Austin and a wedding

A couple of weeks ago, my baby brother got married. I was able to fly to Austin TX for the big day. Their original plan was to get married in Puerto Rico on some little remote island .. .. just the two of them. However, I feel they were somewhat "guilted" into having a small family ceremony in Austin. They still went to Puerto Rico the following day for a vow exchange/honeymoon. I flew out of Denver and my family had a layover from Salt Lake in Denver, so we got to fly out together which was nice. I ended up sitting by my sister Shana and we are both kinda nervous flyers {her more than me}. It got a little bumpy, so it was a good thing we only had a 2 hour flight.

 We flew into San Antonio since the flights were quite a bit more to fly directly into Austin. We were all tired, hungry and getting "hangry" so we were anxious to get our rental car and drive the 80 miles to the house.

 We rented this really modern "Butterfly House".  It was actually roomier inside than it looked and a perfect set up for my mom to get around easily which was nice.

Once we got some food in us, we were ready to go! We stayed up late playing games nearly every night. I loved it!!

 The first day there we drove around the downtown area to check things out. We came across the Bates Motel.  They were doing something with a film crew for the SXSW Festival that was going on while we were there.  I don't watch the show, but some of my sisters do so it was pretty cool.

That same day was our nephew Payton's 14th birthday. He wanted tacos for lunch, so .. .. Tacos it was!!

We enjoyed Red Velvet cake later.

We walked around the South Congress area. It has a neat vibe with lots of eclectic shops, restaurants and art. The environment really promotes the slogan to Keep Austin Weird .. ..it was pretty fun.

There were food trucks everywhere!! There was one corner that literally had 10 trucks. I was so wishing we would have taken advantage .. .. I like that kind of thing and they typically have pretty yummy food.

Thursday evening we had a "rehearsal dinner" with both families at The Oasis.

Shana and I on the back of the shuttle to the restaurant

The grounds were pretty cool

The view overlooking Lake Travis was amazing

The company was unbeatable!

Another look at that view at sunset:)

Friday afternoon while Kristy was getting hair and makeup done, Sean wanted to take us all to The Salt Lick in Driftwood. I think he was starting to feel a little anxious, despite how low key they were keeping the ceremony. It was a good way to take his mind off things for a few hours.

This little out of the way place had such a cool atmosphere and even cooler was that it has been featured on "Diners Drive-ins and Dives"

I had to get a shot of the pit for Mark. Normally I could take or leave BBQ, but he LOVES it!!
 I think he was kinda jealous.

I have to say .. .. it was the best BBQ I have had. So good!

 We had a few minutes to relax by the pool before getting ready for the ceremony. Payton flirted with the idea of jumping in, but it was ice cold! 

I loved that they kept things very simple and sweet and intimate. 

The cake was very pretty.

My dad and Kristy's mom both got ordained to perform the marriage .. .. not too often that happens:)

The new Mr. and Mrs. Fortie

My mom with Kristy's childhood nanny, Maria. 

She is the sweetest lady:)

Most of the girls with our new sister. We missed Jami and Leslie and Jenn:(

Pic of the boys that were at the wedding. Lori and Jill brought their families, but the rest of us came alone so we were missing some bro-in-laws. My brother Ryan couldn't make it either, which was too bad.

Payton, Gene, Rick (Kristy's bro), Dave (Kristy's uncle), Sean, mi Papa, Neal

Me with my baby brother. When Mark and I met at the ripe old age of 15, Sean was just a toddler. So both of us have really watched him grow up and it's hard to believe he is a married man.

Saturday, the newlyweds left for Puerto Rico and we decided to hang out at the house. The pool is heated by sun and temperature and it was a little early in the season to have had too many hot days. We had discovered from simple toe dips that it was not welcoming, but it was enticing us the whole trip. We decided to put our sanity aside and take one for the team (Payton;) 

 Don't let the smiles fool ya. This was long after our limbs were numb and we couldn't feel anything. No joking that it was like jumping in a pool of ice cubes.

Gene joined in the fun. Yeah .. .. it was all fun until he jumped in (then it was that heart stopping hyper ventilating kind of fun).

Later we picked up some dinner at Lucy's Fried Chicken and went for a picnic at Bull Creek.

We wanted to try and see the Congress Avenue Bridge bats, although it wasn't considered the prime months. March through April thousands of mostly female, pregnant Mexican free-tailed bats migrate North to give birth and they stay through the spring, summer, and early fall. Downtown Austin is the spring and summer home for up to 1.5 million bats at the peak of the bat-watching season. It's the largest urban bat colony in North America. ...very cool.

 

 Before sunset tons of people gather on the bridge and wait. All the kayaks and river boats pull in close for a look as well.

 At sunset, the bats start to trickle out from underneath the bridge. First a few here and there until there is a black cloud of bats overhead.  I could not for the life of me get a decent still shot of the bats, so I stole one from the internet that captures the scene beautifully. 

 It's such a big deal, they even have a bat statue at the corner of one of the intersections

Sunday morning it was time to head for the airport. I enjoyed 5 days of pure relaxation and time with my family. I loved every minute of it!!

 

My parents and sisters flew out on a different flight 4 hours earlier than mine. We all had to go to the airport together a couple of hours before their flight. The airline would not let me check my bag until a certain amount of time before my flight, which meant I could not go past security until then :/ 

My sweet family hung out in the little cafe and waiting area with me so that I wouldn't have to wait all alone (they are nice like that). Once I could check my bag, we all met up at our gates which were right across from each other.

I said my goodbyes and sent them on their way. I had 3+ hours of feeling sad and lonely before I boarded my flight. Lots of time for reading my book and some quality people watching;)

I am so happy I got to go to Austin! It was great to visit a new place, spend time with people I love and to be a part of a very special event for 

Sean and Kristy!!