10 posts from July 2007

IMG_1582

Go straight to the photos. 

Yesterday, the boys and I went on a hike. You’d think it was a horrible experience judging from their reaction to having to leave the apartment. I do realize that Legos can be very absorbing but with the rain like we’ve had recently, well…you have to take advantage of a dry spell, you know?

Of course it was gorgeous again. In spite of the muddy parts and the fact that it was a work day, the trail was full of joggers and there were even some bikers. Then there were the usual dog and baby walkers.

Today was great because we were armed with food and drink. But is was also a problem because we had food and drink; next time we’ll just have one bottle and one bag of snack so we won’t have too much carrying to worry about.

Along the way, we found of of the boating/kayak renting places which was cool. NM, of course, got all excited about that and wanted to go kayaking. Time to work those upper body muscles now before we do something like paddle!

It’s so pretty here, but then, I think I mentioned that already. It’s just hard to believe such a big park is in the middle of a city.

What were the sports or games you played in high school or college? 
Submitted by Stephen.  

Absolutely no organized sports or anything. I played games on the computer but that's it. I was a nerd like B) but no glasses.

After church on Sunday we decided to go for a walk and headed back to Zilker Park. Once again, sans the camera. Boo.

The idea was that we'd find that same parking spot under Mopac/Loop 1 that we used last year when we stopped to go hiking. Well, it took us a lot of driving around that part of down town before we finally did find the spot. It only took forever and lots of patience in answering "Where are we going, Abba? Mama, where are we going?" without sounding flippant or frustrated. This is where having GPS is quite pointless because you can't ask "Find that unpaved parking lot under Mopac on the south side of Town Lake." Since we did find it, hubby made sure it had actual coordinates so it can tell us where to go next time. Ha.

Anyway...we did find it again and walked the bridge again. Parts of the trail where we walked are presently under water. There were no armadillos like we saw last year. No doubt they've moved on to greener pastures, so to speak. However, they have been replaced by turtles who are more than pleased about the condition of the river. As usual, the physically fit of Austin were out in force, jogging with their requisite dogs, large and small, enjoying the free water at the north end of the bridge (better water than from the fountain, I'm sure, since NM spat that water out).

Did I mention how green things are here? It's so hard to get over. The trees by the river are so green and they're covered with vines. There's moss in some of them (oaks I think) and it seems to be the season for some flowers to bloom, too. The feeling I got while hiking was that the vegetation is similar to Hidden Valley Springs in Laguna, Philippines though nowhere near as dense. Different plants, too, of course. Maybe it was the way the vines climbed up the trees or the way there was just that particular amount of humidity in the air? I'm not sure.

***

The kids did enjoy church and they did have a good time, eventually, during our walk. J had a hard time because he recognized the area and expected to go and play at Barton Springs Pool again. He loved it that much. Unfortunately, the little one has been having an incredibly hard time sleeping lately. His fear of the dark is great and it's really just an extension of the whole change thing. Your prayers are much appreciated.

Fortunately for us, the room that will be his has a similar layout and feel to his old one. The window and door are in pretty much the same spot and I am toying with the idea of painting the walls a green like his old room and placing the bed in the same spot as before. I'm hoping that will help him a lot once we are in the new house. In the mean time, your prayers for this are appreciated. I wish laying with him would help but, like his brother when he was that age, it only triggered that "Mommy's here! Let's play!" thing.

Tagged by Krissa. I owe her big time since this is the second time she tagged me. Let's see...how long has it been since we met on PF? That felt like forever and a day ago. Kri is my future neighbor (right???) now that we've moved to Austin, TX. She's very gifted when it comes to artsy things and has a great eye for color. She would like to be a professional web designer some day but I think she just needs to get out there and do it! And Kri has more personal domains than anyone I know.

My turn to tag! I promise not to pick the wonderful people who I know have already been tagged, though they deserve another one.

The intrepid Julie, mom to five (one boy and four girls). Can you imagine? She logs all of their family adventures and is in the middle of trying to sell one house and fine a new one so they can all live together (mom, dad, five kids and some cats). And did I mention she homeschools? Yeah. How does she do it alone? She doesn't! She's very clear: God is her source of strength.

Linda rocks because she wears her faith on her sleeve. Her family (husband, two boys and one girl plus two dogs) is her big focus and you can tell she's loved back. On top of that, she's wonderfully creative with words and a wiz with a camera. 

I'm cheating slightly here: Mai. Well, her blog has password protection on it but let me just say she's worth a tag. She's a great mama to her K and has a wonderfully loving family. She's somewhat of a neighbor except that she's about a 4 hour drive north to Dallas/Ft. Worth. One day, I'll make it up to visit you, Mai!

Cake Eater gets a tag because she rocks because she's related to me. Hahahaha! No, seriously, it's a pity she's an ocean away because I sure wouldn't mind having her around my house armed with a well-stocked pantry and fridge. I sure wouldn't mind having her around because she comes with my BIL and my nephew!

And I'm tagging some wonderfully rocking crafty ladies for their creative sparks and inspiration: Angelanoel (a former sorta neighbor from Long Beach), Jes (she's an Austinite!), Jensmile (check out her sewing), Kristine (super crafty!).

We put an offer in for a home today. It came on the market today (or yesterday…not sure which but marked 1 day on market as of today). I am so happy I could squeal. I think I will! *squee*

To the curious: post a comment and I can send you the MLS number.

We have one bedroom less that we thought but in the Grand Scheme of Things it’s not really a bad compromise when you consider the location, location, location.

If you’ve ever bought a home, you can relate to what I say if you are picky like we are. We looked at a lot of houses and they were all houses that made us think “Yeah, we could live here.” or “Yeah! This could work!” but today when we walked into the house we made an offer on, the feeling was much more “Wow, this feels like home.” And you mean it in every sense of the word.

So our prayer now is that the offer will fall through or they don’t accept it and don’t bother to counter offer.

***

We went to Calvary South Austin today for the first time. Small church! When you’re used to churches with attendance in the thousands, one in the 100s is a very different feel. We did enjoy it though and the boys had a really good time (NM got brownies! Not hard to win him over The head pastor, Bunjee (I like typing it almost as much as saying it) was on vacation so we heard the testimony of the pastor of Calvary Chapel Waco instead. He looks a lot like Raul Ries but with glasses and has a similar testimony to Mike Macintosh.

So maybe we’ll get to go on Wednesday. Someone, a deacon I believe, talked with us after service and invited us to go with them for coffee. We’d have gone except that we had lunch set up with friends already then the realtor after that. Next week, we’ll take him up on his offer. It’s kinda nice to be around a group that small

Austin, TX that is. And in one piece, too. I did post from the road but those are all at www.inthatnumber.com and I'm too lazy/tired to repost. Go look.

I love Austin! It's prettier than I remember.