Kissing Camels

This Memorial Day weekend was almost too epic for one blog post! Saturday morning Aurora and I did the ARC Daisy 5K and Kid's Mile.

Afterwards, Grandma Nancy came down from AZ and we headed out for a road trip to Johnson City. We took a tour of Johnson's boyhood home and the kids were sworn in as Junior Rangers. It was adorable. Then we headed to the new Hill Country Science Mill right next door.

After a busy afternoon of learning and playing, we checked in to our cabin at the Exotic Resort Zoo. I randomly came across this little gem online and from the moment we drove in, the whole family was oohing and aahhing. We were driving right next to the animals! We spent the majority of our stay touring, feeding, and watching wildlife.

We kissed camels (seriously), fed zebras, and had herds of animals follow us around for food. It was amazing! There was a swimming pool right in front of our cabin and we all enjoyed cooling off with a swim and some ice cream. Today we had a quiet morning with a few deer and donkeys right outside our door. The kids named them Chocolate, Vanilla, and Deer Tail. Once they had names, I knew there would be tears when it was time to say goodbye!!!

Nothing a quick stop to the gift shop couldn't cure. We had a couple of mishaps on the trip, like when the tractor pulling our tour tram ran out of gas, and when my car wouldn't start as we were getting ready to go. We got very lucky in that we somehow avoided most of the rain storms and the staff at the resort knew how to jump a car. Now we've got a few days at home with nothing much on the calendar. Grandma Nancy will be watching the kids during a short week without school or camp. All in all, not a bad start to the summer!

Little Transitions

We're about to head into a long weekend, but not before one more half day of school. I cannot believe second grade is over! Aurora has had an amazing week which included telling jokes in-between acts at the talent show, getting her yearbook, going to her last Girl Scout meeting of the year, and having her last playdate with Vivi & Lizzy. She also made this awesome video:

Aurora had fantastic teachers and the Principal sent out an end of year message today that nearly had me in tears. "I’m desperately trying to step gracefully to the cadence of time marching on. Admittedly, I am having a hard time letting go of all our children as the little transitions from grade to grade, and gradually larger stepping stones to middle and high school, appear to be trying to camouflage the BIG milestones taunting us from around the corner. It feels like our children are little for sooooo long and then poof-" The baby phase seems to last forever, then before you know it your little baby is going into THIRD GRADE! But, not before a few months of summer vacation...

Bubbles!!!

The clear highlight of this weekend was the Bubble Run 5K, which Aurora & I ran/walked with Anne, Melody, Presley and Elizabeth. Aurora's done kids runs before, but this was her first full 5K! It was super fun, quite colorful and very wet.

Aurora says she's a runner girl now so we can expect her to be participating in more events like this in the future. In fact, we happen to have another run on the calendar next weekend! Here's hoping her shoes will be dry by then...

Pool Party

This weekend we attended a pool party to say goodbye to our sweet neighbors, Vivian & Elizabeth. Aurora has been so lucky to have twin girls her age living two doors down for the last 3-years, but they're moving back to Houston and everybody in 2nd grade is going to miss them! When we RSVP'ed, Aurora told me she would have fun at the party and cry afterwards.

Clark stayed with me for most of the party. He did decide to go swimming for a few minutes, though we hadn't packed his shorts because he insisted he would not want to go swimming. Luckily, boys can get away with undies in a pool. "Mommy, these are my muscle sprouts!"

I know that there will be tears on the last day of school, but we're hoping that a great family will move in and Aurora will have some new friends to play with soon.

Seeing Red

This week was Teacher Appreciation Week. Aside from being like second moms, their teachers ensured that every child came home with amazing Mother's Day projects, which I for one appreciated immensely! It was also Game Day in Aurora's GT program (Chuck attended).

We spent the first part of the weekend marking the end of babyhood in this house, as we transformed Clark's nursery into a big boy room. We have officially outgrown the crib/daybed and rocking chair that got us through two babies/toddlers. They've been replaced with the coolest bed on the planet. Clark hasn't wanted to sleep in his room lately, but last night he had no problems.

This morning I made breakfast, headed out for a quick run, then got ready for a girl's day out with Aurora. We brought cheese, crackers, strawberries, chocolates, and wine to Painting with a Twist, Mommy and Me edition. I painted the big tree and Aurora made the little one. It was very sweet, and Aurora's glad to have something new (and red) to go in her room as well.

By the time we came home the boys had finished the food shopping, complete with flowers and cheesecake. What more could a mama ask for? Being a Mom at this stage is nonstop, but it's such a blessing. Being a working mom has been incredibly fulfilling, but these last couple of weeks have been especially hectic and I'm not sure our moms (or the kid's teachers) got as much appreciation as they deserve. We love and appreciate you, today and everyday. Happy Mother's Day!

Forward and Back

This weekend has been unusual in that we've had NOTHING ON THE CALENDAR. Honestly, I think we all needed a bit of downtime. It's been quite a week. On Monday I went to a luncheon with my HR Team from LIVESTRONG circa 5 years back. It was great to see Mona & Bailey!

On Thursday my manager from Travis County took me out to lunch. It was my last full day in the office. I have sincerely enjoyed working with Dianna and didn't intend to be such a short-timer.

Friday morning I took a 5-mile run, then used the locker facilities one last time, said my goodbyes to the team at Travis County, and headed to LIVESTRONG for my first day back as Director of People Programs. It was a week filled with a LOT of hugs (and lunches!).

The minute I arrived at the Foundation I felt right at home. I have a new desk, a new title, some new responsibilities, and a whole new outlook moving forward - but was glad to see so many old friends. I was afraid I might feel uncomfortable or regret the decision, but honestly I'm more excited about my work and career than I have been for a long time. 

As for this weekend, I've been reading, prepping meals for the week, doing laundry, caring for a 3-year old boy with pinkeye, and watching Aurora apply the makeup she got for her birthday. When she's ready, I'll give her some pointers. Until then...