Vacation Presentation

Have you ever been forced to sit and look through someone’s photos or slide show of their recent vacation?   Ever had to endure the stories and information shared with each and every photo they show you??   It can be torture……

Prepare to be tortured.   

I present to you, our Summer Mountain Trip 2012.

 

I have told you many a time that my girl is definitely an outdoorsy girl.   She looks forward to any trip that involves being out in the fresh air, and she loves our trips to the mountains because she not only fulfills her need for nature, she also gets to hang with her family.  

 

Here we have some photos taken at Bluff Springs.   We spent the afternoon hiking up the waterfalls (and a little of it hiding out from a huge thunderstorm in the car).   I spent a great deal of time out in this area as a kid.  The falls are not as grand as they used to be, but the kids had a great time taking in all the sights and sounds on the trails.   They saw a few deer and turkey and lots of animal scat (that’s poo for you non-nature experts). 

We had a little log racing competition going on up near the meadows.   I had to take off my jacket.  It got serious.

 

Seth was just dying to get in the water, but it was only about 65 degrees that day (and that was not a complaint), and the water was freezing cold.   He settled for mock swimming above the creek.  A raccoon passing through was kind enough to capture a few shots of our family.   Actually, I used the timer.   You didn’t really think a raccoon would take our picture, did you?  Duh.  They are nocturnal…..they were sleeping. 

Kaelan has a real issue lately with giving me what my friend Jeana calls the “pooping face” when I ask her to smile.   You know, the smile that actually looks like your child is constipated and in pain rather than happy and smiling.   In this photo, Kaelan was on a scavenger hunt behind the cabin with her cousins.  I asked her to not do the poopy smile.    She gave me this serious gaze and then said, “I tried really hard to think about something other than pooping.  Man, that is hard.”   An A+ for effort, my girl!

Pretty much every afternoon, we hiked or biked down to the parks to play.   It takes for freakin’ ever to go 1 mile with two little kids.  Seth had to stop and pick up all the leaves and twigs he passed.  He ate some dirt, and he may or may not have eaten a dead roly-poly.  I saw him put something in his mouth and rushed to scoop it out.  It appeared to be dirt, but he kept saying, “More Poly, PLEEEEEZZZE!!!”.    So, if he did eat it.   I think it tasted okay. 

 

The cousins.   I think I have told you how special these little toots are to us.   Nothing makes Kaelan and Seth happier than hanging with this wild crew. 

 

My sister is a cool mom.   In the summer, she lets the kids do pretty much whatever they want to do with their hair and clothing style.   They have to buckle back down when school comes, but it’s like Christmas in  July waiting to see those hairdos.   They never disappoint.

I wanted to be cool, too.   I let Seth go crazy.

 

In this next photo, you can see the full moon rising over the mountain.

This kid is going to hate me.

 

All that cool weather was getting to us (yeah, right), so we took a break from it and headed to the dunes with our other cousins, Taylor and Izi.  

The older kids ran and played and jumped and slid down the hills.   Seth pretty much climbed hills and scooted back down them on his bum over and over and over.  

He did stop to consume a little sand every now and again.

 

We did our usual dune jumping.   I love how Seth is looking at us like “what in the name of Peter, Paul and Mary are they doing?”.  

Taylor was a jumping pro.   He had jumps with names like the “Zippity Doo Da” and the “Superman Saves the Day”  (pictured above).  

 

Uh-oh.  Poopy smile strikes again.

We ended our day at White Sands with a gorgeous sunset.  

Just before leaving, a  little angel fell from heaven, so we caught him and kept him and took him home.

 

One morning, we set out to hike Osha Trail (another favorite stomping ground).  

 

Once again, we had a couple of adventurous cousins in tow.  

We were inducted into the Adventurers Club.   See our cool bracelets?

Kaelan actually kept hers to wear to the next “meeting”.  I think Seth ate mine.

 

Here is a shot of my little hometown up atop a mountain as seen from our hike.

Love this little village.

 

Just because, here are a  few (cruddy) shots of two of my favorite people.

Maw and Ty. 

                 

Two very special people right here.

 

I will conclude this presentation with my favorite picture from the bunch. 

I got it, folks.  I got the REAL Kaelan smile.   No poopy face here.  Just a candid shot taken while playing with her cousins.

And that is a the way to end an awesome presentation.

THE END

Vaya con Dios, my Austin…….

My Dearest Austin,

I find myself choking on sadness as I pen my farewell to you.   You have been the bestest of cities and have served our family well during our short 6 1/2 years of residency.  We came to you a small family of 3 with a curious blue-eyed baby girl ready to take in all the wonders of this town, and we leave a family of 4 with a new little blue-eyed wonderer ready to take on a new adventure.

Our hearts are heavy but full of gratitude for all the awesome sights, sounds, tastes and even smells (ever been on 6th street on  a Saturday night?) you have given us.  In no particular order, we thank you for:

* Giving us Chuy’s…particularly their jalapeno ranch dip…..thankfully, our new hometown just opened a Chuy’s.  HOLLA!

* Zilker Park (we rode the train at least 50 times over the years)

*Town Lake-our adventures in kayaking/boating/swimming/running/bat watching/paddle-boarding left us with joyous memories

*Limitless races to run-5K, 10K, Half marathons and full, Austin has them all on any given weekend.

*Amaya’s-although I will argue to my death that breakfast “tacos” are indeed breakfast burritos, I will miss your yummy breakfast goodness.  No matter what thy name may be.

*LiveMom Weekenders Guide-(Not to mention the LiveMom gals)  I just loved glancing over the guide each week to see what fun adventures my family could go out and experience.  Thanks LiveMom for making it so easy.   How’s about a satellite website???  LiveMom OKC??????

*Proximity to San Antonio and all its wonders.   I feel like I raised those orcas at Sea World.  I know I at least paid for their food for 5 years.

*Our church.   Celebration became a home away from home.   We will miss all the kids we taught and the great folks who taught us.   God is good!

*All our fun splash pads, and water holes, and pools and parks.   We explored that place every week and STILL never hit them all.

****ABOVE ALL, WE WILL MISS OUR PEEPS!!!****

You gave us some of the most wonderful memories with the most awesomest people EVER, Austin!   We leave this place knowing our home will be elsewhere, but a huge piece of our heart remains with you!

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!!

*********i  love  you so much****

 

We will be back to visit!!  That is a promise!  

 

 

              

  

 

Lessons Learned In My First Week as an Okie

9 minutes.   I timed it yesterday.  9 minutes. 

That is my morning commute time to Kaelan’s school.  3 four-way stop signs, about a 40 cows,  numerous “roller coaster” hills, and BOOM!  We are there.

To say I love this new traffic free commute is an understatement.   Our old drive to Kaelan’s school in Austin wasn’t much further in mileage, but oh, the drama of traffic and detours we often faced really stunk. 

You know Austin and her traffic issues.

I have learned traffic in Edmond, OK consists of two cars staring each other down at a  four-way stop, each determined to be the most polite and let the other go
first. Or a BIG “jam” consists of  4 cars behind a tractor waiting to pass.  

Thus, giving me….

Lesson 1: Edmond does not have a traffic  issue…and this makes me happy.

To say that there is a rivalry between UT and OU really does not do justice to the true depths of hate that are rooted between these two.   Really, I think OU folks have a distaste for any school with Texas in the name. 

There is actually a portion of Kaelan’s student handbook that states, “no students are allowed to wear apparel of other colleges unless it is of University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University, or other colleges within the state”. 

Check this out. 

Lesson 2:   Don’t take your 1 year old baby to the local Target in a UT shirt and think you will go unaccosted.

Seriously, even babies aren’t exempt.

I love meeting new folks (and we have met some great ones already) and listening to their advice on living in Okie Country.   Most conversations go something like this one I had with the sweetest farmer from down the road.   We met at the corner gas station where he pulled in with his awesome little farmer overalls on his John Deere.  His name is Harold.

Harold:  Well, you aren’t a local (eyeing my license plate).

Me:  No, sir.  Just moved here from Austin.

Harold:   Austin, huh?   Smart move.

Me:   I hope so.   You don’t look like you are just traveling through (eyeing his tractor).  You must be a local.

Harold:   Yes, Ma-Umm.   Born and raised here.  

Now, here is the part we keep hearing…..

Harold:     You gotta shelter?

Me:   A storm shelter?   Yes, we do.

Harold:   (Smiling and whistling through his teeth).   Whoo-eee.   That’s good.  Come spring you’ll be glad for it.   Keep you from blowing back to Austin.   Good luck!

And with that, Harold climbed back on his machine and left.

Lesson 3:   Make sure that storm shelter is ready come Spring.

 

I am learning more each day.   I really love the area we live in.  I feel all Pioneer Womanish…..only I live a little closer to a Target and Kohl’s then she does.  

Oklahoma is growing on me in ways I didn’t know it could. 

Check back in with me in the Spring to see if that love affair is still going………

 

We sing this at least 13 times a day.

 

 

Fun on the 4th

We started our 4th of July off with a little Patriotic parade in downtown Round Rock.   Seth was rocking his baby hawk and was ready for some fire trucks.

We met our favorite family, The Boyds on Main St. at a sweet spot they had scouted out and saved for us.  They greeted us with a box of fresh Round Rock doughnuts.  Did I mention they were our favorites?

Lorri and Sweet Mr. Patton

                   

After dealing with a bunch of crazies at the egg drop in April, I have become well aware that sometimes people lose their minds when they attend large events with big attendance.   The crowd at the parade did not disappoint….they simply lost their minds and begin moving their chairs up past the barrier lines as the parade started.   Despite the fact that the cops came several times to try and regain crowd control and move them back, after a while the barrier was pretty much down and folks were right out in front of the parade floats.  Several times, the parade actually had to stop to avoid hitting the crazies.   So…..those sweet seats we had at the beginning of the parade were pretty much back of the class by mid-parade.   Seth took to the penthouse view (aka dad’s shoulders), while Kaelan and Darian forgot about the parade and fought the crowd for thrown candy.     The good news was that the back row scored the most candy…..or is that really good news?

I must have carried two pounds of jolly ranchers back to the car.

We ended up heading back to the car early to get out of the heat and to get a better view of the fire trucks.   We saw the trucks.  We got candy.  Lots of candy.   The kids thought it was awesome. 

I guess that is all that matters.

You guys, I am seriously having a problem with these kids.  They just keep growing up.   It is killing me….

Remember this?

Look at them now.

       

Totally random, but my boy has an issue with kissing strange items lately.   Telephone poles, lamps, luggage….sometimes the urge just overwhelms him and he just has to stop and kiss it.  

The tree was calling……

We had a great time with the folks from our ‘hood having potluck food, family water fight (yes, I got soaked AGAIN) and sparklers.   We tore away for a bit to drive up by the lake to watch the Pfluger Lake firework show from the back of dad’s truck.   Seth was in awe, and even my big 6 year old lady who is SOOOO over that stuff sat wide-eyed and smiling throughout the show.  

Ever watch the reflection of fireworks in your kiddo’s eyes? 

Hands down, the highlight of the whole day for me.

McBrayer’s Final Luau (in Austin)

 

It was the time of year for our annual luau, but our family had a little secret that burdened us.

We knew that things were solidified.  We knew we were moving.  We knew this would be our last luau with many of our dear friends here in Austin, but should we tell them now or wait until later?

A few of our close friends knew that the move was coming, but the majority of those attending had no idea of all the big changes ahead in our lives.    We pretty much figured that once Kaelan knew, the world would know, but surprisingly, she held tight to her secret and like us, wanted to wait for the right time to let everyone know. 

She decided that “right time” was at our luau.   I didn’t want to put a damper on the evening, but it did seem like the most opportune time considering we could get the word out to all with one big announcement.

So, if you missed the luau and you are scratching your head as you read this post, and didn’t catch it a couple of paragraphs, let me clarify…..

We are moving!

We didn’t want to make a big deal, we just had McBrayer’s Final Luau printed on the cake, and after we all enjoyed our delicious meal prepared by none other that the fabulous Chef Douglass, Doug made a brief announcement and set the cupcakes and cake out. 

Many folks came up to us with arms open and “WHAT??????” coming from their lips.  

Some missed the announcement and just came up with questioning faces wanting to know what the heck the words on the cake meant.  

Some shed tears.  I shed tears.  

Mostly though, we just got to spend one last wonderful evening with the tremendously great folks that have brought us to love Austin so. 

Per usual, I set the camera down and spent too much time running around hugging necks and yapping.   A friend did get a few shots for us…capturing some great memories.

Is this our FINAL luau?  

NO.

We have already made plans for the fun to continue when some of our friends come to our new home in a new state to celebrate with us.

Where is this new home??

Well, that is for a future post.

I will tell you that (sadly), it won’t be a customary luau.   Our new home state is not Hawaii. 

Shucks.