New 'cue in town

Had read good things about Franklin BBQ on the interwebs and knew it needed to be vetted out.

It's basically another trailer, but with picnic tables.  The pit has its own house, as you can see here, which allows for some basic cover when it gets windy.

Pit's off to the right.  Pop is chewing the fat with the owner, literally and figuratively as the owner hands out burnt ends to sample a la Louie Mueller's.

Standard set up.  Ribs, brisket, potato salad, pickles n onions.  It was all really good.  Actually I'd put it at the top of what's available in Austin.  But that's more an indication of a lack of excellent barbecue within the city limits.

 Simon digging into the brisket.

I'm including this shot mainly to show Erinn that we still use the bib and placemat when Simon and I go out together.

Franklin BBQ is on I-35 at Concordia St (~32nd Street) and open Wed-Sun from 11am until they run out of food, which is about 2pm.

Uhh, part 2?

Can part two of an event come a week after part one, and three weeks after the original event?

Now I can't even remember what I did when I was in LA...

Getting together with old friends.  But why do I look like I ate a whole pumpkin? You people need to tell me when I'm gaining weight.  I'd rather not find out from vacation pictures.

 Getting set up.

 

Fellow Big 12 supporter Ken at the tailgate.

Me and Bean.

Up close and personal with Bevo

The tailgate eventually swelled to over 50 fans who in a few short hours would be heartbroken, but full.

Me and Wells.

Pregame.

"The Eyes"

As close to legendary as possible.

24 hours later, I was fully cheered up by the chicken and rice guys in NY.

 The line was 30 minutes.  The temperature was below 20.

Worth it.

Back from the west coast/ east coast

I got to play the role of superfan/ deadbeat dad/ road warrior all in one week. Not my cup of tea. And I don't even drink tea. Playing superfan was awesome until about 3 minutes after kick off of the MNC game. Here's some pics from LA/ NYC.

If you land in LA before noon, you go to BLD for breakfast and coffee. 

Then it was over to Tripper's to get the briskets going for the tailgate.

Spent the night at a buddy's where Bromley the dog had the rankest farts I've ever smelled from a dog.  Brutal.

more coming...

Big Boy Dog Bed

Erinn posting...we recently bought Simon a twin mattress and placed it on the floor of what will become his "big boy room" over the next couple of months so that he can gradually get use to it by playing in the room, taking naps in there, etc. While it may take Simon a few months, it only took Callie a few hours...

 

 

and yes, I know I still need outlet covers in the room. I wouldn't want Callie to get shocked.

Is it just me or am I starting to sound like Andrew?

Trying to recap the last three weeks in pictures

I'm leaving for L.A. tomorrow, then NYC on Friday and a lot's happened since our last post. Let's recap, shall we?

Simon enjoys a Tofu Dog at his Hannukah party at school.  Actually, he didn't touch the Dog, but he ate the entire bun.

Smoked some turkeys for Christmas gifts.  Here's the pre-party.

Running around getting last minute things on Christmas eve, we stopped for lunch at Chick-Fil-A.  Here's some video form there:

For those that need translating, the video starts with Simon answering what he thought Santa was going to bring him, then tells Erinn "I love you."  After that he tells everyone how yummy the milk is and how hard straws are to use.

Simon on Christmas morning:

Wearing Dad's new hat.

Simon peaking into his new teepee to make sure it's Indian free.

It was.

 

Simon's new Junior Lockpickers set.  Each door has a different lock to pick.

 

 

Simon and Olivia later in the afternoon.

Simon tears into his other gift from Santa, an oven.  Now he can make cupcakes all day long.