Pedernales Falls

Trying to break our usual gym to Costco Saturday routine, Fernando thought we should explore Texas. It just so happened that I picked up our local grocery store magazine the day before and it just so listed several tops spots to visit. We decided on Pedernales Falls about two hours from our house. The hike in was cake which allowed for plenty of exploration time via rock climbing, cave finding, and water bridging.

















Funny side note. . .while we were leaving the falls to go swim in the river, we bumped into a family from Provo. We were the first non-family member they had seen on their visit to Texas. Their faces beamed with excitement when they saw our Y shirts.

The only mistakes of the day were not applying sunscreen and visiting the lack luster Austin Children's Museum. At least there were giant games like Jenga and Connect Four.




Lucky for us, the BYU game that night made us forget our sorrows! Go Cougars!

Backyard Reunion

Friday proved to be slightly pleasant weather wise and so dinner was held outside. Notice the lack of lawn furniture. It is so sunny all year round that buying any outdoor furniture seems crazy to me. I think it would be bleached the first week. Our poor barbecue cover was jet black at one point now it is a light grey. That is beside the point. It's nice to be outside again.

Sadly, our baseball game ended with our whiffle ball over the fence and into the mouth of the doberman pinscher behind us. We are never getting that one back.

Still hot

Fall should be coming, Right?

I'm A Big Kid Look What I Can Do

Does anyone remember that little medley from the pull up diaper commercial? Well, it was charming and a good theme song for our little miss. She has self potty trained and tries everything her siblings do. Here she is jumping off a ledge that is about as tall as she is all because Tiago and Mia did it.

We often get asked how old she is because of her constant conversational skills and no nonsense attitude. Oh, how I love getting a few hours each day to soak her in.

Saturdaze

After a failed attempt to attend the Temple this morning and a birthday party to attend, the Saturday seemed open to possibilities. I was hoping for Sea World. There are a finite number of Saturdays that the Lost Lagoon will be open and I wanted to soak up the lovin'. (especially since strep throat last week excluded me from going with the family). The kids had hopes for Chuck E Cheese. . .yah right. Fernando was itching to spend money and I didn't really feel like shopping.

We pulled out the good old expo markers and our giant white board for a good ol' fashioned brainstorming session. The list was made and so were the plans. Fernando would get his haircut while we played at the park then we would meet up in the BX to do our version of a store scavenger hunt. Boys VS Girls in a mad rush to return the 5 items in the other team's cart. Unfortunately I underestimated the boys' ability to map a store. The boys won hands down. The next item was our all important donut buying which happened to be next to some Chicago Pizzeria. We opted to add in the kids' idea of eating out carry out style since the store scavenger hunt went on a bit longer than expected (not the hunt but waiting to buy Fernando's laptop while watching Kung Fu Panda on one of the demo tv's in the store).

In all, it felt good to break our normal gym, Costco, spend lots of money Saturday activities. The only downside was the overpriced mediocre pizza that could have tasted better if it didn't cost so much. Can't wait for next Saturday's brainstorming.

School Days

School has started again. This kids are very happy and are loving their new adventures. (Tiago is a little miffed that he doesn't get to ride the bus. . .the only solace to him is the possibility of riding next year.) I confess that I have really enjoyed it too. Errands are easier, and the day flies by. I get extra time to give Talia attention which every third child needs. The only downside is the possibility of overspending with the ease I find shopping now.




Nothing is sweeter than their joy in reuniting at the end of each day. Talia misses her best friends dearly.

Space Center, Houston Tx

The other big attraction that we attended frequently was the Space Center. The kids wanted to see the Star Wars Special Exhibit which was a series of themed activities for the kids to participate in. There was a ropes course, a zero gravity bike ride, laser tag, and rock light wall, water music, and a mirror maze. They only tried the last three due to wrong footwear or weight requirements, but it was fun enough. Aside from all the historic artifacts, there were loads of hands on stuff. The kids and I loved the three story climbing structure equipped with obstacles and slides and rolling tunnels and space ship that launch balls. Good Times!




I was so excited about the space stuff that I even ate at the McDonald's next door because it had an astronaut levitating off its roof holding fries.