I love fireworks!

Hello hello! 

I thought I'd drop by with a little update before I head off to bed. This week was exciting: Perry called a special session, it was first thursdays, the fourth of july and I found an awesome Louisiana band all the way in Texas! Here are some pictures!

Ok, first you might be asking.... but what the heck is 'special session'??? Basically, it's an emergency calling of the legislature when something important didnt get done during session. Texas has what is widely regarded as a crazy legislature system that only meets once every two years for a very short amount of time. More often than not, something will go wrong and the governor will have to call an emergency session to hammer out the necessary things, in this case the biggie was TxDot.... you know, that agency that runs the highways in Texas? Well, will all of the pressing issues happening this full session, TxDot managed to basically expire- meaning that for at least a few days we didnt really have anyone overseeing our freeways until the Special Session started to allow for a grace period. All of this crazyness gave the legislative team the chance to visit the capitol while it was all abuzz. Here's a picture of the 3 legislative interns getting our morning started: me, Danielle and Kristi. 

Last Thursday was also exciting since it was Lyndseys First Thursday experience! She purchased a super cute dress and we had a great time walking around. It was really funny when she went to buy the dress because there isnt exactly a dressing room, so the booth lady helped her try it on over her clothes. It was very cute then, but even better when she tried it on normally at home!

We also ran into my neighbor Allison. She plays in an awesome band, and they led a parade through the South Congress area. 

We had a great time celebrating our first Fourth of July in Austin. HEB (the grocery store) and the Austin Symphony Orchestra put on a great show and the fireworks are some of the best in the state. Apparently, about 100,000 people show up and line the greenbelt so we made sure to arrive early and claim our little spot. 

The orchestra was great and played a wide array of music. I was so impressed that this is their 30 some odd year performing for the 4th of July celebration as a gift to the city. 

The fireworks were awesome, I've never seen a better show. 

After the fireworks show, we made our way over to Hole in the Wall to see a few awesome bands playing. My favorite of the night also happened to be from Lafayette Louisiana! They are called Vagabond Swing, and they totally rocked. One of the guys is actually a year younger than I am and went to Alleman! It's a small world!! From what I can tell, they dont have a cd or a major web site, but here is their myspace account which includes a few songs. My favorite one is tipsy gypsy, its cajun jazz with a little hipster action. Love it! 

http://www.myspace.com/vagabondswing

Alright, I'm heading off to bed. It's back to the office life tomorrow! Until next time!