A visit from Annie and Jonas

Jonas had a break from school and so he and Annie were able to spend a whole week with us, including Easter. The boys enjoyed having their cousin around and we proceeded to eat our way through Austin and found fun ways to fill our time between meals : )

On the very first full day of their visit, the 2nd grade put on a Poetry Slam in which they each came up to recite one English and one Spanish poem of their choice. Annie and J were able to attend and see Morgan read "El Tigre" and "Teacher Sighting". His artwork was projected behind him as he read:

After a morning of poetry, Annie and I took J to the Ladybird Wildflower Center where we saw baby owls, walked the paths and checked out lots of, well, wildflowers. It was a beautiful day to take a stroll and enjoy the scenery...

That evening, I dragged Annie to an event I helped organize with some other lady artist friends: Ladies Drawing Night. It was an initiative spurred by the desire to bring attention to those organizations whom we care about whose budgets have been slashed in the new administration. This was our first event and we were able to raise $500 for the Natural Resources Defense Council while making postcards to senators, eating delicious cupcakes and enjoying the company of like-minded ladies. Great way to spend an evening!

We also took the boys to Dart'em Up after school one day (where Morgan's bday party will be). We knew Jonas would love it and no surprise, he did. Even Annie, Ed and I got in on the action...

That Friday, the boys had off school for Good Friday and we headed over the Horseshoe Bay for Easter weekend. We lucked out with pool and hot tub weather! The boys had fun hanging out and of course had the traditional smore's.

On Saturday morning, I got up super early to see the ascension of the hot air balloons, but the winds were too strong for them to take off. I did get to see a pretty sunrise though. Definitely needed extra coffee that day...

After a big breakfast at Magnolia cafe, we checked out some of the Easter festivities like the petting zoo and of course the Easter egg "hunt" (which we missed last year by 30 seconds). This time, we made sure to get there early and the hunt was more like a mad dash as the eggs were in a field in plain sight.

headed to the easter egg hunt

and just like that, it was over

the boys check out their booty

Later that afternoon, was the balloon festival where we parked on a blanket to watch the sky divers, eat fair food, witness the balloon glow and listen to live music. Jonas and Dean also checked out an animal show while Morgan laid on the blanket, pretty much too tired to do anything...

the worldwide premiere of "Tom" from Tom & Jerry was... backwards

there's the front!

The next day, we made a pit stop at El Gaucho Winery on the way back to Austin. The kids happily played in the tee pees while we took part in the Easter edition of their traditional Argentinian asado and wines. Delicioso!!!

On Monday, Annie, J, and I went to the Bob Bullock Museum to get our Texas History on. We especially liked the exhibit about the shipwrecked La Belle that was discovered in the Gulf of Mexico as recently as the 90's. Afterwards, we headed to Radio coffee house and partook in some yummy tacos.

It was a fun week that flew by fast! Thanks Annie and J for coming out and spending your Spring Break with us!

Random April Moments

The spring has been flying by and amongst visitors, here are some of the random goings on at the Pelaez residence in April...

ROUNDROCK EXPRESS GAME WITH FRIENDS

ENJOYING NICE CONVERTIBLE WEATHER...

 SEDAR DINNER WITH OUR OTHER QUARTER JEWISH FRIENDS ; )

(Dean was the youngest and did awesome on his readings)

Thanks Troy and Deidre for hosting! It was yummy!

A taste of Manischewitz for the kids in kiddie medicine cups!

NANA & NOLA

We timed a Nana visit to coincide with a business trip Ed had to New Orleans so that first, we could see Nana and second, she could watch the boys while I snuck away with Ed on his trip. I had never been to New Orleans, so really wanted to check it out, not to mention have some quality time with Ed. Unfortunately, earlier that week, Nana came down with strep throat, so was not feeling 100%. Regardless, it was good to see her, and we did manage to fit in some BBQ, shopping and a nice mother/daughter lunch before her symptoms returned and she had to take it easy. With a new dose of meds, she rested up and got a little better each day. That Sunday, Ed and I flew to New Orleans and were introduced to the city of indulgence...

We spent our first half day walking to the French Market, and had fried chicken at Coop's for a late lunch. We covered a good bit of the French Quarter and even got a hurricane and walked down Bourbon St. Even on a Sunday afternoon, the action was just getting started. Not exactly my scene, but one has to at least check the box when visiting New Orleans. Harrah's casino was conveniently on our way back to the hotel, so of course we had to play a little blackjack. (And again the next day). We left $95 up altogether, so I'd say that's not bad. After resting at the hotel, we headed back out to the recommended Peche seafood restaurant where our eyes were bigger than our stomachs, but oh man, was it good.

The next day, we had a late breakfast at Cafe Beignet where we ate what was like inflated funnel cake, while listening to live jazz. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around Jackson Square and Frenchman St and then took a street car back to the hotel so Ed could do some work. Meanwhile, I spent the afternoon shopping on Magazine St. in the garden district which to me, was the prettiest part of town. Afterwards, it was another late dinner, this time at the renowned Cochon, which did live up to it's expectation. Bellies full, we turned in and the next morning, I headed to the airport after a breakfast of crepes.

more oysters and a piña colada, from the French Market

Back in Austin, Nana was feeling healthier and the boys liked their snow globes and mardi gras bead art projects. It was nice to have some Ed & Julie time and it was nice for the boys to have some quality Nana time : ) Thanks for coming out Nana!