Field Trip with Cousins

After school today, we jetted off to meet our cousins for a quick afternoon visit to the Wildflower Center. It is free all month long and this afternoon was probably one of the sunniest winter days of the entire month.








We climbed towers, looked for fish, identified trees and plants, and even played with the puzzles inside the Little House. But mostly, we just ran amok in the fresh air and wide open spaces with our cousins.







It was a good thing we all got so much exercise, because afterward, we decided to join our cousins on their quest to eat their way across Austin, one food trailer at a time. First up was dinner at Odd Duck, where the boys polished off gourmet quesadillas and nibbled as much as I would let them on my New York Strip slider. Owner-Bryce walked over to our table after we had finished and asked us how everything tasted. Deeelish! And lucky for us, Gourdough's Donuts is right next door. We ordered four of the made-to-order, obscenely huge, delishously topped creations and passed them around the table. Ben and I highly recommend the Bring the Heath and Ace likes the Chunky Monkey. Our very fun afternoon ended with my two boys telling me they had tummy-aches from "too much donuts".

Dizzy

Lovely park day today!

Little Campaigners

The buddies and I are helping out with a friend's campaign for Justice of the Peace. Karin is smart, dynamic, and a true community advocate and we just love her. Yesterday, we delivered yard signs to a few of her supporters.

Afterward, we rewarded ourselves by checking out a new park, just 3/4 of a mile from our last delivery. The park sat at the edge of this:

And had a really cool climbing structure, like no other we've found in our area. Score!

The only thing that irked us is that we've lived in Austin for 4 years and are just now discovering this awesome park! We'll be back in the summer, when we can take a swim in the lake.

Bake Sale for Haiti

The kids and moms in the tiny section of our little neighborhood threw a bake sale this afternoon. And raised $554 for the Red Cross. And we have a matching donor, so the kids are sending a little over $1,100 to a devastated Haiti. I. am. nearly. speechless.





It all started yesterday afternoon, when one of our favorite little neighbors, a first-grader, brain-stormed with his mom about ways they could help. They decided on a bake sale and his mom quickly rallied the other moms. Word spread quickly as we baked, made signs, contacted news stations, and arranged for our neighborhood entrance sign to advertise our plans.



We were so honored by the way our community rallied around our kids for this great cause. We live among generous and kind-hearted people and this shows that a little idea can make a big difference. Go kids!












As I was tucking the buddies into bed this evening, Ben said, "I wish my piggy bank was full all the way to the top. Because then I'd have enough money to send water and food and doctors to everybody in the whole world."

They Have Dreams...

We abandoned our MLK Festival plans this morning and decided instead to celebrate National Day of Service by being good neighbors. One of our favorite neighborhood playmates is in the hospital with a severe case of the flu, so we took in his little brother for about 24 hours until his Mimi arrived to help.

We enjoyed the time with our friend. He is a wild boy too, so he fits right in around here. We even had a surprise visit from our former neighbors and we were so glad to be home to catch up with them.


Between playing outside, eating pizza and snacks, watching movies, and playing trains, we made time for a quick lesson and art project on Dr. King. I explained to the three boys that a long time ago, there were different rules for different people. Some people could play at a park, drink out of a water fountain, and sit in any seat on a bus that they chose. But, others could not. We all agreed that this wasn't fair and I told them about Dr. King's dream to change all that.

And so we cut out hand prints in many different colors and each boy told me their "dreams". That part didn't go exactly as well as I'd hoped. Ben: "I have a dream that someday it will be quiet. Because Ace snores and it wakes me up." Ace: "I have a dream...(loud pretend snoring noises)." Neighbor Friend: "I have a dream...about Lightning McQueen!"

Video Thank You Notes - Bloopers!

Yes, I know I have been neglecting this blog since the new year. What, you ask, has been keeping me so busy? The buddies are creating video thank you cards for all their Christmas gifts this year and I am their Chief Videographer and Film Editor. We have just 3 left to go, so I took a break this evening to create a bloopers video from the process. Enjoy! And rest assured, we have a few activities lined up this week that I'll definitely want to share.

Under the Big Top

The Shriner Circus is in town this weekend, so the buddies and a few of their friends enjoyed their first circus experience today. We oohed and ahhed at the many acts that graced the three rings. We saw elephant acts, trapeze artists, acrobats, aerialists, tigers, lions, and clowns. The elephants and the trapeze artists were favorites, as well as a particularly silly clown and his dog. The buddies also tried their first cotton candy - Ben loved it but Ace said it tasted like paper and was too sticky.

Sweet Sleeping Brothers

We found the buddies like this tonight, a few hours into bedtime:

One bed, two boys, and a very cold night. If only they'd get under the covers...