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.