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.