The Corbin Clan

The Corbin clan was reunited this week when my brother Mark and his wife Valerie came for a visit from the distant land of New Jersey.  The buddies, of course, enjoyed two more people who paid attention to them.

And the littlest buddy enjoyed making a new friend.  I think he did at least.  He seemed to be enjoying himself.  

We also made a day trip to see my granddad (or "Go Dad" as Micah called him) who recently moved to Georgetown about 30 minutes outside of Austin.

I love the representation of generations in this picture.  I also love the disparity of hair.

We ate at a quaint cafe in Georgetown that Mark & Val used to frequent when they were in college there.  Micah's devilish grin is due to the fact that we paid $7 for a peanut butter & banana sandwich, and he only ate four bites.

And a cafe doesn't qualify as quaint without its own herb garden in the back.  Valerie gave Micah a sample of mint, which unfortunately in a two-year old's brain translates to universal permission to eat leaves off any plant of his choosing in the future.

My brother & I are different in a lot of ways but probably the most dramatic is our preferences in food.  Apparently, all the discriminating taste buds in the gene pool ended up in Mark's mouth, not mine.  Mark & Val are bone fide foodies who scoff at the fact that I think cereal constitutes a non-breakfast meal.  Food is not a function for them; it's art.  When they are at the kitchen's helm, I will most gladly trade in my bowl & spoon.  When else do I eat beautiful salads like this?

Prepared by beautiful chefs like this?

But the clincher--lamb chops.  In my world, lamb chop conjures thoughts of a fuzzy puppet who entertained children on TV and was a spokesperson (or spokes-sheep I guess?) for kids underwear.  However, thanks to the metropolitan tastes of this dynamic duo, I can now check off "Eat lamb chops" from my bucket list.  Or at least add it to my bucket list so I can then check it off in a gusto of life accomplishment.  

Mark & Val headed home to Jersey this morning, leaving us with happy memories & happy bellies.