Rembrandt Film Festival in Dallas

While I was in Austin for SXSW I was notified that my film Open When Johnny Can Read had been accepted into the Rembrandt Film Festival in Dallas and had received the award for Best Narrative Feature. We decided to make a round ten days out of our trip and Ashleigh and I took off for Dallas from Abilene on Friday. The Festival was held at the Dallas Convention Center on Saturday, March 19th. The film was well-received by the audience (small though it was) and we had a great Q&A session afterward. Venus Monique and Kari Jones were able to travel up to receive the award with me as well. I also had my family there (Mom, Dad, Sister) and my sister's friend Melissa and her husband.

Spring Break in Abilene & Paris

The kids and I headed to Abilene while Matt went down to SXSW. We were supposed to spend Thurs-Sun in Abilene and then join him in Liberty Hill. But things didn't go exactly as planned. We found out on Saturday that Aunt Gerri died the night before. That meant the kids and I traveled to Paris on Sunday night. We had the funeral and big family dinner on Monday, then returned to Abilene on Tuesday. Just a few hours after our return, we got big news from Matt about his acceptance into a film festival in Dallas. That meant further traveling to Dallas for the weekend (while the kids remained in Abilene). We returned from Dallas on Sunday, picked up the kids, and made it home to Midland just before bedtime.
In between all the long drives, we squeezed in two trips to the children's museum, Six Flags for me & my sisters, picnics, artwork at the literature museum, bike rides, and other fun stuff.


We had Chick-fil-A in Pepaw's office building on Friday.

Pepaw's office is on the top floor.

Morgan & Emma working at Pepaw's desk.

Viola making herself at home on Pepaw's office floor.

In front of the Titan ride...



The kids cozied up in the bed at Darenda's house.

the "kids" table!

Viola's special spot in the corner.

Emma is loving this...

...and this!

These kids are all related somehow, just don't ask me to explain it.

Matt at SXSW 2011

While Ashleigh and the kids stayed in Abilene, I went down to SXSW 2011 Interactive and Film Conference in Austin, TX. I stayed with Papa Wes and Gigi in Liberty Hill for the week and traveled every day back and forth from the convention center as I've done for the past four years or so. The plan was to have Ash and the kids meet up with me half way through but the unexpected death of Ashleigh's great aunt required an extra trip to Paris, TX for Ashleigh and the kids and they weren't able to make it down this time. Here are a few photos from my time in Austin. I got to meet Danny Devito, Rosario Dawson, Carla Gugino, Rainn Wilson, and Ellen Paige. Ash will post a separate blog for her Abilene and Paris Trip.







During my stay in Austin I was also able to visit my Grandma in New Braunfels. On my last evening at my folk's house I went out with Kate, Ryan, Mercedes, and Mom and Dad to a little restaurant in Liberty Hill called Dahlia's.