Crazy Hair Day

Zoe's class did really well these past couple of weeks and as a prize they got to choose a fun theme for the day. They all voted and "crazy hair day" won out.  She seemed pleased with the results of her shrek-like buns although I think not brushing her hair and leaving it it's natural crazy state in the morning would have sufficed ;)

It sort of ended up looking like this... hmm....

I can't wait to hear about all the different things parents did with their kids hair today. I'm sure I'm going to have to step it up a notch next time.

Happy 39th Birthday!

Happy 39th Birthday to Francis!!!

(Only 15 days late posting this.)

I took the day off to celebrate Francis' birthday - his last birthday in his 30's!!  Next year will be the big 4-0!  But look at that face...he doesn't look like he's about to be 40, does he?

 We spent the morning paddle boarding (our first time!) on the river and Lake Austin downtown.  I don't have any pictures because thought for sure we would fall in the water.  But it turns out we are naturals!  We paddle boarded for an hour and then headed over to Barton Springs for swim.

Next, we headed to Lambert's for lunch and birthday drinks.  This place is referred to as "fancy bbq" ... and it was amazing.  We literally couldn't stop eating it - it was so good.  We didn't even do a birthday dinner since we were still so full from lunch.  

We spent the rest of the day picking up the kids from school, dropping them off at the Kid E Shack (a drop off babysitting place -- something every town should have and is one of the best business ideas ever!) and enjoying a few happy hour places in Lakeway.  

I love discovering all these new places.  It feels like we're on vacation sometimes, especially when it's super humid :)

Happy birthday, Francis!  I remember celebrating your 25th birthday like it was yesterday.  Can't wait to celebrate the big one with you next year!  

Frenchies in Texas

Once again...I'm super late in posting this! I should be back on top of things now that I don't have to travel so much the rest of the year.  Mimene and Fanfan flew to Austin at the end of August to celebrate Zoe's 5th birthday.

Catching up with Fanfan

.....and Mimene

We had to take the frenchies to discover the local French bakery, Baguette et Chocolat.  This place is SO good, we can't get enough of it.  Here are the kids waiting outside for everyone to finish their breakfast so we can go downtown!

We spent the afternoon at The Thinkery - this is probably one of the best kid museums I've ever been to!  Everything is interactive and hands on. Thank you Mimene and Fanfan for the annual pass! We've already been back a couple of times!

The outdoor playground - I want one of these for our backyard!

Zoe loved the shadow making area.

Strike a pose, wait a few seconds and...

...there's your shadow!  

Making planes ...

...and making them fly!

Fanfan teaching Maddox the basics of construction.

We also took some time to visit the capital building downtown Austin - it was much prettier than I had expected.  There's a lot of history here in Austin.

Looking up at the dome 

Yee haw!

Looking down from the dome 

Awww....cute (I look tired!)

And what's a visit to Texas without getting some good country BBQ?  We tried out a place called The Country Line, which I thought was a total hole in the wall, but the food was very good.  I can't wait to explore all the great BBQ restaurants in Austin! 

Dancing with Fanfan

We had lunch the next day at The Oasis...a huge restaurant (3 or 4 stories, I think) with huge outdoor patios overlooking the lake.  Too bad these pictures came out so dark -- but they give you a good idea of how nice the views are from here.  Note how low the lake is right now...

I think we need to buy a boat so we can go venture out in that beautiful blue water...  maybe after the pool we want to build.  ;)

Some random time capsule/spaceship thing outside the restaurant.  "Keeping Austin Weird", I suppose. 

Thanks for making the trip out, Mimene and Fanfan!  We can't wait to explore more of Austin with you again soon!