VanDerBlog: Austin and My New Best Friends

Why in the world would I post a picture of the VanDerWerken family...hmmmm? Wait? Who's that extra kid in the picture? Isn't that Mackey? What's he doing crashing their family picture? (We're not really sure...) But...WE WENT TO AUSTIN TO VISIT THE VANDERWERKENS!!!! Yeah!!! Or Yahoo! Yeehaw! My whole family and I had such a blast - so much so that Mackey apparently thinks he's part of the VDW family. He has a boy-crush on Angela, I think. I'm not sure if it was her beauty and gentle way, total 'sure' to every food item he wanted, boy bath time (swim suits definitely included) or her understanding of who General Grevious is... In addition to Star Wars skills, Angela and Jay were so wonderful and accommodating - I don't even know where to begin.After totally unloading all my pent-up girlfriend words (poor Jon and Jay - nothing could have prepared them for the speech speed, decibel, or cadence), we went to the coolest kid-friendly place ever! There's this great restaurant, Waterloo's http://waterlooicehouse.com/, with a patio section OVERLOOKING A PLAYGROUND! Needless to say, it was the most pleasant meal I've ever shared with 6 children! It was hot, but not unbearably so...unless you're a crayon.

The kids played so well together. Two most note-worthy observations...for Mackey in particular, who can be charmingly challenging: 1) he went the entire weekend at the VDWs with nary a correction or incident and 2) he was the most absolutely polite and reverent he has ever been in his entire life sitting next to Jackson during Sacrament meeting. It was like seeing cousins when your kids just disappear for hours on end...but in a good way. But before I proceed, allow me to introduce you to my two new best friends...

John VanDerWerken, Jay's nephew. He is staying with Jay and Angela while he relocates to (very cool) Austin, TX. Do you know what makes this guy incredi-cool? Sight unseen, he agrees to BABYSIT ALL SIX OF THE FISHER/VANDERWERKEN CREW so we could go out Saturday night to downtown Austin. DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT'S BEEN SINCE WE'VE HAD A SITTER??! I feel 10 years younger...Thanks again, John!...Which leads us to my next introduction...

Forgive me for not getting his name...but what makes this Austin club bouncer cool (aside from the fact that he's been shot, stabbed, bitten, and run over among other bodily assaults) is that he carded me for entrance. (I told Jon, Angela, and Jay that I would hug the first person that carded me. It wound up being the second [the first guy was a bit...umm...sketchy, but you know, the picture guy with all the ink and piercings is TOTALLY suburban]). Carded me. I'm 34. It made my day. I know it's the law, but who cares? I got a pic to commemorate.

So! 6th Street in Austin, TX is legendary for its late nights and fun venues http://austin.about.com/cs/tours/p/vt_6_sixth.htm. Totally safe (Jay has a great police horse story - apparently if people do get rowdy, the police surround them with their horses in a matter of seconds, and then "beat them with sticks"). Tons of talented live music. We went to this piano bar (think Billy Joel's "Piano Man" http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1079) where a guy played the piano so fast that his hands were an absolute blur! We sung along and drank diet caffeintated beverages...what? It was 2 a.m. It was like a super fabulous girls night out but with my husband, too! Unfortunately, due to the lateness of the aforementioned late night festivities, Jay said that he looked like a 'crackhead' in the morning (perfect for an 8 am PEC meeting at church) as displayed here:
We give Chateau VanDerWerken a total 5 star rating - hostess with the mostest. We had a blast, and we had a funny laugh about this being only our second date (as families) and 'sleeping together'. Fed us, slept us, bathed (some) of us... Thank you for everything! You guys rock!