizza. We stopped at Gatti Town, somewhere we had never been before. Not only is it a very large pizza, pasta, and salad buffet, but there were also many games to play. But best of all was the bumper cars! It looks like they had a blast bumping into each other.





Then they came home and we stayed up playing until midnight! This is really my room but I shared the bed with them.




                                              

These pictures were taken while Mom and the kids were making the small hike down to Hamilton Pool. The kids had fun going off the trail to get close to the creek that you follow to get to the pool.


This is what it looks like when you get to the clearing where the pool is located. Gabbi wanted her picture taken in front of the waterfall.





The first thing the kids wanted to do was explore the cave behind the waterfall.



I think the water was a little colder than the kids liked, but that didn't stop them from swimming!

Later that same day they all went to Barton Springs Pool and Gavin would not get off of that diving board!

The Capital Building!




Before......






And After!







Travis and the kids went way high up in the dome of the building.




Texas BBQ!





This was the first time that the kids had ever eaten real, Texas BBQ so Mom and Dad took them to one of their favorite spots close by, Rudy's.





After filling up on BBQ they all drove up to north Austin to play some games at Main Event. I think that was the kids' favorite part of the whole trip because they got to play mini golf, go bowling, and rock climbing all in one place, in one night!    




Not only was it indoor miniature golf, but it was glow in the dark!






The kids did a great job climbing and they even got Travis to do it!


It was so much fun having my cousins here! I'm going to miss them, but I hope to have more visitors soon! 







Sunday, November 29, 2009

Austin's music scene. (But not really.)

Austin has a lively music scene, and Mom and Dad went to a great concert a little while ago that I'll let them tell you about.  I only mentioned music so I could put this picture up.  I think Bruiser would get mad if I put it up without mentioning music because he's still a little sensitive about his cone.....

This is football country.....?

The Chargers are arguably the hottest team in the NFL and are currently on their way to their sixth consecutive win.  I know CBS is carrying the game and I've decided I would like to watch the game.  Since I'm in Texas (the most football crazy state in the nation), I figured it wouldn't be a problem.  Our local CBS affiliate has inexplicably chosen to show infomercials......  This is football country?



Oh well........Go Chargers!!!!

Friday, November 27, 2009

Zombies!!!!


Oh no, Mom's work got invaded by Zombies!!!! 
Not really, that's just Casey, and as you can see, he likes having his picture taken!

The Alamo! And it only took a year....


Mom and Dad have been meaning to go down to San Antonio to see the Alamo and the River Walk for quite a while.  (Dad was actually down there at 3 in the morning many months ago taking a patient to a creepy psych hospital, but he doesn't count that because he wasn't really awake.)  So finally, after almost a year, they randomly took off and went down there!  They had a great time and they both were very interested in the Alamo story.  Psst, don't tell the Krueger clan, but they both decided they like Austin a lot better than San Antonio! HEE HEE HEE

This is why we don't like cats.......

So, on the day before Thanksgiving, Dad was at work and Mom, Bruiser and I had just gotten up.  Mom was very thoughtful and took us outside so we could do what we do outside in the morning.  Bruiser trotted around the side of the apartment building and shortly afterward, we heard him crying out in pain.  Mom and I ran around the side of the building to see Bruiser running back towards us.  I'll spare you the gory details, but his side was cut open.  A huge (bigger than Bruiser) wild cat and her kitten had been hanging around the complex lately and apparently Bruiser got too close to the kitten.  The big cat attacked poor Bruiser and cut him open. 

Mom was very brave and level-headed and took Bruiser immediately to the Vet's office.  Eight and a half hours, one surgery, one IV, and one catheter later, Bruiser was stitched up and released.  I know Roo was on the streets before Mom adopted him and he says this isn't his first fight or stabbing, but it's a doozy!!!  He's being very brave and strong and is doing great.  I've already seen him checking his stitches out in the mirror so I think he's gonna be secretly proud of what will probably be some huge scars.....

Monday, November 23, 2009

I'm back!!!!!

Just a quick blog to let you know that I'm back!  I've been really busy and haven't had a lot of time to blog, so I apologize for that because I know y'all have been hanging on my every word up until this point.  Since I'm such a busy guy, I've decided to let Mom and Dad add blogs from their perspective too....and yes, even Bruiser will write from time to time.  I'm hoping that as a family, we'll blog more often.

So much has gone on, from day trips to hanging out at the river to visitors to joining a frat.  Yep, lots has gone on and in the upcoming blogs I'll fill you in!!!!  If you want to know anything or have anything to ask, feel free to leave comments and we'll answer.  Until the next blog......


Saturday, April 4, 2009

Just sitting there being tall!!!




I like playing mountain climber when no one is looking, but Dad caught me the other day.




It's a pretty high mountain and I got tired climibing it so I needed to rest....

Stevie Ray Vaughan




Dad is a big music fan and one of the styles of music he enjoys is the blues. He discovered Stevie Ray Vaughan quite a while ago and he's been a fan ever since. SRV has alway been closely associated with Austin, having moved here when he was 17. He grew up playing in Austin and formed his bands here, with the area pretty much being his home base throughout his life. SRV died in a helicopter crash in Wisconsin at the age of 35 and is buried in the Dallas area (where he was born). Austin has a memorial statue of SRV down by the river and Dad recently went down to take a look.

Umm........

Yep, this "business" really exists and is currently operating. Oddly enough, the open sign is only lit late at night....



[Insert your own inappropriate caption here.]

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

I got a bath at the Vet's office today and when Mom and Dad came to pick me up I had a surprise for them......I got a new green scarf with shamrocks on it!!! Today I am an Irish bulldog!!!!

Monday, March 16, 2009

WOW!!!!


This is my new favorite picture!!! I know Dad isn't that good of a photographer, he just had beautiful subjects!!! Isn't Mom beautiful?!?!?! I miss Gabbi a lot!!! Come visit Girlie!!!!

San Diego



Mom and Dad went to San Diego last weekend and left us with a babysitter. I think Bruiser and I are old enough to be left home alone for a weekend, but Mom and Dad don't agree. I guess Bruiser got into some expensive tequila Mom had when they left one time, so I guess I can kinda see their point....

Aunt Erin got married to my new Uncle Frank, so Bruiser and I wanted to say congratulations to them!!! We're very happy for you guys and we wish you a very happy lifetime together!!!



Dad took some pictures to show me but I guess he got a little distracted at the actual wedding since he didn't take any pictures there. He took these at Helen's house where the girls got ready for the wedding. I'm sure each and every one of them will say, "that's a horrible picture," and, "I hate that picture," but I think all my aunts are very beautiful!!! Quite the lineup there!!!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Inner Space Caverns



This is an old post that was experiencing technical difficulties and never made it up. Inner Space Caverns is in Georgetown, about 30 miles north of where we live. Mom and Dad made a trip up there based on the cheesy sign and they were very surprised and impressed. It was huge!!!



Inner Space caverns were discovered in the 1960's by a Texas Highway Department drilling company. After drilling through 40 ft of limestone, they discovered the caves along with lots of old fossils and crazy formations that took a looong time to form. This is the entrance to the cave. You have to take a little railroad-type car to get down into it.





















This is one of the bats that live inside the caves. Mom said she was scared when they would fly around everyone's heads.

Just to give you an idea of the size of some of the cave rooms, that's mom in the middle of the picture!!!

Red Bud Isle




This is our new favorite place to run around and make friends. It's called Red Bud Isle and it's a tiny island in the middle of the river near our house. There is a trail around it that is about a mile long and there is a grassy dog park in the middle. I don't even have to wear a leash here! I just run around all over the place and make lots of new friends! There are a bunch of places to jump in the water but I just like to watch all the other dogs do that. Sometimes I like to get my feet wet though! There are huge mansions on the other side of the river but you can't see them from the island. But the first photo shows some stairs leading down from one of them. I would stay here all day long if they would let me!


Saturday, February 7, 2009

Dad's new favorite bridge



It's the Pennybacker Bridge, named after the engineer who designed it. It's 100 feet high over the water with no part of the bridge actually touching the river. It was built without support columns so as not to impede the boats passing under it.

Dad's toy.

Remember when I mentioned in an early post that new toy Dad wanted? He got it a little while ago. We're definitely not in California anymore...


We have a very safe apartment.
And it's not just Dad that keeps us safe!!!

Rollin' on their hogs!





Mom and Dad got bikes a while back, and they love them!!! Austin is such an outdoor city that you can ride almost anywhere you want. They've just started exploring the area around the apartments but I'm sure they're gonna start branching out soon.


Dad acting cool on his bike. (Mom loves it when he wears that shirt....it's 15 years old. Seriously.)



How cool is Mom posing with her bike?!?! (Is that Uncle Bill in the background? Am I the only one who sees that?)