Chuy's Blue Santa Parade

 

Saturday was the Annual Chuy's Blue Santa Parade going from the Capitol to the Congress Bridge. It seems like winter arrived overnight as we bundled up to watch the string of giant blimps, marching bands and bedazzled floats. The kids had a lot of eye candy and on the way back to the car, Morgan ran into the Blue Santa and got to rattle off his wish list. We also passed by some military hummers that had been in the parade and a soldier was kind enough to let Morgan get in the vehicle. That boy was grinning ear to ear!

Mt. Bonnell

With Lola and Papa Bobby in tow, we climbed the 117 stairs (Morgan counted) to the top of Mt. Bonnell to watch the sunset and check out the view of downtown Austin and the river (as well as the expensive homes that reside there). Aside from a 1 year old using my shoulder blade as a teething ring, it was fun. A week ago, we hadn't even heard of the place, but a neighbor happened to mention it in passing. Still lots to discover here in Austin!

Tree Lighting at the Domain

 

Cue the fake snow! Now it really feels like Christmas... Went to the tree lighting ceremony at The Domain which was an outdoor shopping center with a Reston Town Center vibe. We enjoyed TexMex food, live music and the kid's favorite -- a laser show. Nevermind that we were wearing short sleeves and sweating, but Christmas was in the air!

Get your 'stache on

 

I mean, I know these boys are growing fast, but facial hair??? I don't know what it is about mustaches around here, but they are very popular. Went to the carnival at Homeslice Pizza yesterday and the boys opted to sport some themselves. Morgan chose "The Villian" for Dean and "The Crustashe" for himself. We got some good laughs and stares on the walk home!

Sunset at the Oasis

 Ok, so I'm a little behind on the blog. Morgan has officially dropped his nap, so I now have 2 hours/day less, yikes! Anyways, we had heard from several people how great some place called Oasis was where you can watch the sun set at the lake while sipping margaritas. So we thought we'd give it a shot when my mom was in town. It was a good 40 minute drive in traffic, but the drive took us through parts of Austin we've never been -- lots of hills and hill country terrain. Oasis is perched on a large part of the lake, although the water level looked pretty low. The terraced balconies gave you a great view and it felt like we were far from the city. The menu was just ok and the drinks were strong, but the view couldn't be beat. Until after 6:04, when everything turned dark  ; ) We will definitely have to come back in the spring!

Dean turns 1!!!!!

It's hard to believe our baby is now one. But then again when you think about it, in the time since Dean's been around, we've packed up our house and moved to Austin.


We were supposed to go for a celebratory train ride on the Zilker Zephyr but it rained (which is rare since we've been here). We had a small party at the house with Nana, Uncle Steven and our friend Siiri who recently moved here from Maryland. Dean got his first taste of chocolate cupcakes (pig ones, no less) and liked what he tasted. Thank you to everyone for the gifts and well wishes. I created a 3 minute compilation of Dean's first year if you'd like to check it out:

http://blip.tv/pelaezfam/happy-1st-birthday-dean-5726378

Is this where they shot the last scene of Cast Away?

Nothing like good weather and sleeping kids to take you on a long drive through Willow City Loop in the Hill Country of Texas. The landscape was more like Arizona or Utah, with rolling hills, canyon-like terrain and watch out for those farm animals in the middle of the road! Apparently, a meteor fell here and cut into the landscape. It was very beautiful and thankfully we had a full tank of gas because although this was a scenic drive, it was the off-season so cars were sparse and there were only a sprinkling of homes for miles and miles. Mariah, you said if you ever came to Texas, you wanted to be in the middle of nowhere. Well, here it is!

 

 

 Afterwards, we visited the town of Fredericksburg, which still abides by it's German heritage. We had shnitzel and beer at one of the breweries there. Mental note: this will definitely be a place to take Darren & Annie when they come.