Memorial Weekend

As you can imagine, we took advantage of the long weekend and packed our schedule full of fun. Saturday was swim, Kung Fu Panda 2, and an awesome birthday party for a 3-year old friend which included a PETTING ZOO! We got to hold and pet baby chicks, bunnies, a chinchilla, and even a pokey little hedgehog (shown here).

Sunday we went to the gym, art class, did a little shopping - nothing out of the ordinary. But today... today we did something quite out of character for my solarphobic husband. We spend the better part of our day out on a boat!

One of Aurora's best friends, Presley, lives just a few blocks away from us, and her family has a boat. The girls had so much fun playing and swimming - and it was neat to see Lake Austin and the 360 Bridge from the water.

I stayed in the boat the whole time, while Presley's mom and Chuck jumped in the water to splash around with the girls. He stayed in the shade the rest of the time, but I'll admit that I got a bit too much sun. Aurora's looking a little dark too, but boy did she have a great time. Yay for long weekends!

When I'm as big as you...

The other morning I came downstairs with my CVA study book under my arm, and Aurora looked so happy to see me! Then she said "Mommy, when I'm as big as you, can I read that book!?" She's constantly coming up with things like that. "Mommy, when I'm as big as you, will I wear your bra?" and "Mommy, when I'm as big as you, will I shave my armpit hair?" She certainly is aware of what makes us different! Luckily, she's still pretty little. We got her school photos today - the adorable individual shots, as well as this sweet class picture.

Top Row: Miss Kim, Presley, Jordan, Zoey, Miss Becky
Bottom Row: Miller, Connor, Savannah, Mia, and Aurora

I wonder... Mom, when I was as little as Aurora, did I ask questions like that?

The Usual

Aside from the random party or special event, we're settling in to a pretty regular weekend routine. We go to swim class Saturday morning, maybe do a little shopping or watch a movie in the afternoon, and on Sunday it's off to the gym and art class. Last week in art we made a coil pot, and today we painted it.

We have been mixing it up a bit and trying out some different restaurants. Today we went to Freddie's, which I'd heard had a great play area for kids - and it did not disappoint! 

The food was good, too. Afterwards, we went down the block to one of Austin's famous trailer park eateries where we had a cake & ice cream milkshake, YUM!

Aurora did great at swim this week - she never stopped smiling the whole time. She was a little cranky today and is definitely getting more strong willed, but that's to be expected at this age. We still had a good weekend, as usual!

500

It's hard to believe, but this is my 500th post! I feel like I should have some sort of retrospective celebration recapping the nearly 4 years I've been blogging, but that would just be weird. I think the funniest thing about this blog is that I call it Amber's Adventures, when let's face it, it's all about Aurora. So, today... I'm just going to write about me!

The last few months have been some the busiest I can remember - and I don't just mean busy with grandma's, swim lessons, and birthday parties - that's the easy stuff. I've been incredibly busy at work recruiting, interviewing, and offering unpaid positions to a record number of summer interns from all over the country. That's just one aspect of my job, but it's definitely the most demanding and rewarding.

Another great part of my job is the team building, continuing education, and community engagement opportunities we're offered. Last week we closed the office to volunteer at different locations around the east side of Austin, and about 20 of us chose to head to a farm and pick potatoes... that is, until it started pouring rain. Seriously, so much fun. I'm the one in the yellow shirt.

On a more personal level, I've been studying to become a CVA (Certified Volunteer Administrator), which is the only national certification offered in volunteer management. Next week is the test, and after that I'll start working on my written portfolio. A group of us from DOVIA (Directors of Volunteers in Austin) formed a weekly study group, and it's honestly been a lot of fun. Here's hoping we all pass.

Once the interns are all on-board and my CVA exam is behind me, I plan on taking advantage of the on-site yoga classes we have available as part of our wellness program. Seriously... I have a really cool job.

I could go on, but I think that's enough about me. Thank you, loyal followers, for reading this post - as well as the 499 that came before it. Have no fear, we'll be back to our usual Aurora-centered programming soon!

Heartsong

There probably aren't too many kid's places around town that we've never been to, so it's hard to believe that today we went to a party at a place we'd never even heard of! Aurora's friend Zoey celebrated her 3rd birthday at Heartsong, where we spent the afternoon singing, dancing, and playing all kinds of music.

Another favorite activity at Heartsong... washing windows! Water and squeegees are part of the play area. We watched the kids wash windows and talked about how good they are at helping with dishes and laundry.

While we were gone, Chuck had some quiet time alone at home - and did the dishes and laundry. I have such a helpful family!

I wonder how many other great places there are in Austin that we've never heard of? With all the little friends Aurora has, I'm sure we'll discover them all eventually.

Swim Lessons

Last weekend Aurora started an 8-week Saturday morning swim class at the Northwest YMCA. Her first lesson wasn't great - about halfway through she started crying and reaching out for us - clearly not a fan of getting water on or around her face. Today she was so excited to go back, and told us ahead of time that she was not going to cry. Amazingly, she didn't!

She did a great job listening and participated in all the jumping and splashing activities with a smile. This is a very beginner class - and as you can see, the ratio is just 4 kids to 1 instructor, which is perfect. The location is pretty far from our house, but that has not been a problem. It's near our most fun mall, and after swimming, playing and eating lunch, a nice long car ride home is exactly what we need.

Bye Bye, Grandmas

I can't believe both Grandmas are gone. We really got used to having our moms here and loved being able to take a bit of a break while they spent time with Aurora. The girl never slows down, and Nancy just kept right up with her - waking up early, reading dozens of books, and playing, playing, playing.

That's a picture of Aurora and her Grandma playing at the library. Seriously, Nancy was a trooper! We don't have any more guests or vacations on the calendar, but hopefully that will change before too long.

Take a Hike

We spent Sunday morning on a guided hike down to the Westcave Preserve, just west of Austin. It was such a pretty day, and contrary to what you see here - Aurora did walk a lot of it herself.

Afterwards we headed to lunch at a local Mexican restaurant, where they gave us roses and $1.99 margaritas! Phew, after all that we needed naps. Later in the evening, Nancy told us to 'take a hike,' and had dinner on the balcony with Aurora while we went out on a date night. 

Not a bad way to spend Mother's Day!  I hope yours was just as nice.

Another Grandma!

Grandma Nancy arrived today, which of course warranted another trip to the Springhill Catfish restaurant. Afterwards we took a walk at the Hill Country Galleria and had some ice cream.

It should be a fun weekend with Nancy in town. Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms and Grandmas out there!

The Balcony

A couple of months ago we decided it was time to spruce up the balcony and start spending quality time outside, relaxing and enjoying the view - something we'd been intending to do for a long time. We had it pressure washed, touched up some paint (though it really needs a whole new coat), and found some outdoor furniture on sale at Target. We had a nice dinner with my mom on the balcony when she was here, and tonight we finally had a chance to have friends over to enjoy a gorgeous spring evening with pizza and beer while the kids just ran around and had a great time.

I suppose I could've tried to get the view in the photo, but really... you should probably just come over and experience it for yourself, like our friends the McGinty's did.

I'm pretty sure this summer it'll get too hot and humid to really go out there much, but hopefully evenings will cool off just enough to make it a viable option. Regardless, we had a great night with Stef, AJ, Matt, and Haley (if only you could see her sweet little face) and we're looking forward to spending time on the balcony with Grandma Nancy this weekend as well! 

Picture People

As though we haven't had enough pictures taken of our model three year old lately, today we brought home school pictures. They switched from Bob Robert's Photography to Picture People, and it's quite a difference. Instead of mug shots, we got a whole photo reel!

There was actually a little mix up. Aurora's class was scheduled for Wednesday, but they accidentally brought them in on Tuesday when none of the kid's were ready, so they got a re-shoot and ended up with two sets of photos to choose from.

I for one am glad we got the second set. I love the sweet poses and smiles, but wow, what a difference a comb makes! I like the head-shots the best, and this one is by far my favorite:

We also stopped at JCPenney this evening and picked up the photos from our sitting with Grandma Slane. We certainly are picture people here!