Roller Skating!

37th Street Lights and the Zilker Tree

Me Mom is visiting for the holidays so we took her to visit two beloved Austin holiday traditions: "The Miracle on 37th Street" and the Zilker Tree. We hit 37th Street first and then made our way to a little further south for a quick spin under the lights.






Unfortunately for us, when we climbed back into the car, we discovered that Thunder, Ben's much-loved stuffed horse, was missing. The grown-ups scoured the park (even though we never let Thunder out of the car on our outings) while Ben calmly declared the disappearance to be "a mystery". We came up empty-handed, so we headed back to 37th Street. And, there he was, resting on the curb at the corner where we had parked. We'd left him there for over an hour. It was a Christmas miracle to get him back!

Feliz Navidad!

Ben's favorite song this season is "Feliz Navidad", thanks to our Sea World excursion in San Antonio. He gets pretty close on most of the Spanish words. But, I can't convince him to sing the English words correctly.

It goes like this:

Ben:
Feliz Navidad! Feliz Navidad!
...
I want to wish you a very Christmas!
I want to wish you a very Christmas!
I want to wish you a very Christmas from the bottom of my heart!

Me:
Ben, it is MERRY Christmas, not very Christmas.

Ben:
Oh.
I want to wish you a Larry Christmas!
I want to wish you a Larry Christmas!
I want to wish you a Larry Christmas from the bottom of my heart!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!!

Texas Wigilia

As usual, we were missing our Philadelphia family on Christmas Eve, but we celebrated locally with friends who are like family. Steve was the head pierogi chef and I (with some help from Ace) took care of everything else.


Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We wish you a happy and healthy 2010!

A Sea World Christmas

My fantastic grandparents gifted us with season passes to Sea World for Christmas this year. And since today was our only free day between now and January 2nd, the buddies and I opened their present early and took a day trip to San Antonio. And we can go back as much as we want between now and January 2011!

We had a blast! The buddies rode Shamu's Express (a little roller coaster) eleventy-billion times. Then, we caught Clyde and Seamore's show and then high-tailed it to see Shamu Christmas...Miracles. The Shamu show was spectacular - none of us could get enough of it. We skipped the Polar Express 4D show, since the movie scares the pants off the buddies.

We met a scuba-diving Santa, saw the dolphins and sharks up close, posed with Santa Shamu and a bunch of his friends, rode more rides, played in Shamu's Happy Harbor, rode the Express some more, and then ended our day with the buddies burying each other in a giant sand pit. Two very happy buddies could barely make their tired legs trek to the car after a very fun day. Thanks Grands!

Check out the rest of our pictures here.

Kingpin

The buddies went bowling this morning at Main Event along with 32 of their closest little friends. The place is still standing, in case anyone is wondering.

Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa

We're having three Christmases at our house this year: one with Grandma and Grandpa, one with Santa, and one with Me Mom. Lucky buddies!

We just finished our first celebration with the Super Grands. They brought glow in the dark sleeping bags for the boys:


And cowboy boots:


And took them on a walk to our neighborhood park:


And played our new favorite game: DodgeTag!


And, of course, the buddies discovered a secondary use for their sleeping bags:



Christmas #1 was a success!

Snow! In Austin!

What's a mom from Kansas to do when she wants to share her love of snow with her children? Empty a room inside her home and build a snow room, of course! And then open it to the public! Every year, this friend-of-a-friend does just that and the buddies and I had a blast checking it out this morning.












We tossed big handfuls of the stuff at each other and at our friends. We built snow piles. We made snow angels. We shrieked with delight when the leaf blower came out. It was almost as fun as the real thing (and not nearly as cold).

More pictures here.

Breakfast with Santa

This morning, we enjoyed a breakfast with Santa, that was very much like the Breakfast with the Easter Bunny that we attended earlier this year.

During breakfast, a balloon-artist stopped by our table and made special creations for each boy. Ace chose a cow (just like last time) and Ben chose a horse (just like last time). Then, Santa himself made a visit and told the buddies to eat a good breakfast so they could go downstairs and hang out with him. They did, so we ventured down for Santa visits, ornament decorating, a candy cane hunt, face painting, and letters to Santa.

Ben told Santa that he wants "two switch trains - one for me and one for Ace". Ace (who tells me his long list EVERY DAY) said, "Mom, you tell him." With the pause from Ace, Ben took the opportunity to tell Santa that he would also like a ball blaster.

Santa was very nice. But, would it have killed him to crack a smile??

Don't You Love It When...

You go to a play date and get to check one of your holiday traditions off your list. And you don't have to do any of the prep work yourself. Thanks Miss Christel!

Decorate Gingerbread Men. Check!

The North Pole Flyer

Last night, we bundled up and took the buddies on a train ride to the North Pole (a.k.a. Bergstram, TX). It was a blast.

We snuggled under blankets in our seats and sipped hot chocolate as the train barreled through the hill county. The buddies loved listening to the clack of the train along the tracks and hearing the whistle and then looking out the window to see cars stopped at railroad crossings. Homes along the route sparkled with lights and we oo'ed and ah'ed at them all.



During the ride, we were entertained by some (not-great) caroling Girl Scouts. And our conductor checked on us often and offered us more hot chocolate. Mrs. Claus came through our coach with gingerbread cookies. And, Santa himself made an appearance and delivered train whistles to each and every child on board. Thanks a lot, Santa. During the last leg of our train ride, the children gathered in the center of each car to hear a reading of "The North Pole Flyer".




Ace and Ben opted to stay in our seats, under their covers, as their eyelids grew heavy. Once the story ended, our tired boys closed their eyes and slept for the last 30 minutes of the ride.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

'Tis (cough) The (hack) Season (snarf)!

What do you do when you're cooped up in the house for four days with two sick wild boys during the first week of December? And they miss a day (maybe two) of school and your to-do list is growing? And if you don't get your presents bought, wrapped, packaged, and mailed to the Pennsylvania relatives quickly, there will be no Christmas from us?

P-A-N-I-C.

And then bake sugar cookies and make hot chocolate.


Between breathing treatments and cough syrup, we did manage to get our house decorated, our pre-school class gifts made, and finished up the buddies' presents for their grandparents. Whew!

Thankful Again

We are thankful for our 15th annual (though some of us have missed a few years here and there) turkey trot. And silly hat family photos.


We are thankful for picnics on the beach. And a nap afterward.


We are thankful for frog rain boots so that we can splash in the lake even when it is 60 degrees outside.
We are thankful for bike rides with the Super Grands.


And little girl neighbors that loan us a pink bike with a basket on front for Mooberry.


And country boys.


And a fish. Finally!


And one for Ace too (finally!).


We are thankful for impromptu family photos that turn out great...


in spite of certain members of our family that just want to lay down on the city sidewalk and cry.


Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Thankful

I'm thankful for two wild boys who are willing to do art projects with me, even when they'd rather play at the park with their friends.

(Click on the images to make them larger.)

Wild Basin Nature Preserve

This morning, we took a field trip to Wild Basin Nature Preserve, a preserve that was founded and is maintained by seven "little old ladies in tennis shoes". It "exists to protect and maintain its urban wilderness, and to promote the importance of environmental education, research, conservation and preservation." The buddies and their little friends learned about acorns and squirrels and lots of other things that Tour Guide Sally pointed out along the way.



Some of the fun tidbits from our day:

* Squirrels are little foresters. They bury acorns that eventually grow into oak trees.

* Molly Mold and Alex Algae got together and had a baby: Larry Lichen!

* If you rub a juniper berry in your hands and say "Abracadabra!" you'll magically remove the blue from it.

* Oak galls look like acorns but are actually little houses (and food!) for gall wasps.

*Golden Cheeked Warblers are an endangered species of bird that require a unique habitat only found in Central Texas. To nest, they must find an oak tree near an ashe juniper.

* If it has leaves of three, let it be! (Ace touched it any way.)

*Native Americans once made lemonade from sumac berries. If you rub a sumac berry between your fingers and then lick your fingers, you can taste the lemon.

Thanks Tour Guide Sally for the fabulous tour! We'll be back for another of your Tiny Footprints tours soon!

It's All Fun and Games Until Someone Calls the Police

We were just having a good time, honestly. I mean, what kid wouldn't cause a ruckus at a place like this:

It was our encore visit to the Cathedral of Junk. We had such a fabulous time with our cousins 6 weeks ago, that we invited lots and lots of our playgroup friends on an outing this morning. Apparently, 11 wee children running around in a pile of junk, clanging metal, screeching, shouting, and just being generally joyful was too much for the unfortunate homeowner next door.

It definitely wasn't the first time that the kind police officers that sent us on our way had been called to this location. And we're sure it won't be the last.

But really, Grumpy Man Next Door, next time, just tell us to keep it down. We're understanding people and we would have happily toned down the commotion, had we known we were bothering you. Regardless, you didn't spoil our fun. You see, today's adventure had a Part II. When the 5-0 arrived, we were already planning our exit strategy. Because we wanted to stuff our faces with tacos.



From a trailer.


Only in Austin.

Hockey Fans

While at Race for the Cure this morning, I scored a set of free tickets to the Texas Stars game this evening. The Texas Stars, an American Hockey League team, are the top affiliate to the NHL Dallas Stars and their arena isn't too far from our home. A work deadline prevented Steve from joining us, but the buddies and I just couldn't pass on the opportunity to see a hockey game...free!

The buddies loved everything about hockey. The skates, the dramatic smashing into the glass wall, the hockey sticks, the loud music, the clapping and cheering, the silly games played between periods, and most of all, the zambonies.

And, oh how they asked questions. Why are there two goalies? Why is that goalie wearing all of that stuff? Why are their circles on the ice? What do those words (the advertisements) say? What are advertisements? Why don't those three guys (the referees) have hockey sticks? Why do we want the black team to win? Why are there two zambonies? Where did the zambonies go? Why are those guys jumping over that fence? Luckily, I had answers for most of their questions.

They cheered and they clapped and they celebrated the goals. They even fist-pumped a few of the fans around us when the Stars scored a goal with 2 seconds remaining. And the home team won, 3-1.

Happy Halloween!