You Didn't Come Here to Sleep

Just for the record, I had a few expectations of our trip to Austin.  I was not disappointed.

The fun began early.  Many of the kids were ready for breakfast at 6.

I poured syrup on Nathan's waffle and he said, "It looks like a map of Harvey."  This child doesn't miss much.

Luke was up, too.

Look at that happy face on his dad, who didn't sleep in like he wanted.

Jacob was pleased to have Nutella toast.  Twice.  Or was it three times?

It was at this point that the little kids took my camera.  They had a lot of fun.

Who takes a book to breakfast?

The parents decided to take the kids to a park.  I hitched a ride.

This was a great idea!

Jacob was the only kid on the play equipment.

Dave and Jeff had some serious conversations.

They also enjoyed some not-so-serious chats.

Ben had a little difficulty at the drinking fountain.

Getting help didn't make a difference.

Bradley was baptized today!

These three cousins were all baptized in the past year.

Events like this one give our family more opportunities to be together.

Bradley was a pretty happy kid today.

So was his brother Richard.

Everyone loves Richard.

I don't know why Melissa bothered with the infant carrier.

Richard didn't spent a second in it.

We had a wonderful lunch.

The meat cooked all night in Sammie's Big Green Egg.

Everyone had a great time.

We had ice cream for dessert.

I think Sammie was happy with how the day turned out.

So was Ben.

After lunch, we drove back to Dallas. My seat buddies napped.  Maybe I did, too, for a few minutes.

After arriving home, we immediately got ready to go out for the evening.  Our first stop was to visit a Nativity display in Jeff's stake center. It was about at this point that I heard my mother's encouraging words, "You didn't come here to sleep."

The next stop was dinner at Torchy's.  This, my friends, is fried avocado.  Why have I never had this before?

This is queso.  My mouth burned.  I loved it.

This is a missionary taco.  We discussed going back next week before we were even finished with our meal.

We ended our evening enjoying a two-hour concert with two of our favorite vocalists, Kate and Ella.  This was an unbelievable performance, and I loved every second.

Road Trip

I rode with Jeff's kids this morning to school.  Ben and I raced, and I was in the race!  Word to the wise:  Luke is a demolition derby bike racer.

Then I walked Hank.  I thought there was one egret at this park where we walk.

This morning I saw four.

Then I saw the whole congregation!

I saw two herons flying together, but sometimes with a dog on a leash, I'm not as quick with the camera as I'd like to be.

We took Ben tramping today.

He's got his favorite places, and this is one of them.

Ben knows how to do two things very well.  One is climb.

Another is jumping.

After a nice lunch, we drove to Uncle Jeff's and parked the car.  We greeted Hank before he went to the kennel.

Then we all piled in Jeff's car.  Luke and Ben were my backseat buddies.

We arrived in Austin, and who did we find?  Long lost Jacob!

Despite the picture, these cousins were delighted to see each other again.

Papa and Dave were later joined by Jeff and we all talked late into the night.

Our time in this fair city is limited, so sleeping was not a high priority.

The cousins really bonded well during our family reunion in Idaho.  It was fun for me to see that continue tonight.

In an attempt to make sure no one sleeps on a floor, Papa and I have a roommate.