A Saturday Morning

I'm not quite sure why this child isn't wearing any clothes. We don't usually run around the house wearing nothing but a diaper... But, I think this is a cute progression of pictures, so I decided to share them anyway.


Hey, I climbed up here all by myself!

Ahh. One foot up is much more comfy.

Wait, there's Daddy!

Daaaddeee! Daddy, Daddy, Daddy! Look at me, I'm waving to you!

4th of July 2009 - Evening event

We are fortunate to have a great friend, Bill, that lives in one of the new condo towers downtown. Bill and Lindsey hosted a gathering that gave everyone front row seats to the fireworks show, put on by the City of Austin. Directly across the river from Bill's condo is Auditorium Shores where the Austin Symphony plays a score to accompany the fireworks and people bring picnic baskets and blankets to enjoy the event. This year we got to enjoy the fireworks from an air-conditioned venue! :)

When it came down to it, James and I ended up out on the balcony with a group of friends, watching excitedly and listening to the sound of the symphony across the water. The kids were not crazy about the noise from the cannons, AT ALL. They ended up inside, peering out of the floor-to-ceiling windows at the display, from the safety of Nana Karen's and Papa Lee's laps.

We could sit here for hours, enjoying some good wine and taking in the views!


Tristan was using some "nockers" (ha ha!) to look out over the crowd assembling at Auditorium Shores.

Exploring a different direction and counting all of the cranes.


Daddy points out areas of interest and Tristan asks lots of questions!



I think these pictures are so cool! Small boy looking out at the world...

The men in the kitchen!

Lindsey and Tristan after some fun with flag stickers!
Silly boy!

4th of July 2009 - Morning event

The morning started with the annual 4th of July Parade around our neighborhood. The procession was led by the police car, blasting out patriotic music. All modes of transportation for small children were decorated with patriotic flair. Genevieve wasn't too crazy about the clown, but that's okay. Clowns can be creepy. The kids thought it was awesome that everything was decorated; there was a lot to look at! They also had fun waving at the neighbors that had set up lawn chairs on their driveways to watch the passers-by. The parade ended at the park, at the opposite side of our neighborhood, with breakfast tacos and refreshments. Afterwards, we went home and took naps, to prepare for our big, fun evening!

Concert in the park - June 2009

We joined a group of friends for an evening of live music in the park. Our good friends' neighborhood association puts on a series of concerts in the park throughout the summer. Always looking to get outside and let our kids experience all types of music, we gladly participated in the outing. We laid down about six blankets, surrounded by lawn chairs, and the whole group had a dinner picnic. There was chatting, singing, dancing, running and even a time when the guys took the kids to the playground.

Tristan was not a fan of the park bathrooms and after trying to convince him that it would be fine, I ended up walking him back to our friends' house. Good thing they don't live far from the park and good thing he could "hold it" so long.

This picture makes me smile.

Thanks Firemen!

We joined Maddy and Danielle in downtown Kyle, for a visit from some firefighters. They gave a talk, took questions, blared the sirens and let the kids crawl all over the truck. For the grand finale, they hooked up the truck to a fire hydrant and hosed down half the block. It was pretty cool.

They cut their water-usage time in half, compared to previous hose-downs, as we are in a drought (um, every summer we experience a drought and people still act surprised when it happens, seriously). I'm glad they still did it, though, even for just a few minutes.

Young artists

This is not what they were supposed to be doing... But, doesn't it look like they were having fun? Maybe the incredibly hideous floor that resides in our kitchen could use some more sprucing up with crayons. Everywhere.

I gave them a (half-hearted) talking-to, but honestly I wasn't all that upset. Plus, it cleaned up pretty easily. I just hope that they don't recreate this after we upgrade the floor to something nicer.

Zuzu and Daddy

Zuzu and Daddy were just hanging out together and then Daddy took the fun up a couple of notches. He started tickling her, holding her up like an airplane, anything that would bring on the baby giggle fit.

Oh, our beautiful little scraggly-haired baby, we love you and your giggles!