Our Strawberry Picking Adventure

Today was a magnificent day! We've had lots of fun outings with Me-Mom this week, but today's was probably my favorite. We loaded the car early this morning and headed out to show Me-Mom one of our favorite spots: Sweetberry Farm. It is safe to say, we are regulars there now. We picked their bountiful blackberries last summer, enjoyed the pumpkin patch last fall, and today grabbed our share of their strawberry crop. Five of our little friends met us there with their moms. The kids had a blast running around in the wide open spaces and hunting the ripest, reddest strawberries to pick.

Once we'd all filled our baskets, we strolled over to the goats and chickens. As always, our buddies loved feeding the goats. All seven kids huddled around Me-Mom to watch the farm hands bring in their water and extra feed. After that, we washed up and enjoyed a nice picnic lunch. Amazingly, all seven kids sat nicely around the picnic table.

Since everyone had such a good morning, we treated the kids to some homemade ice cream at the refreshment stand. While the mommies and Me-Mom waited in line to pay, the kids ran around in a field with the farm's red wagons. They gave each other rides or just pulled them empty.

Luckily, there were exactly seven wagons, so when the ice cream arrived, each kid had a nice place to sit. We couldn't have planned it more perfectly.

The only thing we missed were our cousins, who we'd planned to pick with at another farm (which turned out to be closed). Ace and Ben were hyped to see them and talked about their "big kid" cousins (and their trucks) at the breakfast table this morning. Maybe we'll catch them for the upcoming blackberry picking season.

See the rest of our pictures here.

A Great Day at Sea World

Today the buddies, Me-Mom and I enjoyed a trip to Sea World San Antonio. It was a fabulous time! We took in three shows, ran around in Shamu's Happy Harbor (a play area for little tikes), fed the sea lions (the fastest $4 I've ever spent!), and enjoyed all the sites. Both boys said their favorite part of the day was the "Viva" show. I'll admit I only saw about half of the show, as I couldn't take my eyes off of the buddies' smiling faces. They were awed by the acrobats of both land and sea. They also really enjoyed watching the "choo choo trains" (roller coasters) and the "boats" (Journey to Atlantis ride). And Me-Mom let them each pick a stuffed animal at the gift shop. Both chose Shamu - of course!

Since I didn't have much of an opportunity to take pictures, I've borrowed the photos and text below from www.seaworld.com, so that everyone can see what we saw today. Enjoy!

Beluga Stadium comes alive with the revolutionary "Viva!" show. This colorful production features professional high divers, aerialists and synchronized swimmers performing with the acrobats of the sea, Pacific white-sided dolphins and beautiful beluga whales, all against a dramatic backdrop of water screens, waterfalls and fountains. Don't miss this highly-rated show!

"Believe," a visually stunning Shamu show takes you on a sensational, breathtaking journey of curiosity and wonder. This captivating, dramatic show presented daily, features music, video and animal behaviors in a theater setting. During the high-energy water sessions, guests seated in the first 14 rows must be prepared to become splash victims! An interactive website, www.Shamu.com, highlights the breathtaking displays of grace and beauty during "Believe." Come see why Shamu is famous!

Rock-and-rollers on water skis fly across SeaWorld San Antonio’s scenic Water Ski Lake in “Rockin’ Ski Party.” This fast-paced ski show includes daredevil skiers performing to the sounds of rock-and-roll music. “Rockin’ Ski Party” features many ski elements including pair, swivel and solo skiing.

A big thank you to Uncle Dan! Today's Sea World Adventure was sponsored by his generous Christmas gift to our family. Thanks Uncle Dan!!

Country Boys!

We accepted another invitation to my cousin's farm and headed out this morning. The buddies have come to refer to it as "the farm" and have grown pretty fond of the place. That's probably because both times we've been there they've made a cool craft and had plenty of outdoor time. Today, they made bird's nests out of chow mein noodles, chocolate and butterscotch chips, and jelly beans. They loved it!




Next, they enjoyed a special treat: fishing! Grandpa, are you jealous?? Ace particularly loved fishing and held onto his pole long after the other boys had grown tired of the sport. Check out the picture of him happily fishing with mud on his legs, a bruise on his cheek, and a shiner under his left eye. As he regularly informs us, he's a "tough kid".




After a few hours of fun, we loaded up two exhausted kids and headed home. Both slept on the ride home. Ace awoke as we pulled into the garage and said, "I go back to the farm?" Thanks for the fun day, cousins!

A Fun Day in the Capital City of Texas

The buddies and are enjoying a visit from Me-Mom and took her to the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum. Although it wasn't particularly kid-friendly, the buddies enjoyed running around, taking in the sights. The museum's three floors each had a different theme: land, identity, and opportunity. Our favorite floor was easily "opportunity" since the buddies explored a real airplane, an astronaut, life-size longhorn statues, and even a pick-up truck.



After getting our fill of Texas history, we took a short stroll down Congress Avenue to view our lovely state capital building. We didn't dare enter with our two wild boys, but one day will take the tour, which I hear is great!

Check back soon for more fun events during Me-Mom's visit!

Spring Break at the Beach

Well, not exactly the beach. But, Champion Park is the next best thing, when you live landlocked in the heart of Texas. The park's major attraction is a giant sandpit, filled with faux dinosaur fossils for little archaeologists to discover. This morning we enjoyed some gorgeous Spring weather when we met our friends at the park. Our kids never ventured far enough to discover the dino's, but had a blast digging in the sand and climbing a rock wall.

After a few hours of digging, we enjoyed a picnic lunch and then played in the sand some more. We kicked our shoes off, buried our feet in the cool sand and let the warm sunshine flush our cheeks. I could almost hear the waves of the ocean crashing as I envisioned myself on a faraway beach. Of course, I was quickly snapped back into reality since I had two wild boys to keep up with. Summer is just around the corner and we can't wait!!

Choo Choo!!

The buddies and I, and a group of our friends, took a ride on the Bertram Flyer today. It wasn't exactly a relaxing trip (as my brochure said it would be) but it was certainly fun. It was great to see all the kids' faces light up when they first saw the big train. The four-hour long trip through the Texas Hill Country is packed with railroad history. Had we had time to consult our brochures, we would have learned a lot.


During the trip, we passed around our favorite train books and joined in a sing-along led by my Super-Mom friend, Stef. The kids all enjoyed traveling over the San Gabriel River and pointing out cows, horses and llama's as we passed by quiet ranches.


Just before lunch, our train pulled to a stop at the Bertram depot, built in 1912. This quiet town of 900 people had just 4 restaurants and one was closed. The owner of the pizza place woefully told us that he didn't know the train was running that day, or he would have opened. We let our kids burn off some energy on a local church's lawn and ordered our lunch to go.


Then, we were back on the train for the ride home. The buddies can't wait to tell their daddy all about it tonight.

Feeding the Ducks with Friends

Today was our turn to host our play group's weekly play date. Since the weather was gorgeous, we invited our friends to join us at a playground and duckpond. Three other moms and their 8 kids joined us for a fun time.

This was Ace and Ben's first duck feeding adventure since our move to Austin. We've tried before, but the ducks have always alluded us. Not so today. We met at the playground and the ducks circled us eagerly while the kids played and waited on everyone to arrive. Once everyone was accounted for, we trekked to the dock with what must have been the equivalent of at least 10 loaves of bread. The ducks waddled beside us, quacking all the way. Ten minutes later, our 9 pre-schoolers had emptied our stash and the ducks were satisfied.


Then, it was back to the playground for a snack and some more fun. It was a blast and we'll have to do it again soon.

View the rest of our photos here.

Zilker Kite Festival

This morning, we joined our fellow Austinites at Zilker Park for Kite Fest, held on the first Sunday of March for the last 80 years. Hundreds of kites flew overhead at this family friendly event and brought huge smiles to the buddies' faces. We arrived early and enjoyed flying our own two kites and later, watched the sky fill with them.




The buddies took their turn in a few of the bounce houses and ran around with some of their friends. There were booths available where they could make their own kites, but we saved that for next year.

After a picnic lunch, we headed home, just as the competition events were getting started. Competition events included: a 50-yard dash, the highest angle kite, the steadiest kite, the strongest pulling kite, smallest kite, most unusual kite, and largest kite.




Perhaps the most exciting part of the event for our duo was their first real school bus ride. We parked at a free garage downtown and caught one of the many school bus shuttles running to and from the festival. Ace and Ben both loved being "big kids" on a real yellow school bus.



View the rest of our pictures here.