Smith Family Gatherings- Family Life
Bert Showing VJ how to use iPAD. Click to enlarge.
the Boys, Tim, Bert, VJ. Click to Enlarge.
VJ and Julie at rest in Pflugerville. click to enlarge.
The clan getting ready for dinner. Click to enlarge.
VJ and Julie finally arrived sometime between 3:00 and 3:30 PM. Laurel broke out the nuts and other snacks. Our objective for the evening was eating at Pappadeaux's, which is a Louisiana Cajun restaurant and one of our favorite places to go. If someone comes visiting we normally take them there. The Oklahoma Ryans have been there several times already. Before leaving the house we had several margaritas. All had margaritas except for Laurel as she was our designated driver. About 5:30 PM we left for the restaurant and arrived at Pappadeaux's around 6:00 PM. We signed in at 6:16 PM according to the card they gave me (number 89). We waited an hour and a half before we got seated at our table. It is a very busy and popular place. Normally Laurel and I will get there by 4:30 in the afternoon to avoid the rush. Sometimes we eat there for lunch; however, weekend traffic is always busy.
We started out with the oyster trio as an appetizer. It was three versions of their oysters on a half shell. I ordered the Costa Rican mahi-mahi with brussell sprouts and cheese grits. Laurel ordered the crawfish ettouffe on dirty rice. VJ ordered the blackened red snapper with dirty rice. I cannot remember Julie's order although she had a crab cake near her plate. Laurel can normally remember other people's orders. We shared parts of our food with each other so we could taste what was ordered. We thought about ordering alligator, but cooler heads prevailed. The meal was delicious. At one point the manager came up to our table and heard someone had complained about the fish being undercooked. Laurel was pointing at the mahi-mahi, but no one at our table complained about the food. The manager realized her mistake and went to the right table. However, later the manager came by and removed the oyster trio amount from our bill. Not sure why that happened, but we were not going to complain.
Finally we left the restaurant at 9:30 PM and a good time was had by all. Laurel drove us all back home. At home VJ and I toasted to the Smiths. We stayed up awhile longer but got to bed a little before midnight. VJ and Julie left early Sunday morning as their flight started at 10:30 AM in San Antonio. As I write, VJ and Julie are en route to South Dakota. Laurel had a couple of drinks last night after coming back from the restaurant.
Laurel and I were a little nervous having company over. We did not know how our dog, Bert, would react. Bert was a little stunned seeing new people in his home but seemed to get over it pretty quickly. He liked VJ's shoes (smell of cat). The boys (Tim, Bert and VJ) all posed together for a picture. One picture sent to you shows VJ, Julie and Laurel. You will see we were looking at the Smith family website at the time. Another picture shows Bert jumping up on VJ. Overall, Bert behaved much better than we thought he would. I think he only nudged Julie's butt once. At one point last night I got up to go to the bathroom. Bert thought it was the 'evil VJ' and proceeded to howl in the living room. VJ said he never heard it, but I had to calm the dog. Laurel thought it pretty funny. VJ and Julie also saw our cockatiels, Tweeky and Mango.
The birds were outside most of the day (covered patio). We let them in and had to round them up and place them in their cages. Laurel grabbed all the birds and placed them in their cages. We left a light on in the kitchen for the animals. When we came back home both birds were sitting on top of the kitchen shelves. Not sure how they got out, but the dog left them alone. Thank God.
I am also sending you some pictures taken from my cell phone at the restaurant. Julie had the waitress take a picture of us sitting in our booth. I do not have that picture yet. Well, it was a busy day yesterday and Laurel is still in bed. I need to drag her out for lunch.
