We flew down on Matthew's birthday. We got up and drove to Dad's so he could take us to the airport. He and Jay gave both the boys a few things for the airplane. And we all had a small piece of red velvet cake. You know, for a second breakfast.
On the flight, I asked a flight attendant if the captain could say a little something to Matthew for his birthday. She was handing out digi-players at the time (they are kind of like ipads that are preloaded with shows, movies, and games) and she gave each of the boys one for free!! What?! Then a few minutes later the captain got on the intercom and updated us on the time and then said "There's a boy on board who is having a special day today. Matthew is turning 6 today!" Everyone clapped and he was so happy. A few minutes later Matthew said "Wasn't it good that the captain said happy birthday to me?" Towards the end of the flight, a couple ladies in front of the kids asked if they could give each of the boys a little money since they were so good on the flight. Again, What?! Of course! The boys were so excited and I was touched by the kindness of nice people all around us.
When we got to the house, we had dinner and Bethany had made cupcakes for Matthew's birthday. They were so good! The kids played a while and then it was off to bed.
Friday, we drove to Enchanted Rock. It was a fun hike. The sunshine was so glorious!
There were so many places to climb and explore.
At the top, there are some caves that the older kids and dads explored a bit.
We checked out backpacks from the Parks department and they had coloring books for the kids, binoculars, magnifying glasses, and animal and plant identification sheets. How cool is that? Sean checked out little floating organisms in the puddles.
Some of the wildlife.
From Enchanted Rock, we drove the Fredericksburg. What a cute town! We played around a park for a while and had dinner and then set up a spot to watch their light parade.
We saw some fun floats and trucks during the parade. We all just loved being together.
On the way home, we drove through Johnson City. In front of their City Hall, all the trees are covered in lights and it's so beautiful!
We made one more stop on the way home at Blue Bonnet Cafe and got some pie to go. Once the kids went to bed, the adults enjoyed the pie. Oh my, it was delicious!
Saturday Sean and I raked the leaves into a pile for the kids. It was fun to have a second Fall season.
Fly!
After lunch, we went to Georgetown for a Whoville experience. The Grinch was there, but the boys were not interested in seeing him. Mack waited to get her hair done and the boys went to play mini golf while I waited in line for them to do a bungee jump activity. The line took about an hour and I had Jon take over about half way through.
It was totally worth the wait for these happy boys.
The kids got balloon swords and happily dueled for a while until all the swords were popped. Matthew and Mack snuggled a lot. They are precious!
That night after dinner, and Texas sheet cake, the kids played pin the tail on the stingray (in honor of Matthew's birthday).
Matthew having a little snuggle with Cheeto
Sunday, the Hegers and Matthew went to church. I had Sean do a little bit of school work and we bribed him to pull his ridiculously loose tooth. He got to have a Texas-sized piece of Texas sheetcake when he pulled it out. Phew!!
After church, we went to a work party for Ben and Bethany. There was a petting zoo there and it was a hit! The kids declared that it was the BEST petting zoo ever!
Matthew's golden chick.
Can't we keep it?
Santa was also there.
That night, we went to see some Christmas lights in a neighborhood nearby.
It was seriously impressive.
Monday, we went to Milburn Park. The kids had a great time! It was so nice to be in the sunshine in December.
Wait up, guys!
The park is huge. After we played at the playground for a while, we went to explore a different part of the park. We walked through what looked like a bmx bike trail.
After the park, we went to get a nice, cool treat.
That evening, we went on another hike at Warbler Trail (I think that's what it's called). One trail was the Cactus Rock Trail.
Matthew kept looking for specific places to walk and would shout "Staircase!" often. Ben helped the older kids find a scorpion molt. They were so excited, but unfortunately (for them), they dropped and lost it.
The Fall colors were so beautiful.
Then we drove up to the Sunset Deck. Our timing was perfect and we were rewarded with amazing views!
The crew
Tuesday, the kids needed to go to school. We had an easy going morning and then we went to lunch with Bethany and Ben at the Oasis Restaurant. It sits up above Lake Travis. It was lovely, but the lake is really low and Ben pointed out an Island to the boys. It's known as Sometimes Island, because it is visible sometimes. The place had a lot of Christmas stuff out, so the kids played around for some photo ops.
There's also a spaceship up there. ?
That night we tried to see some lights in downtown Austin, but we saw the lines were out of control, so we skipped out on the lights, and went to Gordough's Donuts. Oh my goodness!!
Do you see the size of these things? I mean, they are delicious, but one could feed my whole family. We did save some for the next morning.
On the drive, Matthew was spelling the word 'cabin.' He said "C" "a" "b" "space" "lower case i" "n". I love that kid. I was also saying something about a 'hot bed of crime' and he said 'Optimus Prime?'
When the kids went to bed, we watched a movie and Bethany and Jon worked on building pretzel log cabins. They were quite serious about their work. Glue gun an all!
Wednesday morning, the kids got to decorate the log cabins. It was more serious business!
We went to see Uncle Todd and Jesus for a little bit. We had such a nice visit. They made some really yummy lunch and the kids explored around their yard and collected a box of air plants for them. Sean also found a cicada molt to bring home.
The kids making up their own pokemon creations.
There is a Texas tradition to decorate trees along the side of the road at Christmas time as quick and tacky as possible.
Challenge accepted!
Bethany had told me about a Longhorn farm a few blocks from her house. I had run past it a few times, but the longhorns were never very close to the road. On our way to the airport, they were out! We had to stop and take pictures. They are amazing and like Sean said, "They are very well named."
Hook 'em horns!
We had such a wonderful visit and the kids are already talking about our next trip! Thank you so much Bethany and Ben for your hospitality!!
2 comments:
What an amazing trip! You guys packed in the activities like crazy. What memories for them :)
Love all these! Just made me relive that whole super fun week. Loved having you here!!! Yes please to winter home...... ;)
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