A quick recommendation for you if you are looking for a weekend road trip! While on our family bluebonnet hunt, we stumbled upon a beautiful vineyard and winery near Marble Falls called Perissos (https://www.perissosvineyards.com/). Perissos is a Greek word found in the Bible (Ephesians 3:20) meaning “exceeding abundantly, beyond what is expected, imagined, or hoped for.” What a great meaning! The grounds were beautiful and there was a tasting option that for $24, you can have a pour of 6 of their current wines. No reservations were needed. There was a big tasting room (beautiful) or you could opt to sit outdoors at one of their many picnic tables. The weather was nice so we decided to sit outside overlooking the vineyard. There is also a nice menu where you can order charcuterie, salads, or sandwiches. We went for a small charcuterie! It was a nice little afternoon and highly recommended if you want to just get away for a day!
Easter holiday gave our family a chance to get together. The Annouras usually have a big Easter egg hunt at the house with our 3 boys sprinting and diving for eggs, but with Joe not coming home for the holidays, we decided to nix our egg hunt for the first time ever and go to Austin to find Joe. The season was perfect for Texas bluebonnets so it was a great time to hit some of the Texas backroads so soak up some beautiful nature. Heading to Austin, we dropped Koh off at Hobby Airport so he could fly there, while Susan, Ty, and Zach raced him in the car. If we wouldn’t have hit heavy traffic in Bastrop, we probably would have tied him, but Koh beat us! Readers probably think this is crazy but it was part of the Southwest Airlines special to get a promotional companion pass. Koh will need to get one more one way in by May to qualify so the challenge continues… The family went up to Marble Falls to see the famous farmhouse, then drove out to Inks Lake and on the way there, found a very cool vineyard called Perissos where we stopped for an afternoon of wine tasting! At time of writing, we are STILL waiting on Ty’s college decisions. His #1 choice (The Naval Academy) has not answered yet, but we did hear from NYU, who admitted him for their Shanghai (China) campus. We have visits scheduled for Case Western and WPI for this weekend. This is definitely a stressful time for all of us, as we wait to see what the final choices will be, and to see which path Ty chooses to go.
In other big news, Koh left for Korea and Japan on Saturday. There is a new world wide KEIRIN league starting called Derby Wheel that he will be trying out for. At age 57, one would have thought he was done with competitive keirin racing, but he still loves the sport and wants to compete. If he makes it, his races will be in Manchester England although everything is still very tentative. We shall see if he makes the cut first and go from there! Gambare, Koh!
Attention ramen lovers!! There is a new ramen restaurant in Houston called Tsujita Artisan Noodle and it just grand opened on the west side of Houston. Tsujita has five (almost 6) locations: three locations in California (with one more coming in May), one in New Jersey, and now one in Houston! Tsujita originated in Tokyo in 2003 and has 18 locations in Japan. Taking a look at their menu, they have Tsukemen (noodles where you dipped them in tasty soup) as well as Ramen (Hakata Tonkotsu, chicken, miso, or veggie). They also have various rice bowls (katsu curry or chashu bowl) and a nice appetizer menu with everything from takoyaki to gyoza to karaage. Tsujita Ramen Retaurant is located at 12230 Westheimer Rd, A-160, Houston, TX 77077. We are excited to go check it out!
In major real estate industry news, NAR (National Association of Realtors) settled a commissions lawsuit last week, shaking up the realtor community and associations across the United States. The problem is that the media has twisted the story and has put out incorrect information which is causing lots of confusion to the public. Because of this, there are several good websites to visit to get correct information. NAR has a dedicated website with very good information here: https://www.nar.realtor/competition-in-real-estate. And, to help local realtors in Houston, HAR has created a very helpful Q&A link for realtors and consumers to understand the possible impact and implications of the recent settlement. Please see here: https://cms.har.com/lawsuits/.
This deserves a story by itself! We are proud of our second son Ty, who went to Iowa with his club coach, Joe Forsman, over spring break and battled against some of the toughest competition in the United States in the 126 pound category. The competition was through USA Wrestling (USAW) and the name of the event was the 2024 Junior Boys & Girls Folkstyle Nationals. In order to become an All American, one must finish in the top 8 spots and Ty barely made it, taking home the 8th spot! Last October, Ty finished 4th at another national tournament in Iowa (PreSeason Nationals), making him now a 2 time high school All American! With only a little over 2 months left of high school, we are still unsure of where Ty will go for college or if he will wrestle after he graduates. He is considering offers from a few different universities and is still waiting for the results of his Naval Academy application. Please keep him in your prayers! We should hopefully know his future path in the coming month.