The Yard in Bloom

I absolutely LOVE this time of year in Dallas.  The yard is blooming all around and the colors are simply vivid.

Weekend in Austin -- Bekah Dance Comp/Jon 12th Birthday

Since Miss Bekah has a dance competition in Kyle (outside of Austin) and Jon wants to do his birthday party at Jumpstreet in Cedar Park, Mister and I decide to make a weekend of it.  We leave Dallas at around 6:15 Saturday morning for our drive south and after a quick stop at The Czech Stop and Little Czech Bakery for some yummy kolaches and a slight detour due to missing our exit, arrive before Jen and Bekah.  After a frantic phone call from her asking for help as she too misses the exit, we soon are together and ready to start the day.  First up in the competition is Bekahs duet:  "That Cat is High".  You can link to it and see it here.  It won a Platinum award and went on to win High Score for it's age bracket in duets/trios and also Grand Champion for all duets/trios in Division 1.  Woohoo Bekah and Jasmine.

Time for costume changes and a break as the girls wait their turn for their tap number: "Watch The Birdie" .  Check out the link here.  Once again, this number won a Platinum award, High Score for it's age bracket in large groups, and Grand Champion for all Large Groups in Division 1.  The girls did such a good job.

After a quick change (4 numbers) the jazz number, "Steam Heat" was next.  Again a Platinum.  And their last number was a lyrical to "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" and it received a Gold.  Such a fun day and it sure took me back many, many years and brought smiles to my face as I remembered these times with all of my children -- yep, even Matt.

Congrats Bekah.  AND thanks so much for letting me and Grandpa be a part of your day.  It was Grandpa's first competition and I think Jared was glad he was there --- they got to go and get sandwiches halfway through for a break.  We really had a great time and I cannot believe that you are taller than me.  Grrrr.

After the competition, Mister and I went for some dinner at The Black Star Co-Op and then on to our hotel.  It really is quite sad that on a Saturday night in Austin, I was asleep by 9.  Dang, age is creeping up on me anymore.

The next morning, we found It's A Grind Coffee House and stopped for a quick breakfast on the way to meet the family at Jumpstreet.  I had slept in and that was all we had time for -- I know, I know -- went to bed early and slept in on a holiday weekend.  What's up with that?  Once we arrived at the indoor trampoline park, things were already hoppin' --- ha ha, I'm funny today.

First up was a mechanical bull.  Yep -- and several had to give it a try.  Since it is Jon's birthday, I'll show him first.  The bull wins no matter who gives it a try.

I stand and watch for awhile thinking I will give it a try and before I can make a decision both Louis and Jen go for it.  Here are the videos of their rides:  As you can tell, if you don't have shorts on, well you don't last long.  When Jen's turn ended, she told me not to try.  It hurt more than it should and so my decision was made.

After the bull, Oh yeah --- it is on.  Highlight was Jen scoring on Mister when he was away picking up another puck that had fallen off the table.  What a cheater.  HA HA

It was time to play -- thus Mommy/Daughter time.  That only lasts so long and I am exhausted and move on to just photographing others.  Seems that is the smarter way to go. The tramps are a great time though and everyone gets into it throughout our two hours here.

I manage to catch the birthday boy just before he falls into the pit.  After a short time, everyone needs a rest and soon the whole family is at the air hockey table again.

I get talked into playing a few games of dodge ball and since we are all on the same team, we soon decimate the other side and so I jump ship and go to help them out.  I am no sooner there, than I am annihilated by a previous team member who has come all the way to the center line to blast me with the ball.  Drat.

There is a small arcade to kill time during rests and absorb any extra quarters that may be lurking in purses or pockets.  Bekah and Josh are racing as I climb on the back of Bek's bike.  Now she really has to drive as I don't have a clue what to do.  We manage to still do okay and she gets 8th place high score on the machine.  Not too bad with an old lady on back.

After the two hours are up, it is time to focus on Jon.  He wants seafood for lunch and we locate The Catfish Parlor in Georgetown, which is on the way north again.  We take our time and enjoy a leisurely lunch before climbing back into the cars for the drive back to Jen's house.  Jon and his friend, Bemica, climb in with us and we play word games all the way back.  It was great to watch them get creative with language and use "ten dollar" words.

 We arrive back at the house before Jen and play a game of Blokus with the boys while we wait.  Jon wins the game which seems fitting since it is his day --- and he won fair and square too.  He simply outplayed us.  Soon, the rest of the family arrives with his birthday cake and the celebration really gets going.  All the candles are out in a single blow -- not sure he even took the time to make a wish.

Gifts are next -- I love that HE loves cards.  He opens them first and just giggles away at the ones we give him.  I couldn't decide on one, so put two in there.   The second one has stinky scratch and sniffs --- great face here isn't it?  Mister has found a great stunt kite for Jon that doesn't have rods and once Jon figures out what it is, he is all smiles.

His gift from his parents is a new 243 rifle.  He has just finished his hunter safety class and is excited for the chance to learn to shoot.  As soon as we have had our cake, he and Dad leave for the range to sight it in and give it a whirl.

Mister and I stay for a little while visiting with Jen, but soon realize that it is getting late and we still have to drive to Dallas tonight.  It is time to go, but it has been a great 2 days with family.  I am always astounded by how old my grands are getting --- really Jon --- 12???  My goodness, where have the years gone?  We love ya tons.

Easter in Temple

I was up and out of the house by 8 a.m. to get to the airport to pick up Cassie from work.  We came back to the house to check and see if Mister was feeling up to traveling down to Temple with us today. Nope -- my poor Mister is sick.  He wasn't even up to coloring eggs so Cassie and I did a quick dunk and made Easter Eggs.  This is probably the least amount of time spent coloring eggs ever.  We even left 6 in the cups for Mister to take out when he woke up.  Perhaps we would have a few really dark colors.

We then change clothes and get on the road to Temple.  Jen has invited us down for Easter dinner and to spend some time together.  Scott is stuck in Salt Lake at the airport trying any and all available flights to get back to Texas.

While we are driving Scott manages to get a flight to Long Beach.  At least he is out of Salt Lake and starting towards home.  From there, he will race and try to get a flight to Austin.

When we arrive at Jen's, the first thing I see is an Easter tree.  She said that she was keeping her tree up this year and decorating it for each holiday.  What a fun idea and dang if it doesn't solve the problem of where to store the tree.

Cass starts making her Better Than Sex cake and I am lazy and just visit with everyone.  It is always fun to get filled in on everything that everyone is up to and they are always willing to tell me stories.




Jon readies the table for dinner and I realize that I am starving.  I cannot wait for the yummy ham, pasta, corn, and fresh bread. It is all so good.

After dinner, Cassie drove into Austin to pick up Scott and I had the chance for a wonderful visit with Jen and Louis.  It is so nice to have these great conversations.  I miss them -- could be a sign that I need to improve my social life.  Finally, it appeared that the dishes were not going to hop off the table and wash themselves so we set to it and had everything cleaned up in no time.

When Cass returned, Scott helped Jen with some computer issues while Auntie channeled her inner child and started to play with her nephews.  I was watching for awhile and then couldn't resist and joined in as well for some giggles and fun.  Cass had a great time showing the kids how Gammy used to jump years ago.  Apparently I stuck my butt out a lot.

It was a great day and I cannot wait until next weekend to go down and spend time with them again.  By the time I picked up my car at the airport and drove home, it was midnight and I was surely ready for sleep.  My poor Mister does not feel much better.  So sad.

Yarn Shopping and Errands

Mister and I were out running errands and I wanted to pick up some yarn to make a few scarves so we stopped off at my fav yarn spot, Holley's Yarn Shoppe.  While there I saw this very cool item.  It takes the coils of yarn and rolls them into a ball.  Dang it was sweet.  And double dang -- I remember sitting and holding my arms apart with the yarn around them while it was hand wrapped into a ball.  I am pretty sure this is NOT modern technology, but it is way more advanced than what I was used to.  Too cool.

Just us Two at the Zoo

This morning I asked Mister if he would like to go to the zoo in the afternoon.  They have a koala encounter each day around 1 and I thought he might like to see it.  One of the benefits of having a membership is that we can just pop in anytime and stay as long as we want without feeling like we are wasting money.  It's great.  As we wait for the encounter to begin, the Colobus Monkey habitat is right outside the  koala area and we notice that there is a sign for a new baby born in December 2012.  We stand and watch for about 15 minutes before we discover where the little guy is hiding.

He peeks out from behind one of the adults off and on for about 1/2 an hour and then suddenly he is picked up and carried down to the ground to play.  So very special.

It is time for the encounter and we spend another 30-45 minutes with the koalas.  This is Kobi and he is doing well here in Dallas.  We are lucky to have this exhibit and love to see these amazing animals when they are awake.  That is always the challenge.

Fun day doing something Mister loves.

Buzzbrews and a Movie

Mister has been wanting to see Oz: The Great and Powerful for a couple of weeks so we check the first showing time and decide to make the race to get there in 15 minutes.  Woo hoo, we make it and settle in to enjoy the show.  After the movie, we are now starving and look for a new place to have a late Sunday brunch.  Mister remembers a place along the Expressway that he has wanted to try and so we locate it and stop in at Buzzbrews.  This place is great!  The food is excellent and hits the spot just right.  Yay Mister.

Time Sewing with Cass

Cassie's grandmother is turning 80 and all the grand and great-grandchildren are making a small quilt as a gift for her.  Each one is to do something that "Grandma would like" and since Cass has been out of town working for the past week she is behind the eight ball on getting it done by the deadline.  I pitched in to help and also give myself some fun Momma/Daughter time.

We took over my sewing room and Mister kept us supplied with patterns, food, and drinks while we worked.  He was great at finding patterns online that we could work with easily.  Grandma loves flowers and so we settled on a pansy and a violet.  Once we finished creating the applique flowers and had them ironed in place, it was time to blanket stitch all the way around.

We moved into the office in the house to sit back and do the finish work a little more comfortably while still being able to visit and hear all about her time in Austin during SXSW.  She always has so many funny stories to tell - airports are a gold mine for those.

We think the squares turned out well -- how about you?