Outings // Austin Zoo

We have been teaching our kids about finding value in experiences as gifts, rather than just "things". So, for Hazel's birthday earlier in the summer, the kids decided to give her the gift of a trip to the Zoo, because she sure loves animals. So, we found a Groupon deal for the Zoo, and purchased it. We then printed it out and put it in a white envelope, with a card the kids made for their sister. They decorated the outside of the envelope, as well - and were very excited to give it to her. She was thrilled with their gift! 

Well, finally - though still in the mid-90s - it has cooled off enough that we could help Hazel cash in her visit to the Zoo. Lucky us - it was a gift for us all! We spent several hours looking at the animals, feeding the goats, and enjoying a picnic lunch. A great time was had by all. She may have cashed in her gift - but in return, we all banked some mighty wonderful memories of a fun-filled day together. Now that is a gift that is a winner!

Things I want to remember...

-Sawyer and Aspen getting so big, carrying their very own canteens around the Zoo. 
-Hazel's sweet, excited voice as she gazed in at the "OX! Mama, look at the OX!" (Some of us would say, "Fox!" but she leaves off the beginning of some of her words and it is pretty darn cute, once you learn her language ;)
-Hudson's sweet baby blues and his tiny birkenstocks. And how big his eyes got when the goats ate out of his hand.
-Jacob getting just as excited as Sawyer when we looked at the reptile house.
-Sawyer so good with his Zoo map and directing us where to go next.
-Aspen with just being her sweet, happy self. And how she loves to bring her rag doll "Coco" with her on all sorts of adventures (I made her the rag doll for Christmas last year, and she is now getting pretty dirty because of so much love - warms my heart!)
-The way Hazel was just as fond of the butterflies as she was of the tigers.
-The excitement that lit up Aspen's face when we read that one of the pack of gray wolf sisters shared her name.
-The way Jacob asks if he can push the stroller, like he is truly excited about it and wants to give me a little break.
-The way I feel when I'm surrounded by my little family tribe...my heart could burst!

Wonders of Nature // Bull Creek

We spent the better part of the day exploring Bull Creek today. We had so much fun! We really didn't want to leave, but it was on the cusp of 100 degrees, we were soaking wet, and Hudson's diaper was about to explode...next time we will bring swimming suits and a swim diaper ;) 

We started out hiking around a few of the trails. Sawyer even brought his binoculars and packed his own little backpack today - he set out his "explorer" outfit last night before going to bed. It makes me smile, knowing my kids look forward to our Adventure Day as much as I do. We found a shady place along the creek to eat lunch - of course, Hudson tried to eat every rock he could find...he's at that age. After our hike and picnic lunch, we decided to really get our feet wet (among other things).

I helped the kids climb up on this huge rock. They had a pretty fun view, and even spotted some snapping turtles swimming around in the water below. We had so much fun wading and splashing. If you're looking for a fun place to cool off with the kids - this is perfect! There are even a few natural little water flows/falls which make a perfect slide! I realized today that we've lived in Austin now for two years and never made it to a splash pad!?! I guess we prefer mother nature's swimming holes a bit more ;) We'll most definitely be going back - with swim gear on!

Summertime

Summer 2014 from Tysha on Vimeo.

I made an effort to capture little snippets of video on my iPhone throughout the summer and then put together this little family movie for fun. I have a feeling we will always look back on it with fondness and a big smile. There is something so magical about summertime, isn't there?

Outings // SXSW: bring your own chair

A few weeks back, Jacob and I were stoked to experience our first SXSW (South by Southwest - only the biggest live music festival in the world!!!). We were especially excited because The Butler Bros - Jacob's new office - puts on one of the only very cool, yet family-oriented, events. It was an all-day event with six different bands, fun stuff for the kids, yummy food trucks - one of which was GoodPops - a popsicle stand where I had the best popsicle(s) (or 2 or 3) of my life (not kidding - hibiscus mint...you've got to try it!) and just an overall super awesome day with the fam. You can see a little video re-capping the day on the Bros blog, here. 

Have I mentioned yet how much we love the weather here in ATX? Can you say...perfect? Okay, I know we haven't been here for summertime yet, but from what I hear 6 weeks of "hot as hell" is worth the rest of the year being utterly amazing. Everyone has air conditioning and a pool nearby, or a river to float - I think we'll survive. But, yes, we are thoroughly enjoying the sunshine and warm temps here in Texas. LOVE LOVE LOVE!

So, our kids had been kinda chill just relaxin' in the shade of our little tent cover thingy, and eating their trailer food (and popsicles!), but finally when the Danish band Tako Lako came on for their set (btw they were awesome! such good energy!), something inside Aspen was set free. She was mesmerized and decided to just get up and dance like I know she can. Perhaps she was being a little shy before (we have plenty of dance parties at home, so I know she has moves) but she just let it loose and it was SO fun. I've been known to dance with the hippies...her Daddy, too...so perhaps, it's just in her genes. Any way around it, it was cute and we even captured a little iPhone video of our whirling dervish girl.

Even though it was a long day, Tako Lako gave the kids their second wind and they kept going strong. They found an ice chest with the melty ice and started playing with the melting ice cubes. Eventually, more kids joined them. Aspen danced so crazy, her little buns fell out, and she decided to try to take a dip in the ice chest. Good times, I tell ya, good times. 

We can hardly wait for next year!

SXSW 2013 from Tysha on Vimeo.

outings // UT turtle pond

We had visitors over the weekend - Jacob's parents and youngest sister came and spent a few days visiting, and it was great to see them. The kids, of course, had a blast with Grandma and Grandpa Carter in town (and they quite adored Aunt Emma, who even with a broken leg, got down on the floor to play with them a bit). 

Our company were great sports and tagged along on Monday morning bright and early to my Nature School class. I haven't said a whole lot about my class here - but I adore them. My kids LOVE it. And it's such a great excuse to get outside and explore our new city while getting plenty of sunshine and fresh air! I have a private blog for our class, which I will make public once we're done and "out" of class for the summer, for reference for anyone else who might like to start up Nature Preschool group. More on that later...Anyway, this week our outing was to the Turtle Pond on the University of Texas campus, and our topic, of course, was TURTLES! We were not disappointed with our findings at the pond, and stayed a good couple of hours. I think the kids could've stayed about all day and still enjoyed every minute!

After our circle, story, and song time, I gave each of the kids a baggie  of special turtle food, and set them loose. It was funny to see how some of the kids just about dumped it all in at once, and others took their time to sprinkle a bit here and there, luring the turtles close. 

Sorry if it's overkill of Aspen - just sitting there. But there's something about her "W" sit, her bright yellow boots, and her sloppy pigtails that just makes me smile. Plus, she wasn't running crazy, like some. She sat and waiting and watched, and then she found some rocks...and if you know anything about our girl, you know, she loves LOVES rocks!

Some of the kids also pretended to go "fishing" with the lilly pad stems. So cute!

After Nature School, we ate a picnic lunch and then headed over to the Natural History Museum (the Texas Memorial Museum) on campus (another wonderful free family thing to do here in Austin - definitely worth a visit!) where we saw lots of fossils and bones. Fun stuff! It was quite a day on campus! Jacob and I kind of reminisced about that "feeling" you get when walking around a university campus. We'd generally go hang out on UW's campus a couple of times a year - so it was nice to know we have UT in our backyard now so we can get that campus-feel fix every now and then. Who knows, maybe we have some future Longhorns in our home?

Thanks, Grandpa & Grandma & Emma - for the nice visit! We hope you enjoyed Texas!