Cowgirl

Yesterday was such a cool day! We headed down to Buda for a day in the country, which included breakfast at the Cracker Barrel, playing at Stagecoach Park, horseback riding lessons, and an afternoon adventure at Cabela's.

First, the horses. I found a Groupon for 1-hour lessons, two for the price of one. I couldn't get many pictures because well, I was riding too! This wasn't just a lovely day trotting down a path - it was a real lesson where we learned how to steer and command the horse and ride in the two-point position, which basically means... standing up. It was more like doing squats on a moving horse, over and over. Yes, my legs are feeling it today! Aurora rode a beautiful white horse named Spicy, and I had a sweet older male named Ike. We got to wear cowboy boots and spend time brushing and feeding our horses, too.

Stagecoach Park is a little historic area off Main Street in Buda which has some cool buildings from around 1885, walking trails, a nice play area, and yes... a stagecoach. 

Then there was Cabela's. Have you been in there!? They sell outdoor/ camping/ fishing/ hunting gear. It was our first time and it is massive - there's a restaurant, an aquarium, a little archery range, TONS of stuffed animals (as in, taxidermy), a stream runs through the store which is actually stocked with fish, and as you can see, Aurora even got to practice shooting a rifle. Not really, but wow. That was quite a day. We got home around 2pm and Aurora actually took a nap. It's hard work being a cowgirl!

Fun & Games

Halfway through the third week of my sabbatical and I am exhausted! After our camping trip I wanted to take it easy for a few days, but that doesn't mean we haven't been having fun. We've spent hours at the library doing crafts, reading (I've actually read quite a bit during my time off) and playing board games. We saw a $1 movie at the theater, had a great time at the Thinkery with a friend, and went bowling with Grandpa!

Aurora's becoming a master at UNO and Doodle Dice, and it turns out she's a pretty good (and cute) bowler, too. Well, she had bumpers on her turns but it was adorable. As the ball slowly made its way down the lane, she would do her "dance of the day," which was sort of a Michael Jackson side-to-side booty shake... I really should've taken a video. Needless to say, it's been a fun week so far.

Texas Outdoor Family

We just got back from two nights at Inks Lake State Park, which was absolutely beautiful. We went as part of a program called Texas Outdoor Family, where they provide the tent, cots, pans and pots - and you spend the weekend learning how to camp, cook, kayak, and more. There were probably 15 families in the group, which was awesome because the whole campsite was full of kids to play with. Chuck put our tent together, I cooked our meals on a camp stove, Aurora gave fishing a try, we did some official geocaching using GPS devices, and Clark loved climbing on rocks. He also got to kayak!

Aurora's favorite things were playing with the other little girls and making friendship bracelets all weekend with her brand new Bandaloom. The little girl pictured above (Emily) was the recipient of her first bracelet. They had a good time together.

Of course, the best thing was giving Chuck a fun, relaxing Father's Day weekend! He used to camp all the time when he was in the Marines, but I think family camping was a lot more fun. Temps stayed in the 70's and 80's even at night, and he's a fan of falling asleep to the sound of cicadas and crickets. The kids slept great, though Clark was not interested in napping. All in all, a nice trip. We even got a certificate for being an official Texas Outdoor Family! We'll definitely have to do this again...

Museum Fun

This year Aurora's class took a field trip to the Texas Natural Science Center. I heard from several kids and moms that it was pretty awesome - and free! So, we gathered up Grandma & Grandpa and headed over to the UT campus yesterday to check it out. Turns out our timing was great, as this museum is losing funding September 1st and they won't be providing tour guides for field trips or free admission anymore. If you want to check it out, you may want to do it soon.

The Natural History Museum is just a 15 minute walk away from the Blanton, which is free on Thursdays - so, that was our next stop! We had a nice lunch at their museum cafe and Aurora got to spend some time making art of her own before we checked out the exhibits.

The Blanton has some really cool stuff... paintings from hundreds of years ago and pottery from thousands of years ago. Aurora enjoyed sitting on the various benches. Today we've just been running errands, and I decided we could make a quick stop to Zilker Park to check out the Splash! exhibit at Barton Springs pool.

It's not very big, but it was a cool addition to our museum viewing experience. This interactive exhibit teaches kids about water quality, pollution, and goes into detail about caverns and springs - which we already knew a bit about from last weeks excursions. Now that we've learned so much about nature, we're going to head into the great outdoors for some camping!

Dirt Dessert

We're already a week and a half into our summer break, and we just went swimming for the first time! My friend Katie is back in town, watching her nieces Ava and Layla while their parents are on vacation. We had a sleepover with them up in Cedar Park last night and checked a bunch of activities off our list. Swimming was definitely a highlight.

We also headed to the aquarium. It was Ava and Layla's first time and it's just down the street from their house. We all enjoyed the outing! Our next outing wasn't quite as successful, but the girl's were getting tired by the time we arrived at the skating rink. Ava and Layla are great swimmers and skaters, but Aurora approached both with some apprehension. She started out a little scared and gained confidence slowly but surely. I can't imagine she'll master either this summer, but it was fun trying something new.

The biggest hit was the treat Aurora and I brought up for the girls - dirt dessert! Chocolate pudding, smashed up Oreo cookies and gummy worms. It was a good visit.

The dessert was so good we made it again tonight so Clarkie could have some. It's a bummer he didn't get to swim with us today, but this week he started having splash days at school so he's been experiencing water play of his own. Check out that adorable boy all decked out in his rash guard, swim trunks and water shoes. We missed him during our sleepover, but he's having a fun summer, too!

Time with Friends

As exciting as it's been to start our summer break, it's also been a hard transition for Aurora. On her last day of school, she sobbed in the bathtub because of how much she already missed her teacher. Then, last Thursday as we made our way back from Round Rock, she broke down and cried the whole way home because she was missing her friends. So, while we have definitely enjoyed our mommy/daughter time, we were both happy that we had lots of time with friends next up on the agenda. I set up a playdate with our twin 6-year old neighbor girls, then on Sunday our only outing was a dress up tea party. It was adorable and quite fancy!

Today we spent the afternoon at a birthday party and it was wonderful to see her classmates again. They had a petting zoo and glitter tattoos (awesome!).

I had a nice time talking to the other parents and mentioned that I didn't buy (and never even had a chance to see) their class picture. So, one of the moms emailed it to me! Kindergarten was a really special time and it has been sad to see it end. 

Clark hasn't totally adjusted to Kindergarten ending, either. Aurora and I always left really early and the boys would hang out for awhile before heading off to work and daycare. Now that we're staying home later, he thinks it's Saturday everyday and is so sad when it's time to leave. Chuck said he's been crying for me the whole way to school. Poor boy!

When we are at home together, he is just the happiest little guy. He loves doing puzzles - especially when farm or zoo animals are involved and he can make their sounds. He also loves lining up his cars and telling me which ones are dump trucks and school buses, while beeping and vrooming and pushing them around. He loves to hug and kiss and watch cartoons and pull every book off the shelf as often as possible, and to be honest - if he didn't need naps and was a little lower maintenance, I'd love to be spending my sabbatical with him as well. I'm thinking I'll probably just need another sabbatical 3 or 4 years from now... or at least a nice long vacation.

Swan Boat

When we first brainstormed activities for our summer off, I asked Aurora if she'd like to go kayaking. Of course she said yes! Chuck thought a canoe might be a better choice, but a couple weeks ago when we were walking around Lady Bird Lake we saw the swan boat and the decision was made. Aurora's legs don't quite reach the pedals so I worked pretty hard on this particular adventure - especially when the wind picked up. But it was worth it.

Construction just finished on a new boardwalk on the lake, which I believe opens today. While we didn't get to walk the boardwalk, we did get to see the route from the water. Afterwards I surprised Aurora with another quick stop at a splash pad before heading to P. Terry's for lunch. I didn't realize the original location had a sandbox, which Aurora loved.

Next we headed across the street to Peter Pan mini-golf. This was our 4th time going together and Aurora's definitely improving. We actually did all 36 holes this time!

Today we went to the Alamo Drafthouse for a special red carpet screening of a new PBS cartoon series called Space Racers. We were so glad to finally have an outing with our boys, and it was perfect for Clark's first movie theater experience. He loved all the fun activities and sat still and quiet watching and eating popcorn the whole time.

Aurora is supremely good at being a kid, and I think these two days may have been her favorite so far. It might just be that everyday is her favorite.... regardless, it certainly is fun to be a kid (and a mom) in Austin. 

Springs & Caverns

While I wouldn't exactly call them road trips, we switched gears and decided to spend a couple days exploring areas just outside of Austin. Even with a 45 minute drive each day, I've come to realize that when it's just the two of us, Aurora and I can easily fit three distinct adventures into one day. I'm not saying we should or will continue at this pace, but we definitely can! Yesterday we headed down to San Marcos to go on a glass-bottom boat tour at Aquarena Springs. It was a beautiful day and a neat little area.

Aurora thought the whole bottom of the boat would be glass, but it was just the middle that had an observation floor. We saw springs, plants, and plenty of fish. There's also a wetlands boardwalk where you can find lots of turtles, and a small free aquarium on site.

Gattitown was on our way home, and Aurora would tell you it's one of her favorite restaurants. She doesn't really like pizza, but the bumper cars and games are awesome! That afternoon we went to the library for what was probably the busiest activity we've ever done there. They were holding a cooking class for kids, and over 60 littles showed up to make brownies. Wow!

This morning we headed up to Round Rock to tour the Inner Space Caverns, where we spent over an hour underground learning about stalagmites and stalactites. It was cold and wet and dark, and Aurora did a great job listening to the tour guide and oohing & wowing at all the right times.

Afterwards we went to IKEA, where we grabbed lunch for just a few bucks before I dropped Aurora in their play area and did some shopping on my own. She'd never been to their play area before and LOVED it. I must admit, I thoroughly enjoyed my time as well. Once I checked out, we drove about 10 minutes west to the Quarry Splash Pad. It was a nice place to cool off after a long morning of walking. That's Aurora on the slide...

Even with so many stops, we've been able to get home with a couple hours to relax before picking up Clarkie. I bought Aurora a Kindergarten to 1st grade workbook and after a long day she enjoys having some quiet time to read or work on numbers and letters. If I was smart, I'd spend this time sleeping, but alas - here I am! Maybe I can still sneak in a quick 30 minute power nap...