August..Zip lines, concerts, giraffes and parks.

We had a great last two weeks of August. We celebrated Ben's birthday by going on a Canopy tour here in Austin. I think we are both more dare devilish than we realized because hanging on zip lines up in the trees didn't scare either of us; skydiving is the only logical next step.

Then I was so lucky to win a radio contest where the prize was a meet and greet with Rob Thomas. It was amazing, there was like 40 people in a small radio studio. He did a few songs, answered a few questions and then took pictures. Here are the pictures from the radio station because we were not allowed to use our own cameras.

Last week I went out to coffee with some dear friends for Leslie's birthday. We enjoyed a nice cup of joe, company and a beautiful lightening storm. Saturday we spent the afternoon with some CA friends and the Beards. We went out to TDS and drove through the Animal Preserve and fed the giraffes. I didn't get any pictures of Davis feeding Stretch but he did and it was so cute.

Finally, today I spent the afternoon with a couple of old co-workers/friends from CA. It was great to see them and hang out at Zilker Park. They loved the kids and we had a lot of fun catching up.

Mohawk

About a month ago Ben asked me if he could give Davis a Mohawk. I kind of just laughed it off and said "we can talk about it later." So the other day I walked into the bathroom where Ben and Davis were sitting on the floor midst haircut...or better yet midst Mohawk. Ben figured if I didn't like it he could just cut it. I hate to admit it but it is cute and fits the kids personality.

Hot Summer Daze!!!

California Trip

Our trip to CA this summer was fantastic.  We flew my parents out as well so we could have the entire family together.  We got to CA on July 18th and spent the night with Ben's parents.  That morning we got up and met up with my extended family in Tehachapi; cousins, aunts, uncles, sisters, parents etc.  I would say 20 plus people.  We had a very fun BBQ and stayed there that night before heading up to San Luis Obispo.  

We stayed at my sister's place in SLO.  The kids had so much fun with their cousins and my parents were thrilled to have all the little grand-babies together.  We ditched the kids with Mamaw and Papaw for a grown up movie night of Harry Potter.   The next day we went Avila Barn where the kids (and adults) picked and ate as many peaches as we could.  Jeremiah claims he ate 5 total...I believe it.  The barn was fun, they fed animals and got as messy as they could possibly get.  Unfortunately all fun things must come to an end and we drove back down to Southern CA to leave the kids with Ben's parents while Ben and I flew off to CO for a quick wedding (see wedding blog).

After the wedding we spent the rest of our visit with Ben's parents.  We went to the beach where Jeremiah started a pickup game of baseball and Davis went wild in the water.  Ben's parents took us to dinner at the restaurant where Ben and I had our first date and rehearsal dinner (strange with kids).  We went back to our old church and were so blessed to see so many people we love and miss.  The rest of the time was spent in the pool or eating In-N-Out. 

We had a great CA trip.  It seemed so short because we were having such a great time but now that I am home...."There is no place like home."    

Disney's Goofy is not a dog!!!

Today Jeremiah and I had a big debate.  He would not, could not, and still will not believe that Goofy is a dog.  He thinks that Goofy is a person.  

I completely understand his argument:

1. Goofy wears a hat.

2. Goofy wears clothes.

3. Goofy stands up.

4.  Pluto is a dog.

So I said to Jeremiah, "what is Mickey?"  "A mouse" was his reply.  "What is Donald?" "A duck" was his reply.  We went through several characters with the same rationale.  However, when we got to Goofy, he still insisted that he was a person.  The mind of a 3 year old baffles me; he can extend the boundaries of reality one way but has very strict perimeters the other way.  I don't think I will try to win this one, pick your battles right? 

Summer Weddings

This is the summer of weddings for us. It has been a while since I have had so many friends get married, but this summer we had three weddings.

We went to CA in April for my close college buddies wedding, he just so happens to also be one of Ben's frat brothers. It was a beautiful, traditional Indian wedding. I wore a traditional sari for the ceremony and changed into American clothes for the reception. The Barat was perfect, it began at 8:30AM the groom rode in on a horse and the groomsmen danced to traditional Indian drums (the groomsmen were all mostly Caucasian so it was amusing to watch them try to dance. I was able to tease them later since they were mostly Ben's frat brothers as well). The ceremony ended around 1ish and we had an amazing lunch with the most tasty Indian cuisine. After that I headed over to the Long Beach Aquarium with the kids for an afternoon of touching sharks and watching jelly fish with Ben's parents.

The reception began that night at 6:30PM..more tasty Indian food. We ate, danced and celebrated until nearly 1:30AM, I was exhausted. We got up early the next morning to go to church with Mike and Jackie for Easter. It was a wonderful wedding.

Nearly a month later I flew to Lexington, KY for a wedding of an old co-worker. It was an amazing day, the weather was perfect and Lexington is a very pretty city. The wedding was held out at an old horse stable and race course. The scenery was breathtaking, during the ceremony the horses were running in the fields and the trees were a bold green, such a beautiful setting for a wedding. I had a great time reconnecting with co-workers from the past.

Both April and May weddings were great but I was missing a very important part...Ben. July however we (yes Ben too) made a quick trip to CO for the wedding of one of my High School friends and bridesmaids.

The wedding was in a little town called Granby. It was beautiful, way up in the mountains, outdoor ceremony, and fantastic food. It was great to see my friends Katie (the bride) and Beth (her twin sister). Katie looked fantastic, the bridesmaids were in bright, sunshine yellow and her dogs presented the wedding rings. It was also very nice to have Ben there, we were able to have a nice romantic dance and a brief but nice weekend without the kids.

All in all I need a break from weddings.