A Couple of Fresh Tatoos...

They grow up so fast...

Seco Ranch

This weekend our Girl Scout troop was invited to "camp" at the family ranch belonging to one of our scouts. It is a 6,000 acre ranch that has been in the family for generations. It is 45 minutes from anything... I have never seen so many stars. There is a beautiful new house on the ranch but they restored and saved all kinds of old tables, furniture, pottery etc. It was a really amazing place. I think I could have left AJ there forever. She now wants to be a rancher when she grows up. Here's a little movie:

(Some of the photos are very blurry because I stole them from my friend's snapfish album, and I couldn't figure out how to download them full size, but you'll get the idea. I've since figured it out, but I'm not about to redo my video–it's too late, I'm turning into a pumpkin)

Watch...if you dare!!!

SOOO cool!

Okay, I know I've posted on this before, but you've just got to see this one. It was so cool. We had a big downpour and after it passes we noticed our backyard was full of huge blue dragonflies. But the cool part was that the rain had disturbed some kind of huge flying ant nest, and they were all flying away, and the dragonflies were just picking them off. It was so cool because we could see them grabbing the ants right out of the air. Very cool.

the anti-GQ guy

Well we will never have to worry about Jack being a suit model. He was SO upset that he had to wear this suit. He wined about it the WHOLE wedding. I finally took off his tie and unbuttoned his collar, which helped a little, but he was beside himself. It takes a lot to get this kid worked up, he's got Brett's easy going personality, but oh boy–you do not mess with comfort (he get's that from his mama!)

I'm back!

It was a crazy two weeks! Check it out:

Johnny Appleseed Day

Friday was Johnny Appleseed's birthday. All the 1st graders dressed up like Johnny complete with pot-hats and twine suspenders. It was funny because the only jeans AJ has are from last year (we are still a few months away from jeans-weather) and they were so small–but she didn't care. She rolled her eyes at me when I suggested wearing her jean-skirt. "Johnny Appleseed was a boy, he didn't wear skirts."

Apparently they had a fun apple-filled day. They made applesauce which AJ said was not good, and she is now glad she doesn't live in "the old days, because cooked applesauce is not good, and that is how they made it." I didn't realize she was such an applesauce aficionado.

Johnny Appleseed, born John Chapman (September 26, 1774 – February 18, 1845), was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced apples to large parts of middle America. He became an American legend while still alive, largely because of his kind and generous ways, his great leadership in conservation, and the symbolic importance of apples.

Freakin' Awesome

Okay, we have gone twice before to see these bats. They live under the Congress Ave. Bridge–this huge bridge in the middle of downtown. It hosts a colony of 1.5 million "Mexican free-tailed bats," the largest urban bat colony in North America. It is a huge tourist attraction. You can take a bat cruise on the lake and hundreds of people line the bridge and shores every night to watch. So we have gone twice with pretty dismal results. Third time is a charm. It was amazing. It looked more like swarms of bees than bats. We got there a few minutes before they began, and watched for a full 45 minutes without them even starting to let up. You cannot imagine the sheer number of bats flowing out from this bridge. It was great...so cool. I didn't have my camera, so I stole this clip from YouTube...

Bleed Orange

Our friends (thanks Jordans!) gave us tickets to the UT game this weekend. It was crazy! There are some serious superfans in Texas! You just have to see all of the fight songs complete with choreography in person. It is definitely an essential Austin experience. We only made it to the beginning of the 3rd before the kids had had it. I promised AJ they would bring Bevo out to walk around the field at halftime (I thought they would!) and when they didn't she was done! But, now we are official. Brett is kicking himself for not getting his student tickets this year. Here's a video...

I feel the need...the need for speed

I love our neighborhood. A few nights ago I was sitting on the driveway just watching the kids play in the cul-de-sac. Pretty soon our neighbors, the Cappels, brought out some chairs and joined me. Brett came out, then another neighbor couple, Chris and Debbie, and sat down with us. We ended up sitting and chatting while the kids played night games until 11:00! It was so cool, like the good old days, you know. We love Cascade Falls, Austin TX 78738!

So anyway, I took this shot of Jack chillin' in his sweet shades looking as handsome as 10 movie stars. I have the biggest crush on my boy!

IMAXed to death

Dive into a new immersive and highly emotional adventure with Jean-Michel Cousteau’s DOLPHINS AND WHALES 3D. This awe-inspiring documentary film narrated by Daryl Hannah will take you from the dazzling coral reefs of the Bahamas to the warm depths of the waters of the exotic Kingdom of Tonga for a close encounter with the surviving tribes of the ocean.

Sounds right up AJ's alley, right? So we went to this Dolphins and Whales IMAX movie thinking it will be the awesomest ever, and it was SO BORING!!! It was only 45 minutes and even Brett and I were like, "When is this thing going to end?!?" Torture. And IMAX are usually so great, we left feeling betrayed, confused, dizzy from the goggles, hungry. (Luckily the best hamburger joint ever is just around the corner, so hey, we still came out ahead. I'll sit through a billion boring movies for some awesome onion rings!)

About the only good thing about the movie was these great pictures, 3-D goggles make awesome props. We should have just took the pictures and left! It was seriously so bad!

Nice View

We hung out at Brett's school Saturday, we went bowling and had awesome cheeseburgers at our new favorite joint. I thought this was a cool clip of the view from UT.

W-ah-t the heck

AJ was working on her "sight words" yesterday and she was having trouble with "what." She was pronouncing it"w-ah-t." So I was saying, "You've got it, just say it quickly." She kept saying "w-ah-t...w-ah-t..." So I said, "That's it, now use it in a sentence." She paused for a second and said,

"I love to go what-ing."

Big Bad Ike

We have gotten several calls to see if we are in danger from Ike. As recently as yesterday the weather stations were forecasting Ike could make it all the way to Austin as a tropical storm with widespread flooding, but as of this morning the projected path makes a sharp eastward turn at Houston. The projections may still change, but it is now doubtful we will even get a drop of rain from Ike, though we need it. If you'd like an up to the minute update, check out this awesome storm tracker.

A couple of weird kids...

This is "horse" the kids favorite new game. This particular clip is a very tame example, it can get out of hand. It involves one kid tied to the rope, the horse, with the other kid, the cowboy, trying to tame the wild horse, and they don't hold back. The game almost always ends with tears and bruises, but they won't give it up. They play for, literally, hours.