Mothers Day with the Grandmas

We got an unexpected invitation to visit my Mother and Grandmother who were up visiting my Uncle who lives in beautiful Lago Vista TX. Max and I took the scenic drive to Lake Travis on a beautiful Mother's Day Sunday.

Here's the great photos of our visit:

"Grandma Pie" & Max (15 mo. old) - May 8th, 2011

Uncle Russ feeding his local deer friends

 "The Girls" 

Reading a new book with Great Grandma Charlotte

Goofing around with Grandma!

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO ALL MAMAS EVERYWHERE!

Whole Foods Austin

Another pleasant discovery awhile back was the amazing Whole Foods Flagship Store on Lamar and 6th St. Downtown.

Miles of cheese and chocolate!

I also learned their Global Headquarters are there as well as the sometimes relatively unknown rooftop park they have open to the public. We visited again on a nice, but windy March day to enjoy some good food and a little playscape for Max. He wasn't as interested in the slides and climbing, but sat and enjoyed digging in the mulch.

14 mo. -  Mulch is fun!

Enjoying a rabbit shaped sweet bun

Here's a funny video of Max learning about Grackles, another critter of Austin that's somewhat of a pest here...

Grackle_Con!

Monkey Max must Climb!

Fun Baby Toy Endorsement Time!

We had to find something for Max to climb on ... he's climbing boxes of books, drawers, bookshelves, coffee tables ... everything!

I did some researching on the best indoor playset for toddlers and settled on this simple little slide and climb from Little Tikes. We have some nice foam floor playmats that take up more than half the livingroom, so there's plenty of safe play space for Max to climb on his new toy.

Proud King of the Castle

April Fools Day @ the Park

Max is walking pretty well now, at 13 months. We've started our big neighborhood Park exploration project. This was at Ramsey Park, in the Rosedale neighborhood of Austin.

Toddler-to-the-Max!

Barton Springs

We visited Zilker Park with all the kids today. Our original plan was to play on the extensive playground and ride the famous train ride, but the kids spied a creek at the bottom of some steps leading down from the playground and we discovered one of Austin's treasures - Barton Creek and Barton Springs Pool.

According to the history on the Austin parks site:

"Within Zilker Park's 358 acres, lies one of the crown jewels of Austin, Barton Springs Pool. Three acres in size, the pool is fed from under ground springs and is on average 68 degrees year round. Over the years, Barton Springs Pool has drawn people from all walks of life, from legislators who have concocted state laws there to free-spirited topless sunbathers who turned heads in the seventies. Even Robert Redford learned to swim at the pool when he was five years old while visiting his mother's relative in Austin. Today, Barton Springs still attracts a diverse crowd of people."  - Barton Springs Pool


We decided not to venture into the pool since we had Max along and the water is a very chilly 68 degrees. No one had a swimming suit along either. But the kids insisted on 'wading' in the creek that the springs spills over into where lots of folks were hanging out and enjoying the lovely early spring sunshine.

Well, wading turned into full out swimming as you can see ...

That's Laz in the red shirt, and Lily behind him. The water was COLD! Seb in the foreground

Lazarus is really not drowning, we promise - though his sister would like to help him I'm sure

A toothless, happy 7 year old

Austin has amazing parks

We've been out exploring a few neighborhoods near our rental house. While the neighborhood we live in isn't that great, just a few minutes away are some really great ones with great parks and places to visit.

I recently found out Austin has one of the most abundant public park and playground systems in the country.

251 Parks to be exact... WOW!

Austin seems to really care about its 'green spaces' and providing great ways for people to enjoy it too.

You can visit the official Austin Parks and Recreation site to explore one of the many parks in Austin. Another one I found even more useful is the Austin Parks site. I use this one a lot to find new places for us to visit. It gives a nice directory of every park and what amenities it offers visitors plus photos.

One of our favorites right now is Ramsey Park in the historic Rosedale district west of Lamar and 45th St. I've taken the Max there a few times and we have Lily and Laz here for spring break visit and playing at a few parks.

Hangin' out in the tunnels with my sister Lily 

Playgrounds are even fun for 6ft tall 13 year olds! (Sebastian and Laz)

Spring has Sprung!

One thing we're getting used to about Austin is how mild the winters are, and how early spring comes here. We're a week or so into March and already the trees and flowers are blooming. This is even earlier than Memphis by a few weeks, which as the midsouth goes, is fairly mild and the seasons are not that noticeable.

Enjoying the early spring sun with blooming pear trees!

Max is finally walking at13 months!

We're looking forward to experiencing one of the popular 'flower watching' events in Austin which usually includes lots of Bluebonnets! The Wildflower Report helps predict the best places to see this annual display of color and beauty. 

Wow.