The big 40

 Ed turned 40 this past weekend and had a few surprise visitors... While having dinner at Lucky Robot with the kids and I on Friday, first Steve showed up and then Ed's mom 5 minutes later. Little did Ed know that I had picked them up earlier that afternoon with the kids. (A promise of ice cream kept the boys from spilling the beans to daddy - I was both thankful and concerned about that)! Afterwards, Linda and I took the kids home while Ed and Steve had a night on the town, hitting up live music at The Continental Club, Guerro's, Mohawk and then Firehouse. I have to say by the time Ed stumbled home, I had never seen him so wrecked. He paid for it the next day as 40 year olds just don't bounce back from hangovers like they used to : ) We paid a visit to Rudy's for lunch, then the 4 of us adults had a chance to go out Saturday night where we had Polvo's for dinner followed by drinks at Rainey St. Sounds like our night was much more tame though. We also had a chance to take Linda and Steve to the new house (which is pretty darn close to being finished).

I hope Ed had a nice bday. In less than a month, he and I will be going to Maui which is his main gift from myself and lots of family members. We look forward to it!

Intro to Bowling

The rainy weekend brought us indoors for the boy's first ever bowling experience. They were in awe watching others roll the ball down the gigantic lanes and delighted to try it themselves. Although they had bumpers in the gutters, the lightest ball was a 6 pounder, so we opted to use the "slide" to fire the balls off. Dean lasted about half way through the game, then lost interest and let Morgan take all his turns. Morgan was very into it and clapped every time any of us knocked down the pins. The first time Daddy knocked all 10 pins down, I celebrated his "strike". Morgan's expression of glee turned sour as he stated he did not want to get a strike like daddy. We explained that, unlike baseball, a strike is a good thing and then he instantly changed his tune. They both had fun but looks like we might have to wait a while before Dean has the attention span for a whole game.

ACL Weekend

It's that time of year again. The first weekend of the 3-day ACL Festival was in town this past weekend and I hadn't planned on going until they announced Depeche Mode was headlining. If you've known me at any point in the past 20+ years, you know that DM is my all-time favorite band. Ed got me a ticket for my birthday and I figured this was my best chance to get as close to the stage as possible to see them perform.

I ended up going Friday afternoon and met up with some friends to catch the band fun. and Vampire Weekend. During the Vampire weekend set, I started pushing forward and after their last song when people exited, I got a 3-person deep spot from the front railing. One hour later, Depeche Mode graced the stage and I sang along to every song. It was awesome! David Gahan and Martin Gore put on a great show - thank you for my birthday present Ed. I was just missing you!!!!

Siiri and I at fun.

Depeche Mode !!!!!

Saturday, we scored a discounted bracelet for Ed so we got a sitter and biked to Zilker Park to catch The Weeks and Kings of Leon. It turned out to be an unexpectedly chilly night so we bought some sweatshirts at the ACL Merchandise tent between shows. It was great to have a date night under the stars.

Kings of Leon

Sunday was the kid's turn to go. We went early, catching Kodaline first (the kids were excited when they recognized some songs from the radio). Then we spent a good bit of time at the Kiddie Limits area where they played in a drum circle, got mohawks, enjoyed the sand pit and completed some art projects. We were even able to meet up with Steven for a while who was there with friends. We laid claim to a spot with our blanket and stayed to hear Grouplove perform. After a good 4.5 hours, the kids had had fun but were pooped, evidenced by them both falling asleep before we made it back to the car. They were pretty cranky for the rest of the day until it was time for the final art project of the day: painting the bathwater orange with their hair.

painting with car tire tread

painting ceramic guitar & music note magnets

don't worry folks, Dean's beer was sealed : )

 

cool dude

repeat visit to the car painting

10 minutes later

the orange mohawk aftermath

This is the first year they are doing the festival 2 back-to-back weekends, so assuming the bands are staying in town, we'll be on the lookout for rock stars this week. Especially David Gahan and Martin Gore : )

Electric Run

 On Sept. 27th, Siiri and I ran our 3rd 5K together at the Electric Run, a nighttime, glow-in-the-dark themed run. In addition to wearing glow stick necklaces, bracelets and glasses, we cut some glow sticks open and dripped them all over our shirts. (Note to self: If I ever need to smell like toxic fumes again, this did the job) The atmosphere was fun with everyone decked out in neon and flashing accessories, but the course turned out to be pretty lame with only sporatic glowing displays. We ran/walked it, then hung out at the after party for a little bit. I feel like the idea of it was better than the execution, but still glad we participated. Now we'll have to find another race to keep us motivated...