First Day of School

This morning marked the first day of Kindergarten for Dean and the first day of second grade for Morgan. The getting ready on time part didn't go exactly smoothly, and Dean went to school with toothpaste all over his shirt, but, hey, it was better than the haircuts they decided to give each other the night before the first day of school last year : )

They seemed happy to be reunited with friends and went into their classrooms easily - it was me who kept asking for more hugs, especially Dean - I wasn't expecting to get teary eyed but it just hit me that my baby is such a big boy now! He was so ready and was like "See ya!" Wishing them a great school year!

Rest of Summer

After returning from Santa Fe, the last 3 weeks of summer were busy with camp, the Austin Duck Derby, a visit to Sea World San Antonio, my weekend in Dallas for a tennis Sectionals tournament, some play dates with friends, and a long promised visit to Austin Parks & Pizza (we couldn't have postponed it any longer)...

It's been an ongoing Austin tradition that we've always somehow missed: the Austin Duck Derby, where thousands of rubber duckies (each one adopted for charity) are dumped off the Congress Bridge into the river to race for the finish. There are prizes, games, food and activities, but the highlight is watching the big dump and then a sea of yellow.

While having 3 days of Dr. appointments in San Antonio, we decided to make a trip out of it and get a hotel. We were able to spend 2 of the afternoons at Sea World and their waterpark, Aquatica. It was hot both days, so the water park felt great and the boys liked seeing the killer whales and penguins. But to be honest, I thought the show consisting of rescued pets was the best -- they really put on a good show! On the first day, we past some carnival-like games where you could win stuffed animals. Dean became obsessed with this stuffed squid that was taller than him and would not stop talking about it for 2 days straight. Of course you had to toss a tiny ring onto the one of two golden bottles in a sea of bottles (impossible!!) Fun Fact: Did you know you could offer to buy the animals outright? And they're not even that expensive? I know, it takes all the fun out of winning it from the game, but Dean was so happy to get that damn squid. He named him "Squiddie" and so we got a Pokemon character for Morgan too : )

Then it was off to Sectionals in Dallas: Well, we were the only team not wearing matching outfits and not from a country club... We didn't win, but I was pretty proud of how we played, it was definitely a learning experience and a fun girls trip. I'll take 4th in the state!

On the last day of school, the boys had said one thing they really, really, REALLY wanted to do was to go to Austin Parks & Pizza. So, being manipulative parents, we told them if they behaved over the summer, we'd take them. Well, it came down to the last weekend of the summer and we really couldn't wait any further. It's not like the boys forgot, so we finally relented. The day was filled with go karts, bumper boats, arcade games, putt-putt and roller coasters. An appropriate close to summer.

Austin or Bust

We hit the road to Austin, taking our time to enjoy some stops along the way. First stop was White Sands National Park. We arrived after dinnertime and didn't really give much of any expectations for the boys although they started to figure it out when they saw us buy sleds at the Visitor Center : ) As we drove deeper into the park, the sand dunes stretched further and further and became taller and taller. It was literally white sand as far as you could see and they took delight when the paved road turned to a sand-only path. We found parking and the boys raced up the hill. They were hesitant to go down by themselves the first time (since they've never been sledding before), so one at a time they went on my lap. Nerves quickly melted away and they loved the thrill of sliding down the dune. I have to say, it was much more fun to be sledding minus the cold, freezing snow and layers of clothing : ) We got in a good hour before a thunderstorm moved in and we had to make a break for the car. It was a beautiful scene to watch the sun set over the endless sand dunes. It was definitely a highlight of the whole trip!

The next day, we made a quick pit stop in Roswell on our way to Carlsbad Caverns. It was literally a 30 minute stop, but we managed to squeeze in some aliens because when else are we going to find ourselves in Roswell???

Carlsbad Caverns provided a nice respite from the hot sun and boys loved exploring with their mining hats. We took the elevator down 775 feet below ground level and walked the 1.25 mile Big Room tour. I don't know how much scenery the boys took in as they were going to quickly through the path. It was pretty incredible all the formations and just the vastness of it. With 2 hour wait lines for the elevator back up, we took a rest and opted to walk the steep  1.2 mile Natural Path back to the surface. I don't know where those boys got all that energy but they were practically running up the switchbacks - we kept having to ask them to slow down! Then, my favorite part of the whole day was when we came upon a cave room that had a bright huge beam of sunlight shining down – it was like a scene in a movie. Later, a ranger told us that only happens certain times of the year at certain times of the day, so we felt lucky to experience it. I don't remember my trip to Carlsbad from when I was young, but I hope these boys remember theirs!

So goodbye, New Mexico and thanks for a memorable trip! It was fun but we're happy to be back home now : )