Engaged!

Hi everyone,
I hope you've heard the good news by now...John asked me to marry him yesterday! (I said yes.) We were on a backcountry hiking trip near Breckenridge, CO when he popped the question. We've got lots of pictures to share, but a couple for now include:

Just after sharing the news with friends (I think you can see my legs and his hands are shaking!).
The ring that John's grandfather, John Powers, gave to his grandmother, Martha, when he proposed.

Us snowboarding just before he asked me--I'm clueless, he's nervous.It was such an amazing weekend! I'm still too excited to think straight, but I can't wait to share more details and welcome John into our family.

Lots of love to all,

Lex

Halloween Goblins

What do you get when you mix two penguins, two dinosaurs, a chicken, and a doctor together? Our Halloween play group! Check out our little ghouls all dressed up for their first Halloween. Left to right (Nellie Keras, Drew, Alex Wunderlich, Virginia Phillips, Harper Behnke, Jane Keras). They only lasted about 5 minutes in their costumes, but we have the pics to last a life time.


Drew and his "chick."

Way cuter than Barney!

The two dinos. Look at those faces! I have a feeling they'll be getting away with lots over the next few years.

Boo! Kristina

Old No. 7

Hey all...it has been a fun-filled couple of weeks since I last posted... Two weeks ago, Justin and I took a day off work and headed to Lynchberg, Tennessee, where the 20th annual Jack Daniels BBQ Competition was being held. Justin's parents are master BBQ judges and are highly respected in the BBQ world...thus, Maria, his mom, was asked to be a judge this year. Teams who have won major contests in countries all over the world gather in itty bitty Lynchberg for the world championship competition...boy is it interesting!!

While we were there, Justin and I toured the Jack Daniels distillery...now I have never loved Jack Daniels but it is Justin's favorite drink (with Coke) and it was really fascinating to learn the painstaking process by which Jack Daniel's is made.

The picture below is that of the charcoal mill...charcoal is one of the key ingredients in Jack Daniels...I mean that they filter the 140 proof alcohol through huge vats of charcoal before it is bottled. I would show you a pic of this process but since alcohol is highly flammable, they do not allow pics in this area of the tour.

Before the charcoal-filtering process, however, the mash is made from three key ingredients: barley, corn, and rye. They also add natural spring water from a spring located on the property.

Of course, like wine, the whiskey sits in oak barrels for a long period of time...the oak barrels are used only once, then sold for about $70 apiece. People make all sorts of things out of the barrels...many are used again to make things like wine and hot sauce.

Each barrel produces over 200 bottles of Jack Daniels whiskey...and for $9000-$12000 you can taste (with a master taster) and purchase your own barrel and the distillery will bottle it for you, put your name on a plaque on the wall of the distillery, and specially label your Jack for you. Small price to pay, huh? Here is Justin in front of the "single-barrel Jack"...errr...which he can only dream about...

After the tour, we hung out at the BBQ competition and met teams from all over the world: Britain, Canada, and Estonia, just to name a few...everyone was very very nice and very excited about staying up all night in the rain to cook BBQ. Friday night all the teams and volunteers were invited to the distillery for dinner, music, and drinks overlooking Lynchberg...the pic below is the view...I forget sometime just how beautiful TN can be...

We had to head home early Saturday morning so I could help host a baby shower...so we did not actually see the cooking but that was ok...

We spent the next week planning our Halloween costumes....Justin was a break-dancer and I was "Partly Coudy with a Chance of Rain." Yes, I made my costume...comfortable - yes, attractive - no. Two large Red Bull and Vodkas made this outfit suitable for wearing out to a party...and I spent the evening spraying people with a spray gun...I think I better start planning something better for next year!

Love to all!

Cousin K

Curb Appeal with Lexi S.

Hi everyone!
We have FINALLY finished putting the final touches on our house. Well, there are a few more things we need to do :) but overall, we've made major progress on the porch and general look of the place. Here's a before and after so you can see the dramatic makeover...

This was our house when we first bought it. Yes, that's lime green and teal accents! It seems like a really long time ago when we ripped out that gate. And that bush up front.
And then...
Here she is now! John and his cousin did the major work on the porch, with other friends (myself included) helping with all the steps along the way. Our neighbors all love the blue--which is great because we took a little risk there. They actually wave at us now!

Looks like an inviting place for a visit huh? Hope to have you all here at some point soon.
Lots of love,
Lex

Hyde Family Vacation

Here is a Hyde Family pic from our week long trip to Rosemary Beach. It was a little chaotic with three kids under the age of 3, but we still had a fantastic time.

From left to right - Peter, Libby, Liz, Drew V, Drew IV, me, Shelby, Curry, and Andy.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Love,
Kristina

Modeling. It's my life.

Hi Family!
Greetings from Boulder, where fall is in full swing. We were wondering if it was ever going to come, but from the look of the bright yellow Aspen trees and the ski pass that just came in the mail, I think it's safe to say this is it!

John and I (and Olive) are doing great. Our kickball team took the regular season championship last night and we are having our house painted starting this afternoon. I can't wait to see what it looks like with modern day colors--not lime green and teal!

Last week, I took part in a photo shoot for our company since we've started using real people for our marketing materials. That's right. I modeled. Some of the pictures came out pretty good, but it's kind of cheesy that I'm not smiling in them. It will be really strange if they go on posters in our store windows from here to Seattle, LA, Santa Fe and beyond! Have a look...

Outside a barn door, wondering why I didn't brush my hair.

Pretending to drink hot tea, and be cold (it was 85!).

My first beret!

My new friend Lightening. There was also a horse named Memphis, but I look super nervous in all those pictures...

Pretty crazy huh? Leave it to me to try something new, although I'm definitely not planning to make a career out of this!

I just bought my ticket home for the holidays yesterday, so I am already looking forward to seeing you in December. Until then, send more updates...

Lots of love,

Lex

San Francisco!!

Apologies for the last cat-related blog...this one will definitely be better! I hope you guys got my emails from San Fran...if not, Justin and I took off two Saturdays ago to San Francisco to visit his college roommate Tyler and his girlfriend Maren. We had a blast...two days in Napa, three days in the city, and two days for Carmel and Monterey! Here are some pics...

Below are Maren, Tyler, Justin, and myself at a small vineyard called August Briggs. They are a small winery that only really sells to local restaurants and wine shops so we will never see the likes of it around Memphis (unless you pack some painstakingly carefully in your checked baggage - as I did - with a prayer for its safe arrival). The guy who gave us our tasting showed us around the cellar and even let us taste wine right out of the barrels - pointing out the difference between wine that has aged for different lengths of time.

We proceeded on to Frog's Leap which was a favorite among our stops. They had stopped giving tours for the day but we walked in anyways, and they opened a bottle of their 2005 Merlot and sent us out on our own tour. If you are ever in Napa, it's a must-stop...the wine is delicious and the grounds are breath-taking...

After two days in Napa and one in the city, Justin and I headed off to Carmel, about 2 hours away...we enjoyed seeing the Pacific Ocean and shopping around Carmel and Monterey. The night we ate at Casanova Restaurant, one of the best in the area. The next day, we took a scenic drive down Highway 1 (yes, in a Saturn Vue) and almost made it to Big Sur before turning around to get back to San Fran in time for dinner.

At dinner in Carmel...

At the Monterey Bay Aquarium...

The pic below is at Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc - where we ate southern fried chicken, mashed potatos and apple pie dessert...and I thought we were in California!! (Ad Hoc has a fixed menu...it takes a couple of weeks to get reservations and you don't know what the menu is until that day when they post it online...an interesting but evidently lucrative way to run a restaurant - it was packed on a Wednesday).On Thursday, Justin and I headed back into the city, first to have breakfast with my college friend and sorority sister Allana, who has lived in San Fran for almost three years! After breakfast, Justin and I toured Alcatraz, walked Fisherman's Wharf, barked at the sea lions, and enjoyed a free piece of chocalate in Giradelli Square (yumm).

Friday, we headed over to Muir Woods for our final sight-seeing adventure before coming home Saturday...

On the way home to Walnut Creek, we stopped at the Golden Gate bridge for pics and then over to the beach for a beautiful sunset...

We can't wait to go back...we needed a few more days to squeeze in another day in Napa, some time in Sausalito, and a little more time for Big Sur/Carmel/Monterey, but all in all, we did so much in the week we had there. Don't worry, this is only a smattering of the 260 pics I took out there, so we have many albums to fill and share.

Hope you are all doing well...

Kathy

Ready to go to B'ham with Charles!!

Sorry guys...just thought she was cute. Free shipping is available...any takers?
Love, Kathy

The word is out...

Hey Ijams Family,

Well the word is out and I am so excited to let you all know that we are moving back to the South! While it is not Tennessee, we are moving to Birmingham, only 3.5 hours away from Memphis. Our house was on the market for 8 days before we received an offer. Tomorrow is the inspection and we have our fingers crossed that all will go ok.

The plan for now is to move into an apartment in Birmingham until our home in Austin closes. While this was a difficult decision, everything is pointing us forward. It is all almost too perfect. We are so excited to get closer to you all. This means holidays and visits will be much easier and you all will get to see Katie grow up. It is going by so fast already.

Keep us in your prayers next week as we pack up essentials and tow our car to Birmingham!

Charles and the "former" Texas Llewellyns

Recent Activity

Hi guys! Hope you are all well if not wonderful. I am both...winding down a bit after a busy summer. I'm sending along a few photos since I got in trouble by Mama Speros for not sharing pictures that were on my Facebook page. Oops! I've added a couple here that aren't on there so you're getting exclusives. :)

This is John and I with our new temporary addition. Olive! She is a silky and smooth 9 year old black lab officially belonging to John's sister, Beth. Since she's in a band (pretty famous these days!), we're taking care of Olive while Beth tours in Europe.
I've been playing fiddle a good bit lately. It's so fun, and less squeaky all the time. I've got another lesson tonight, so start planning the extravaganza! (And yes, that's my blanket making sure my wrists don't bend.)
This rainbow (or should I say rainbows?) was just beautiful the other day. I wondered if it was also delicious. Verdict: yes!
Probably also delicious, and definitely as beautiful, was this elk. We saw him last weekend when driving through Rocky Mountain National Park. He had lots of ladies around him...and no wonder! What a stud.
Finally, our casa! I thought about posting a "before" image of our house pre-porch, but am waiting until the project and painting are fully done. We have finsihed the majority of it after completing the railing this past weekend. At this point, just bead board on the ceiling, steps leading up to it, a wrap on the roof post, and a trap door for the hose remain. Whoo! It's been quite the undertaking, but it is a huge improvement. Note John taking pride in his work and Olive monitoring from the shadows in the yard...
It's been great getting updates from everyone lately. Charles, you are out of trouble too! Way to go. Love you all lots,
Lex

Hello From Austin

Hello Ijams Family Blog,

The Texas Llewellyns have been out of touch lately. It has been hot and busy in TX. Katie is fantastic and continues to grow like a weed. She is not crawling yet, but is well on her way.

Over the 4th of July holiday, we spent a week in Rosemary beach soaking up the sun and playing with Katie in the sand.

August is a big month for the Texas Llewellyns... stay tune for more reports and changes to our life in the next few days.

Asheville in August

What a great respite we had from the heat in Memphis when we journeyed to Asheville this past week! G'mama was a good traveler...chatting away in the back seat on our trip up and back.

One of the highlights of the trip was a trip to Lake Powatan where our grandfather took the "kids" during the summer. This was their beach and favorite campground. G'mama, Katherine, and Mildred were really thrilled to see the place after all of these years.

We had a wonderful time at Lake Lure with Uncle Booty, Mildred, Katherine, and Teresa. The view of Chimney Rock and the Smokies from Booty's back window is breathtaking. The brother and sisters sang old favorites as Mildred rocked out on the piano.

On our last day, Lola and I ventured off to Merri-Mac to check out the old camp ground. We are pleased to report that the camp looked active and thriving...although none of the campers appeared to be as cool as Kristina, Alexis, and Kathy.

It was a great trip, filled with thoughts of all of the great family memories that we have of being together in the mountains. I know that all of us agree that Asheville holds a special place in our hearts.

Taco Tuesday

Just wanted everyone to know that we are holding down the forts here in Memphis while all the ladies have jaunted off to Asheville, North Carolina. We may make Taco Tuesday a somewhat regular occurrence(you are all invited, of course)...not only was it festive for an otherwise humdrum Tuesday, but it was dang delicious as well (please notice that the plates are empty and the bellies are full). We also dined in style on Grandmama Llewellyn's dining room table...shipped directly from Florida to Mimosa with a brief layover under a lovely carport on Oakley. The other great news is that I finally have dining room chairs...novel idea huh?

Despite what your thinking, no margaritas tonight....

Safe travels to all...

Love, Kathy

Growing Up So Fast!

Hi family!

Just thought I'd post a couple of cute pics of Drew eating rice cereal. He loves the stuff! I can't believe he is such a big boy now (4 months and 2 weeks old!). It has been a rough couple of nights, as we are "Ferberizing" him in an attempt to get him sleeping through the night. Thank heaven for ear plugs and sound machines! Hope everyone is doing well, and Kathy thank you for posting the baptism video. Sorry it was such a pain, but I know the out-of-towners will really enjoy it. Also I'm including a pic from Drew's little play group - check them all out tandem, naked, skydiving! Drew's the one looking at the camera.

Have a happy week! Kristina

Little Drew's Christening

I will be very brief, as I have been trying multiple ways to get this video to download(the first version was way too long and would not download). I have ended up making it shorter so those of you out-of-towners can see Little Drew's big day...he is the 2nd baby you see in the clip.(...sorry I had a bit of a bad angle with the flowers and the old guy's ear, but Little Drew definitely made the day...)

Concerning other parts of the family, I am beginning to believe that my little niece is a figment of my imagination...i.e. Charlos - post us some pics!!

Love to all (even you Charles), Kathy

Back in Biz

Hi everyone! I tried to create a new update recently, and realized that our wonderful blog had been temporarily disabled. We are back in action now--thanks to the helpful folks at Google--so blog away...

Love to all,
Lex

Bald Head Island, NC

Hi all! Greetings from Cape Fear, where the only things to fear are heat rash and poison ivy (which I have both, so I'm okay to relax now). John and I are down here at his family's beach house for the week. It has been great so far! We had about 10 friends join us last weekend and are now quietly enjoying the ability to work remotely. I thought I'd take a break to share some pictures from the past couple of days.
This is the house that John's grandfather built in the early '80s. It was one of the original houses on the island, and still maintains that character today.
When at BHI, we spend a lot of time fishing the creek with a cast net, and then using those fish to catch bigger ones in the ocean. John had major success pulling up bait fish yesterday! Then, he caught a 4 foot shark...but he was a fighter, and bit the line before we could bring him out of the surf and onto the beach. Wish me luck! Speaking of sharks, if you dig in the sand next to the driveway, you can find tons of shark's teeth! Here's John organizing his most rececnt finds.
I get excited by all of the animal sightings (crabs, dolphins, shrimp, clams, egrets, deer, aligators, foxes, and spoiled dogs), but this one was too crazy. This little raccoon decided that he could come in the porch since the screen is out. We shooed him off, but he put his little paws back up on the door to make sure we didn't want to visit. We didn't...but he was pretty cute!
I just love being here and hope one day you can all join us for a trip. I know there are some in this family who keep a place in their hearts for NC beaches. :) I'm with you!
love to you all,
Lex