Fourth of July Festivities

Never celebrated July 4th in June, but this past Saturday, there was a big celebration in the Hill Country with games, a petting zoo, live music and fireworks. The kids got to pet the goats, zebras, kangaroos and alpacas. Morgan was happy to go on a pony ride (Dean not so much). We then ate some frozen yogurt (after ample hand sanitizer) and hung out on our blanket to listen to music while the sun set. The family next to us was even kind enough to give us some glow sticks. The fireworks started at 9:00 to the tune of "Proud To Be An American" and both boys loved watching all the colors in the sky. Not quite the production quality of DC, but it did the job. Then it was time to change into PJs in the car before the 35 minute drive home, although to my surprise, both boys stayed wide awake. When we got home, they found their ways to their beds in the dark house by the light of their glow sticks.

Mmmm... those shorts look tasty

Morgan Graduates Preschool!

Here we come, Kindergarten! Morgan finished his last day of preschool and we had a graduation ceremony on Friday. His class sang the Beatles "You Say Goodbye and I Say Hello" - it took a few verses for us to get what song it was, but it was really cute. Morgan also walked from his teachers on one side of the "gates of life" to greet mommy and Dean on the other side, representing the transition. I was teary eyed saying good bye to his wonderful teachers who have been so great for him these past 3 years. At least Ms. Kellie's daughter goes to Becker, so we'll still be running into her. As we left, we had one last "rainbow kiss" through the playground gate. Later that night, we had a celebratory dinner at Morgan's pick: Uncle Julio's. Morgan is excited for Kindergarten in the fall, mostly for the large garden they have there, he said. Congratulations, Morgan, we are proud of you!

Morgan and best buddy Bodhi

Schlitterbahn

As a promised reward for completing 3 months of swimming lessons, we paid a visit to Schlitterbahn, the nation's largest water park which is only 45 minutes away in New Braunfels. We were unsure if there would be enough variety of kid-level activities but there were plenty different pools, lazy rivers and rides to explore. Morgan was all smiles on the rafting rides while Dean liked it until there were any small drops. He said he was scared and was content to stick to the beached submarine after that. Morgan even wanted to go on one of the fast rides and since he was tall enough and it was a double person raft, I took him. We had fun but he said he had his eyes closed the whole time! There were tons of other rides that looked like fun - maybe when they are a little older and more adventurous, but they still had a great time and I think we went around that lazy river 40 times. After a day in the sun, we changed at our cabin (which reminded us of a scene from the Griswolds) and headed 2 miles to the historic town of Greune (pronounced "Green") for dinner at the Gristmill on the Comal River. We had heard great things about the restaurant, which is next door to the oldest dance hall in all of Texas. The food was good (and Texas-sized portions!) and we watched the live music in the yard while our food digested. While waiting for our food, the kids drew pictures of their impressions from the day: Morgan's of a waterpark ride and Dean's of the Schlitterbahn bendy bus we rode from the two sides of the parks : ) The next day, we had another couple hours at the water park before heading back to reality.

Visit from Grace

Ed's cousin Grace visited us a couple weekends ago -- her first time to Austin. We had fun showing her around, eating at Saltlick & Lucky Robot, hanging out at Zilker park, catching live music on S. Congress, dipping in Deep Eddy pool and playing with the boys. On Sunday, Siiri joined us when we rented a boat and ate a picnic lunch on the water - it was a lot of fun going up and down the river and the boys of course loved it. Captain Morgan and Captain Dean even got to steer the boat, which was making us a little sea sick when Dean was at the wheel! It was great to catch up with Tita Gracie and hear about her new adventures moving to San Francisco. We are so happy for you, Grace! Good luck with everything and can't wait to see you again for ACL!

We saw turtles!!!

the twins : )

Memorial Day Weekend

Ed's college friend Traci, along with her husband Paul and their 4 year old son Declan, came to visit from San Francisco for the long weekend. We had one pleasant day, followed by lots of rain so spent of the time indoors. Their first night there, we walked over to Freddie's for dinner and listened to live music while the kids played on the playground. The next day (the one nice day), we checked out Zilker Park, had lunch at Rudy's BBQ and shopped on S. Congress. Paul was able to splurge on his once a week meat allowance : ) Siiri joined the adults that night for a nice dinner at Salty Sow. We had a great variety of food and drinks and let's just say I wish I could have that butterscotch boudin for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. The rest of the time was pretty rainy so the grilling out plans turned into burgers on the stove. Everyone contributed to the great spread and we played charades and catch phrase which was a close battle between the ladies and the men. The following day, there was more rain, so Traci and I took the kids to the Thinkery, Austin's new Children's museum, where they had a great time constructing creations, flying airplanes, and painting with hot wax among other activities. Thanks Traci, Paul and Declan for coming all the way out and best of luck with upcoming baby #2! Oh, and we still can't believe what a basketball talent Declan is -- glad our basketball hoop got some use! The boys all had a great time and wish we could do play dates more often : (