More photos... critter edition!

Edmontosaurus (we went to the Dino Land exhibit this week... too cool!)


Dimetrodon


Zen with koi


Local egret


Ruffled pigeon

McKinney Falls State Park

We took advantage of a gorgeous, sunny Sunday afternoon by packing the kids up and heading out to McKinney Falls State Park for a little day hike. It was nice to get outside and into the fresh air and the scenery was nice, but we learned pretty damn quick that the jogging stroller was NOT gonna happen. The more scenic trail was definitely rugged with lots of stairs and rocky terrain. In fact, the majority of the area was VERY rocky and hard for Miss Piggle Wiggle to get around. It sucks when you're 20-months old and don't quite have a handle on the whole walking thing yet! I didn't have the backpack, so we ended up passing her back and forth and implementing ALOT of shoulder rides! Once we got down to the water though, we just relaxed and watched the kids throw rocks into the ponds. I tried a few times to teach the Monkey Man how to skip rocks, but he just didn't seem to grasp the concept of throwing the flat part of the rock to keep it parallel with the water. Oh well, with time! It was fun though and we were so happy to get out of the house! And I managed to snap a couple of cool pics. Gotta love that hat, right??? And have I mentioned how tickled I get at Texas "waterfalls"? I guess after living in the Pacific NW, I'm a little biased and know what a WATERFALL should really look like. Here they kind of look like kitchen faucets or at best a leaking fire hydrant!

Taking advantage of a beautiful day!

It was gorgeous yesterday! So how could I keep my little family all cooped up in the house?!? I packed up Mom, kids and Booney (mom's dog) and headed to St. Edwards Park which runs next to Bull Creek. It was a lovely walk, the boy, Mom and Booney, of course, left me and the girly in the dust. But little girly held her own and walked almost the entire hike. She was TIRED when we got home! Although the leaves were off the trees and the majority of the greenery was far from green, it was still a beautiful walk. Plenty of stuff to please the senses! My son enjoyed chunking rocks into the creek, I think all little boys dig that, and my daughter was just hellbent on trying to actually get IN to the creek. At one point she amused herself by using a little stick to dig in some damp earth when she decided it would be a good idea to try a taste. From the look on her face, it didn't taste at all good! After all was said and done, we packed up and headed to the Arboretum for some Amy's Ice Cream (Mexican Vanilla with strawberry crush'ns... mmmmm!) What a fun day!

Trina's date!

So I did NOT get a chance to stop and get anything cute to wear, hell I got back from Marble Falls at 4pm, we were supposed to leave for Driftwood by 4:30pm, yikes! I did manage to rummage through the closet and find a decent skirt and blouse that I accessorized with one of my custom turquiose pieces from my grandfather and managed to look presentable. Traffic was horrific, it took us an hour and a half to get down there, but that was OK, time for hubby and I to chat a bit. Luckily the first hour was for drinks and appetizers, so missing the first half hour wasn't too bad. By the time we got there I was STARVING! All I had for lunch was about half an egg salad sandwich and a couple of chips as I had to kick in to "field trip director" mode. Anyway, I felt a little pathetic, here I was at a fancy cocktail hour and all I could think of was stalking the waitstaff with the appetizers!! There were some awesome little tidbits, my favorites being the goat cheese and herb stuffed puff pastries (holy shit!!!), little bite-size ciabbata sandwiches with prosciutto, fresh mozzerella and pesto sauce (served with a twig of fresh rosemary instead of a toothpick, what a cute and flavorful idea!) and mushroom caps stuffed with spicy brisket (I'm not usually a mushroom girl, but WOW those were good!).

For the actual meal we had a selection of three different types of steak, the best being a beef tenderloin with a light creamy sauce over it, a corn pudding made with grits (very tasty), a lovely pork stew with mushrooms and carrots served over rice, green peas and nice bread. And did I mention all the great wine? Restauranteur Damian Mandola has "retired" in Driftwood, but started a vineyard and I drank his Sangiovese all evening, tasty! That was actually the theme of the whole dinner, EVERYTHING was local. The wines were local, the olive oil for the bread is made out in Driftwood, even the beef was local. It seems as though Northern Hays county is about to become the Napa Valley of Central Texas. Pretty crazy. I finished off this lovely meal with a serving of carrot cake and a Bailey's and coffee (oh yeah!).

Anyway, it was just nice to get out of the house, visit with other adults and eat some lovely food. It doesn't happen that often, so I really savor it when it does! And thanks to the Pumpkin Farm visit, my kids were out for the count by 8:30, so easy babysitting in my house last night!

Better now.

Was feeling slighty unworthy and dull yesterday, but feeling lots better today. I hate when I get into those funks. I woke up this morning, knowing that I was taking my children to visit the pumpkin farm for a field trip, not to mention picking out our carving pumpkins! That has to make anyone feel good, right? Getting a gargantuan squash to stab, gut and generally maim? It is a beautiful sunny morning, the weather should be mild and to top it off, I get to leave my kids with a good friend tonight while I accompany my husband on a vineyard dinner down in Driftwood. That's right, you're not seeing things, I actually have a date with my hubby tonight!! Except I don't have a damn thing to wear! My closet is filled with jeans and jogging pants, not cute dresses! Hopefully I can make it back from the farm in time to stop someplace and pick up something cute! Either way though, I get to go have a nice dinner, drink lovely wine and be generally merry tonight... HOORAY for ME!

Why I don't get out as much as I should!

So I made arrangements with a friend of mine to meet up at the Children's Museum today. What a freakin' mistake! Now, I'm usually up for just about anything, but I had this nagging in the back of my mind all morning that this was going to be one of those outings. It started out with my baby sleeping later than normal and having to dress her in a hurry and get out the door, so I decided we would stop and grab something quick to eat and fill the car up with gas. I left at 11:30, which should have been plenty of time to accomplish these things and be to the museum by 1-ish. I pulled into Schlotzsky's and not a single spot was available, so I figured, screw it, and I went to get the gas, then headed to Panda Express instead. Well the restaurant didn't look that busy, but the parking lot was a nightmare! I was cut off by 3 different people trying to get a parking space. Nothing is more annoying than to be waiting for a spot, when you've got two hungry kids in the car, and some jerk-off who's probably just running in for take-out, snakes your spot! So, I bag that idea, figuring that every Dell employee on the planet must be in that parking lot! I headed farther down the road where I knew there was another Panda Express. We got there and they are constructing a new building in the same parking lot, work trucks were strewn everywhere, parked all willy-nilly, so I had to park all the way over by the grocery store and hoof it to the restaurant (kids in tow). At least the food was fast and fine and kids ate well, that's a plus!

I get back in the car, and am waiting at the stop light to exit the parking lot and I allowed a PT Cruiser who was waiting to the side to cut in front, only fair, right? Well this ass in an Explorer totally bullies his way in after her and flips me off in the process! Holy shit! I'm glad I don't carry a gun as I would be in jail for voluntary manslaughter for sure! And if that weren't bad enough, that little bastard made me miss the next light, he flew right through but because of his bullying and flipping off, I missed it! I hope fleas infest his armpits! I finally managed to get downtown, but the construction was INSANE! I haven't been to that part of town in awhile and I can say I won't be heading back anytime soon! After weaving in and out of orange cones and one-way streets I finally found a street spot (as I sure as hell was NOT going to pay $7 for parking!). As luck would have it (finally something went my way) I had quarters to feed the meter for the first hour. So I grabbed the kids and ran in, 15 minutes late. I HATE being late, makes me crazy when people make me wait, so it drives me nuts to make others wait. Anyway, paid the $11 to get in (only because I lied and said the baby was 11 mos or she would have been an additional $3.50!). Met up with my friend, kids played, it was alright, but seriously, not at all worth the price of admission. It was rather disappointing that I went to so much trouble to get there and it really wasn't that great. Well, about an hour into it, I remembered I needed to feed the meter, so I got change and went out to do that, turns out the stupid meter flipped out and said "FAIL". Well, what the hell do you do when that happens? I had my phone so I called the number on the meter and got the parking department of the City of Austin. The lady took info and gave me a number to remember, she asked if I had anything to write on and I'm like, hmmmm, baby on one arm, phone in the other hand, ummmm NO! But I remembered the number, so if I got a citation, I could call and have it cleared. But yeah, approx. 10 minutes standing in the sun with the kids trying to deal with the meter malfunction. I swear it was like something was just out to get me today!

Anyway... moral of this story, Children's Museum not worth the effort! In fact, there is very little in life that would have been worth that level of frustration! On the good side, my son did have fun, the baby had an OK time, and I did get to visit with a friend. Maybe next time we'll just meet at the park, at least that's free!