Saturday, February 23, 2013

Austin Zoo

Monday was President's Day, which meant Owen had a day off school.  Unfortunately, Micah still doesn't get off work for these federal holidays, so we had to have fun without him.  The weather was gorgeous so we decided to go to the ZOO!
 
My wonderful co-workers/friends back in Nevada purchased an annual family pass to the Austin Zoo for us.  What a thoughtful and generous gift.  We are sure to enjoy the zoo all year long, and the zoo just happens to be about 15 minutes away from our house.
I love this beautiful mural!
 It's a small zoo, but I loved the quaintness of it and the fact that all the animals are rescued from bad situations.
Owen liked all the big cats.

All aboard for a train ride!

The kids fed deer, goats and sheep.  The llamas weren't interested.

Friday, February 22, 2013

This & That

We had a family Valentine's Day this year, including cookies, fondue and sushi......strange combination, but it was all delicious!!
 On Valentine's Day, I heard the kiddos playing and got suspicious as to what was going on.  This is what I walked in on.
Owen had his sister's feet tied up and was dragging her across the floor, taking her to "jail."  Apparently her ponies were also going to jail.  But she was just as happy as can be!
 We have a new sport to play here in Austin.....Disc Golf!  It's super popular here and there are courses everywhere. Owen is already a pro.
Last weekend Micah's youngest brother Matt and his wife Jami came for a visit.  Micah and Matt managed to play a few rounds, but it's great because even the kids can get into this (literally). 

 We took Matt and Jami to the popular South Congress area for lunch at the food trailers.  I just love the atmosphere and delicious food here!

 The Hey Cupcake trailer is one of the most popular in Austin, and yes their cupcakes are amazing!
 Mimi and Olfa drove up and joined us for the afternoon as well.  It's nice to see family this often!

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Adler Joy

I am officially a stay-at-home mom, for the first time in my life.  I'm not sure if I love that title or not, but I am trying to have some fun with Miss Adler and make the most of it.  Some days are better than others, and some days I'm bored to tears.  I've found that I have to keep us busy, and that we both are in desperate need of friends.
 
We have become friends with with the wife and girls of one of Micah's college buddies.  But they live way up in north Austin and so we don't see that much of them.  We're trying to get together every so often, as Adler really enjoys playing with Ella.
We met at a bouncy house not too long ago and the girls had a blast!
Adler & Ella


 Adler is still obsessed with her babies!  She teaches them, sings to them, takes them to "school" and puts them down for naps every day.  She's such a good little mommy.
 We've been venturing out daily to find the coolest parks in Austin.
 Adler typically refuses to take naps anymore, but she occasionally falls asleep in the car.  Once she actually fell asleep on the stairs, completely covered by a blanket.  This is what I found when I lifted the blanket to check on her.  Too cute!
 Adler is still enjoying her dance class on Saturday mornings and last week she started an art class at Gymboree.  There's a few other girls her age there, so I'm hoping she'll make some friends.  She loves anything art-related, so this class should be a success! 

Adler's Masterpiece
 Adler really misses her big brother when he's at school.  She's constantly asking for him and is thrilled when we go pick him up!

Monday, February 11, 2013

Trip to Aggieland

Last weekend was my mom's birthday so we drove into College Station to spend her birthday with her.  It was really nice to be there on her special day......for the first time in 10 years.

Adler wanted to make pinkalicious cupcakes for Grandma!  They were pink inside and out.


We made the most out of our weekend there and I was able to attend a baby shower for my dear friend, Alyssa.  She's due in April and I can't wait to meet Baby Girl Locklear!
 
We also took Owen to his first Aggie sports event......Aggie Basketball!!!  WHOOP!
 What an exciting game!!!  We ended up losing in overtime to Kentucky, but I couldn't have asked for a more thrilling game.  I had forgotten how much I enjoy basketball!
 I'm looking forward to more Aggie sporting events!  We will go to a baseball game this spring for sure.

Parks Galore

The weather has been really warm for the past few weeks and we've been exploring lots of local parks and soaking up the sunshine.  There's no shortage of parks here!

 One of my favorite things about Austin (so far) are the multiple local restaurants that have playgrounds for the kids.  It's a parents dream to be able to sit down for dinner and have a drink while the kids run around playing, bothering nobody. 
It's GENIUS!!!!
This is the outdoor patio (playground in the background) at Doc's Backyard.

This playground is surrounded by several eateries, including Jason's Deli, Waterloo Icehouse, and Amy's Ice Cream.
Apparently this is a common site in Austin and I am loving the family-friendly atmosphere!