**MOVING**

Click. The Good News Blogger Format, 2009-2010

I am moving on up in the blogging world to CLICK. THE GOOD NEWS!

Please update your feed reader to http://www.clickthegoodnews.com/feed/

As of Saturday August 6, 2010, I've posted 1,144 posts on the old Blogger format & invested literally thousands of hours over the past 3 years. I stopped to think about how much I really enjoyed blogging, forcing myself to finish my photos & get them online, not getting too far behind in life (well, except the past 4 months!), capturing the day to day normalcy that is our life, reminiscing about each of our big trips overseas, documenting all the funny & adorable things the dogs do, and so much more. I decided to make the major investment that will allow me to grow & for all these memories to be properly backed up and accessible for the future.

Click. The Good News Original Blogger Format, 2007

I love that I have it all here in one place. I consider this a new hybrid between keeping a diary and making a scrapbook. Doing all the transfer & site maintenance to get to my new location, I spent quite a bit of time going through the blog & straightening things up. Seeing how my blogging has evolved over the last 3 year is both surprising and encouraging. I've learned so much about photography, picked up a few coding tips, immersed myself in so many other wonderful blogs that I read & have really begun to value how much this blog means to me.

With over 107,000+ views on the old Blogger web page, I hope that many of you follow me over to Wordpress. I've officially got a domain name & some fun new features.

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I've got a lot to learn about WordPress & how to use all the functionality that comes with a real fancy blog format. I can't wait to see how blogging changes over the next 3 years.

Things I'm looking forward to changing

-Neater layout & organization

-Important things just 1 click away at the drop down menu's up top

-Photo upgrades- border, watermark, galleries, easier uploading

-New banner (still to come) & background

-Easier & safer long-term back up options

-Optional privacy for future posts

CLICK. THE GOOD NEWS!

See ya on the flip side~

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Finally! Been working on this a few months & I'm excited to move ahead even if everything isn't finished yet.

D'Vine Wine

A few weekends back, we found ourselves at D'Vine Wine Bar, a newer place just around the corner from us. I'm not sure why we've been driving all over town & hadn't tried this wine bar, but I'm glad we did! They have a smaller room that you can use for semi-private events.



They have a full meal menu as well as great accompaniments for sipping on wine. We enjoyed the cheese selection & thought they had a great range on the wine bottle prices.



We went pretty early in the afternoon & had the place to ourselves for quite a while. My other favorite thing is that they are open at noon most days & 2PM on Sundays.



I can only dream about the fall when the death heat is gone & we can sit outside again enjoying wine.



They don't have a full bar, but do serve beer for the non-wine drinkers and their selections of desserts was wonderful.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: The high today is only going to be 91- woohoo! We might venture downtown for the Houston Press Music Awards or the Intentional Jazz Festival or White Linen Nights in the Heights.

Kidz at Barton Springs

Our last stop in Austin with the kids was at Barton Springs- an amazing natural fed pool that has been an Austin favorite for decades. We tried to go on Saturday afternoon, but were discouraged by the crowds.



We showed up early on Sunday & it was pretty empty around lunch time, but quickly filled up in the afternoon. I'd been as a child & somehow missed hanging out here when I was in college.



Just below the dam is a cool dog park area where owners & furry friends hang out in the water too.



The water is a very chilly & it was quite a show to see who would take the plunge first. Hunter does it with style!



The diving board was quite popular & the kids had fun doing some stunts.



It was pretty entertaining to watch everybody, young & old, have fun getting some air.



Hunter can do front flips.



Haley does a wicked canon ball.



The rocks on the bottom make it irregular & very slippery.



The kids had a race where they both stumbled and slipped.



Haley goes down first...



They had to much fun together, just hanging out & being silly.



It's so great to catch real smiles out of these two.



They were laughing hysterically & we were quite entertained. We stayed until we got hungry & the park was getting crowded, then drove back to Houston.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Kidz made it home safely from their mission trip in Mexico & I'll be stealing Facebook photos over the next few weeks.

Kidz & College

Our next major stop was the campus at the University of Texas. Hunter has some interest in going there & it's just a beautiful campus. I don't think either of them have really walked around a college campus before & it was a cool experience.



This is one of my favorite scenes around campus.



It's hard to believe Hunter will be a junior this year & starting to visit colleges. He's interested in engineering, thinks he wants to go to a college in Texas & outside of Houston. We'll see how those plans evolve over the next 2 years.



We missed the evening showing of the Congress Ave. bats, but there were still a few fluttering around when we walked into town.



No real trip to the University of Texas is complete without a stop at their satellite campus- aka 6th street. We caught a late movie & ended up having a late dinner. It was around 11:30 when we finally made the walk through the wild side. They were funny- I think my brother was a bit overwhelmed with all the partying & my sister was just ready to go.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: My easy-going August just got a lot busier as I picked up some work trips & so did H.

Mt Bonnell & the Capitol

The next stop on our Austin trip was Mt Bonnell Park, overlooking the Austin skyline and Town Lake.



Just a few steps off the main trail & you can get some great views of the lake & surrounding hillside.



::le sigh::
I miss Austin & would love to live in this urban wilderness.



Next stop was a quick walk around the Texas Capitol. I guess kids these days don't take field trips to see it anymore :(



I love that my sister is a little shutterbug & getting quite into taking photos, which I can later steal on Facebook.



She caught Hunter & I walking down the steps at Mt. Bonnell. When did my hair get that short?!?!!? And when did my brother get so tall??

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: August snuck up on me...I can't believe we are 7/12ths of the way through the year!

The Oasis Austin

Last weekend we grabbed my brother & sister and headed to Austin to explore. Our first stop was at The Oasis on Lake Travis.



They are famous for their layers of decking that provides awesome views of the sunset and all the partiers out on the lake.



I loved my years living in Austin during college & couldn't believe the kids hadn't been up there to do any sightseeing.



The lake was pretty quiet for a sunny Saturday, but there was still a crowd at Windy Point Park.



I tried explaining to them how the Colorado River, through 3 dams, formed the 3 Austin area lakes.



I was just blown away by how much The Oasis is growing. Way back when, it was a little local restaurant that was pretty simple & basic.



They are expanding and getting into the events (weddings!) and hotel area of things.



We jealously checked out all the amazing houses on the lake & schemed about how we might get our own one day.



It's so big and fancy now- I hardly recognize it :(



Like all of Austin- rampant construction and expansion. I'm kinda sad to see the little dive restaurant gone, but such is progress.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Looks like we are going to Belize for our anniversary! Sooooo excited about that ;)

VBS

My brother and sister volunteered last week at Vacation Bible school at our church. Thank to the abundance of cell phone cameras, I've got lots of cute pics.



They enjoyed hanging out with their friends as much as actually volunteering.



Apparently my brother showed off his acting skills in a skit & the little kids wanted his autograph afterward.



So cute to see my siblings working with the real little kids who are adorable.



Haley finally has a driving friend- Sam.



Not technically at VBS, but this is Haley's new friend (i.e. Hunter's old friend & possibly future girlfriend??). Anyways....can't wait to see how the young-love romance drama unfolds.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: The kidz & Brenda are in Mexico for 6 days on a mission trip outside of Mexico City.