DinoLand

This morning, our play group met at the DinoLand Exhibit at the Zilker Botanical Garden. It's an exhibit that's been on our to do list since it opened last month and we were thrilled when our friends planned the outing.

The buddies and their friends loved checking out the scientifically accurate dinosaur models. Ace commented that a particular herbivore looked "grumpy". It was probably because he was stationed right next to a carnivore who looked hungry.

We explored the exhibit twice before calling it a day. Since the buddies did such a good job listening and following directions during the outing, we made a special trip to Hey Cupcake!, a popular cupcake stand in the trendy SoCo district, for dessert. Ace and Ben both chose Snowcaps (chocolate cake with vanilla icing) and I opted for the popular Michael Jackson (chocolate cake with cream cheese icing). Yum!

View the rest of today's pictures here.

Softball Fans

The buddies had a great time cheering for their daddy this evening during a rare pre-bedtime game. The Hitmen won, 13-11, with the game ending on a spectacular play by our very own short stop. Of course, we missed it, because I was too busy lining up the buddies and their friends for pictures.

"Take these home. They're much quieter than the real Ace and Ben."

That's what Miss Heather said to us at our pre-school Open House this evening. Ha ha, Miss Heather. But seriously, aren't they funny? I've laughed just about every time I've walked past these life sized versions of the buddies this evening. You can tell that the pictures were taken around the start of the school year, both by the shorter haircuts and the dazed expressions.

Tonight, we learned that Ace and Ben are both doing very well in pre-school, but we really already knew that. Ace proudly showed me all of his artwork and Ben walked me over to the class calendar and said, "It's not September any more. It's Soptober!" Good times.

Our Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Oh happy day!! There just isn't a place we'd rather be on a sunny Autumn day than Sweet Berry Farm. It is our favorite place!

We met our weekly play group there for a special pumpkin patch field trip this morning. The buddies went on their first ever hay ride (ahh-choo!), painted pumpkins, enjoyed a picnic lunch with our friends, and then ate ice-cream and Miss Annie's cupcakes. And they spent a lot of time exploring pumpkins - they sorted them, tossed them (and got in trouble for it), rolled them, climbed on them, sang about them, walked on them, sat on them, and painted them. They each brought their painted creations home and I picked a lovely Queensland Blue pumpkin for our kitchen table.

The buddies also enjoyed seeing the the berry crops, our favorite reason to visit the farm, covered for the upcoming winter. We'll be back again in the Spring, when they're ready to pick!

View the rest of today's pictures here!

Happy Columbus Day

The buddies had a school holiday today, so we invited our favorite triplets over for a Columbus Day play date. We celebrated exploration!


When our friends arrived, we made binoculars out of toilet paper rolls. Everyone enjoyed painting their creations, but before long, the four boys lost interest and scampered off to play t-ball and frisbee and "kickedy - kick ball", leaving our little Kylie all alone, happily painting.

Once the binoculars were dry, each kid received a map of the backyard, with directions towards the first letter of their name. It was so much fun that the kids traded maps and hunted for each other's letters too. Then, they used their binoculars to search for other fun things. They discovered squirrels, trees, ants, pond fish, clouds, trees, and grass.

A highlight of the play date (for me, at least), was that Miss Annie brought along two extra adults with her crew. So, for the first time since we started meeting for play dates over a year ago, we almost had a 1:1 adult to child ratio. Thanks for joining us, Miss Kay and Mr. Brent!

Hairy Boogers

I was giving Benny a quick snuggle as I wrapped him in his towel after his bath tonight, and he looked up my nose and said, "Hey Mom, do you have hair in your boogers?"

Hmmpph! It's ragweed season in Austin. And yes, my nose hair is probably a little denser than the average girl's. I just didn't expect my sweet 3-year old to point it out to me.

One Last Swim for the Season

Today we met some friends at our favorite local lakeside beach for one last day of fun in the sun before the weather turns. The local pumpkin patches are set up for business and the weather is slowly cooling, but our lake waters are still 80 degrees and we took advantage of it. You have to love Texas - swimming in October is a rare treat for most.





Our buddies had a blast horsing around in the water with their friends and the daddies. Ace even swam the entire length (about 75 yards) of the swimming area (with his life jacket, of course). He was so proud of his accomplishment.

A Message for Me Mom

The buddies wish we were able to visit Me Mom after her emergency appendectomy yesterday. Since we can't see her in person, we're sending our well wishes here:





We love you and hope you have a speedy recovery.

T-Ball Fans

The buddies had a few extra fans on the sidelines at their t-ball game this morning. Grandma and Grandpa drove down to catch a game. As luck would have it, today was also team picture day, which meant our crew stayed at the fields for nearly three hours. It was exhausting, but fun.




The buddies loved showing Grandma and Grandpa their stuff. They had a blast batting and fielding but the highlight was huddling up for their cheer at the end of the game. Go Seadogs!

Happy Birthday to Daddy!

Technically, his birthday was yesterday, but since the buddies were in school and Steve and I had our monthly date night, there wasn't much time to celebrate. So, we made our cupcakes on Thursday and frosted them today.

So, how long does it take to make cupcakes with two little helpers? About three times as long as it normally takes. They took turns helping me measure and dump ingredients, blended it all together with the hand mixer (and licked the beaters), and then scooped the batter into our cupcake pans. Their excitement when Daddy arrived home from work was worth all the effort. They nearly tackled him, shouting, "Daddy! We made cupcakes for you!".

Museum Day

Today was Austin's 11th annual Museum Day, a free re-discovery of Austin's museums. 32 museums participated and opened their doors free to the public. We explored four of them today.

Our first stop was the LBJ Library and Museum on the University of Texas' campus. The museum docents couldn't have been friendlier as our two wild boys excitedly ran through the newest exhibit, To the Moon: The American Space Program in the 1960's. The buddies flew flight simulators, looked at rocket replicas, and posed in front of replicas of our first 7 US astronauts. Then, we sat through a 15 minute laser show set to popular 60's music. It was a great exhibit!

Our next stop was the Umlauf Sculpture Garden. This was our second trip to this outdoor museum but it was very different from our first. Today, over 25 sculptors set up booths with their artwork and gave demonstrations. And the buddies got to try their hands at their own sculpture creations. They found the stiff clay more difficult to work with than their usual play- doh, but enjoyed themselves nonetheless.

After that, we crossed the river and headed to the Austin Children's Museum, a must-do for any Museum Day goers with kids. It was a zoo. We stayed as long as Steve and I could handle it, which was about an hour and a half. The feature exhibit was "Play it by Ear", a very cool, hands-on music exhibit. Imagine 7,000 square feet of wall to wall children banging on pots and pans and that's just about what it was like. But the buddies loved exploring all the different exhibits, especially the train station and a very cool machine where they launched wooden balls down chutes and tracks.

Our final museum of the day was the Blanton Museum of Art, a very nice (almost too nice for us!) art museum on campus. I was a little nervous bringing two wild boys into a place filled with priceless art, but they did great. The museum did a phenomenal job making the event family friendly. Our boys made their own art at stations outside the museum and watched a music show, but skipped story time. Smartly, the museum stationed friendly docents near the modern art sculptures that looked very much like playground equipment, and engaged the kids, asking them what the art looked like to them (and reminded them that it wasn't for climbing). Our two explored ancient Roman sculpture, American and European paintings, and modern art (their favorite).

View today's pictures here.

School is Cool!!

The buddies and I are thrilled to be back in the swing of pre-school. We took our first day of school pictures this morning, despite it technically being the second day of school, since Ben stayed home sick on the real first day.

There were no tears at drop off, not even from me. They have a board-certified early education teacher this year and I happily left my children in her capable hands. I couldn't be happier with her credentials, especially when I learned she has a passion for reading. Bring on the books!


Today, the buddies made a special friendship snack mix. Each child in the class brought an ingredient which they mixed together and shared. Ace brought Chex. Ben brought goldfish, but somehow finagled his way into the coveted position of dumping the marshmallows into the bowl. They also went to art class, music class, played in the big room, and attended story time. When I picked them up, they were covered in marker from head to toe and smiling from ear to ear.

Camp Grandma and Grandpa

Last weekend, the buddies spent a couple of fun - filled days at "Grandma's House and Grandpa's Lake" while Steve and I traveled to Minnesota for a wedding. Our only request when we handed them over was that they spoil them lots bring them both back alive. I think they accomplished both goals.






On their first day, we heard that they were on the lake from 7am - 7pm, minus a couple of hours for Grandpa and the buddies to nap. They had their first root beers and orange sodas and Ben discovered the perfect breakfast food - Pop Tarts! Their second day was packed with activities: breakfast at McDonald's, church, a park, a quick lake trip, Chuck E Cheese, and Bass Pro. Grandpa even bought them a container of minnows and let them play with them. Most of them survived.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Two Young Chefs

This morning, the buddies and I invited our playgroup to Young Chefs Academy for a cooking class. It was a hoot! 17 of our favorite twin and triplet friends joined us for the session. Throughout the class, the friendly chefs taught our kids a little about kitchen safety, etiquette, hand-washing, and measurements.

For our main entree, our kids created "Piggies in a Blanket". They painted barbecue sauce on crescent rolls, sprinkled them with "fairy dust" (cheese), topped them with turkey dogs, rolled them up, and then sprinkled them with poppy seeds. Then, we popped the piggies in the oven for a quick nap.


While our piggies cooked, the kids all made tortilla cut-out cookies with sprinkles and practiced cutting the tortillas scraps with child-safe pizza cutters. Before long, it was time for lunch, which the kids really made themselves. The room was filled with proud smiles.

View the rest of today's pictures here.

Typical Around-The-House Shenanigans

Ready for the Holiday Weekend

For three years now, we've visited the Arboretum cows during the week leading up to Labor Day. I hadn't intended to make it a tradition, but I suppose it is now. It's a fun little outing and we weren't the only family with the same idea this morning. The buddies especially love the fountains but are always miffed that I don't let them splash in them. There are signs posted everywhere asking patrons not to, or I might. Today, we tossed pennies and made wishes. Ben wished to be able to run up the stairs some more. And then he did. Ace, as always, wished for ice cream. He's a kid after my own heart.

Hot Sauce Festival

We took the kids downtown today, to The Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival. I love a good festival. I love the music, the food, and I especially love a good theme - and hot sauce is a good theme!. We sampled a few great salsas - Ace was not pleased by the habanero hot sauce, but Ben said he liked it.

The highlight for our boys was the chance to have their faces painted. They've been asking since our trip to the Philly Zoo earlier this summer. Both chose Elmo today, although I tried to persuade them towards other choices. You can never have too many Elmo's, according to our face-painter.

After a short while, the tasting lines grew a little long for the buddies, so we left the park, grabbed a quick lunch with our friends, and headed home.

Bum...Bum...Ba...Bum...Bum...Bum...Bum

This evening, we attended a Beijing Olympics Party. Our hosts made delicious Chinese dumplings and had several Chinese sodas for us to sample. The buddies were so excited to eat dumplings, since their favorite tv character enjoys them. They were delicious! And Ben, who thinks he speaks Mandarin, said, "Xie-Xie, Miss Elaine" after slurping his down.

Steve and I volunteered to coordinate games for the kids and we got started right after dinner. Thunderstorms thwarted our backyard plans, so our friends pushed back their furniture and we held our meet indoors. The kids marched in to the Olympic Theme Song during opening ceremonies and then we began our games with a 100 meter dash. After a couple of false starts by a few of the 8 three year olds present, we finally got it right. Next up was the hop-ball race, followed by the balance beam. Then, each family chose a song for the floor exercises. Since none of the kids could resist dancing, the floor exercise event turned into one big free for all of giggling pre-schoolers. Our Summer Olympics completed with a water balloon shot put competition on the back porch. Then, we held an awards ceremony where each of our Olympians earned a gold medal. Everyone stood so proudly and so seriously during their turns on the podium.

Barton Creek Greenbelt

The buddies and I joined some friends at Austin's Barton Creek Greenbelt for some outdoor fun this morning. The greenbelt is a beautiful stretch of land, just minutes from downtown, yet a world away from the business of the city.



We hiked along the long, winding, wooded trails and admired the views. I don't think this is an outing we'll tackle again without a higher adult to kid ratio, since some of the cliffs along the trail were pretty treacherous, but it certainly was beautiful. And the buddies loved talking to all the friendly dogs we met, who were out for morning walks with their owners.



The trail ends at a natural spring, but sadly for us, after a long, dry summer, we only found a dry creek bed. That didn't stop the buddies and their friends from having fun. They loved climbing on all the rocks and even slid down a few of the ones worn smooth by years of running water.

View all of our pictures here.

For Sale: Twin Boys

Price: $917.96 (or one 42" flat screen LCD 1080p HDTV)

Thanks to their antics over the weekend, we have a box large enough to ship them. We'll even throw in two plastic baseball bats* for free.

*Not recommended for indoor use.

Yesterday's Project

We are laying low because Ace's "nose is sick". So, yesterday morning, I convinced Steve to temporarily lift my ban on power tool usage (put in place years ago for a very good reason). While the buddies played in the yard, I sanded, scrubbed, and stained an old table in need of some serious TLC. It turned out great! And Ace and Ben are excited to have a new place for their tea parties.

Before:

After:

Music at Ruta Maya

This morning, we checked out Ruta Maya's Free Sunday Family Kid Show, a fun musical event for the whole family. Ruta Maya is a cool little coffee house that serves only organic, fair-trade coffee from the Americas. And they offer lots of entertainment to boot!

Today, all four of us enjoyed music by the Sarah Dinan Band. She regularly told the little folks in the audience that it was okay to sing along, dance along, clap their hands, or just sit - whatever made them feel comfortable (and as long as the adults with them were okay with it). That is our kind of show! Ace danced so hard during a Celtic song that one of his crocs went tumbling over the balcony. By the time I made it down the steps to retrieve it, some kind folks had already tossed it back up. Ben danced along for a few songs but then found the many toys scattered about the place way more interesting. It was a fun outing that we'll definitely have to repeat.

Water Fun

Just some cute pics of the kids from the past few days. We love summer!