Fun in the Sun

Fun with the Sand & Water table

Sea World

Jack and Mommy took an impromptu trip to Sea World on Thursday. From feeding the dolphins to the Shamu show (Jack and Mommy's fave), we had 5 straight hours of fun. Does this look like a happy kid or what?

On the way back to Austin, we stopped at a Rudy's near Sea World to fuel up (us and the Tahoe). We parked the car and as we walked into Rudy's, I asked Jack if he would like a lemonade for the ride home. He replied, "Oh no, Mommy. I want a BEER!" Got a strange look from a man passing by.

Feeding the dolphins (oh, what a Mommy will do for her boy!):

Jack has apparently inherited the "Map Gene" from his Daddy. That trait of having to know the "you are here" point on the map at all times. It's crazy - I brought the Sea World map home and Jack can point out the location of the Shamu show, the ski show, the Clydesdale horse stable (along with the names of the horses: Bud, Busch and Diamond)....

The New Playground Opens!!

After a month of construction to replace our old park equipment with a new, safer playground structure, Jack finally got to play at today's grand re-opening. The neighborhood mom's club has spent the last year getting support, funding and selecting a company to build the new playground and they did a great job. Now there are 2 separate play areas so the big kids and little kids aren't on the same (ie. dangerous) structure.

Jack had lots of fun checking out all the new stuff to play on and really liked the 'bumpy slide' (rollers), and swinging on the monkey bars. Also, he no longer will be skinning up his knees on the rocks and pebbles at the playground as the new design is soft mulch.

Friday in Chicago - "Cubs Win, Cubs Win!!"

With an open afternoon to enjoy a beautiful, sunny, 65-degree day in Chicago......why not go to a Cubs game? After dropping our bags at the hotel, we walked a block to the subway and rode the Red Line to Wrigley (from the "Jackson" station).

Hard to beat a day like this with a Chicago Dog in one hand and an ice cold Old Style in the other.

Oh, and the Cubs won 7-4.

We're off to dinner with our old friends Jeff and Rebecca Nathanson who we met back in 2001 at the dog park with their chocolate lab (Lucky's friend) Cleo.

Happy Mother's Day

For Mother's Day, Mother Nature gave us a great day to enjoy. Instead of the near 100-degree temps from Saturday, we got to spend a lot of time eating and playing (and mowing) outside today in very comfortable weather.

Amy celebrated her special day with Church, brunch at Galaxy Cafe, a nice nap, plenty of playtime with Jack (all sports) and a quick trip to get a mani/pedi before some wine and relaxation while Jack burned the last bit of energy he had playing more golf, basketball and baseball in the nice evening weather.

Pictures from last weekend in Houston

Without posting anything new in a few weeks, you'd think we just had nothing to blog about. Even though Amy's encounter with Bon Jovi was quite impressive and memorable, it's not the end of the blog...

Since the last posting, I've returned to Dell.... sort of. MessageOne was acquired by Dell so I'm now back at the crooked-E. We're still MessageOne, just with "Dell" in front.

Jack's latest example of "I'm a 2-year old boy" started when the church called (mother's day out) to tell Amy that Jack had placed a rock in his nose. After a trip to the ENT for a check of anything lodged up his nose (all clear) we can only guess where the rock is now...

Last weekend we went to Houston to play with cousins Laurel & Landon. Jack got to see Landon's t-ball game (they tied 30-30) before Laurel's big 8th Birthday party which included 30 screaming, highly competitive, constantly running 8-year old girls. Jack even played some dodgeball with them and got a few of the girls out!

Today was another fun day in the life of Jack. We went to Academy to shop for a new glove (after watching Landon play, he had to have one). While there, he played catch with 2 other boys shopping for gloves too (both 8) and had a blast. After nap time we went to the Lost Creek CC pool and splashed around in the "big pool" with Mommy & Daddy. Then Grand Mary and Grant Pat came over to eat pizza and play - during which a freak hailstorm broke out!

Next weekend: Chicago!

Rockstars

April 14th goes down as one of the best days of all time.

Mark and I finally met the adorable petite YaYa twins, Ainsley and Gage Loredo. Kelley and I played babies all day on Monday while Mark and Carl worked (both in the office and on the golf course - don't feel too sorry for them!). The Millers arrived in the afternoon and we had another sweet baby to hold. How fun!


In the evening, thanks to an Oprah-sized hook-up from Jenn, the YaYa's got great seats (See that platform in front of our seats? Jon Bon Jovi played 3 songs right in front of us!!!) and a backstage tour at Bon Jovi's Dallas show (Josh's uncle is the tour manager). Uncle Johnny gave a great tour during which we got to go onstage, try on one of Richie Sambora's guitars and see all the workings of what has been pegged as one of the most technologically advanced tours on the road today. The best part? Twenty years after receiving a life-sized Jon Bon Jovi poster for my 13th birthday, I, along with my best YaYa's were serenaded by JBJ! Oh, and Tony Romo and Jason Witten were across the aisle from us. Tony Romo's favorite song was clearly "Livin' on a Prayer" - he was dorking out like the rest of us! He's my fave QB now (and no, Jessica wasn't with him - he brought his parents to the show!).

Here are a few of my favorite pics. Sarah and Kelley have photo slideshows on their blogs if you want to see even more of our evening (links to their blogs in the left-hand column of our blog)!

(That's my hand below)

With one of Richie's guitars....

Jenn and Cowboys' Jason Witten

Our only regret was not leaving a video camera plugged in to tape the guys back at home with three 3-month old babies! Apparently, their coversations were priceless....

Jack's Fun Day

Today was filled with fun. Jack had his first ever boat ride on Lake Travis with his sweetheart Abby (and the rest of her family: Wes, Dawn and Forrest). It was a bit chilly this morning so we stayed in the boat but he still had a great time on the lake. Thanks again Wes & Dawn!

After the lake, we needed lunch. What could beat Ski Shores? We all had more fun eating burgers and playing in the grass....and tackling.... and running... more tackling... and climbing on the big tree stump.

After nap time and watching a few holes of The Masters, it was off to dinner with a new friend, Avery (Cuyler & Melissa Owens 3-year old daughter). Jack likes the older girls. We joined the madness at Waterloo where 4,000 other kids were running, screaming and climbing on everything outside. We, like the other parents sat on the sidelines with drink in hand to calm the nerves. Jack, unaffected by the chaos, showed his climbing skills and scaled the ladder on the playscape that's clearly meant for 7+ year olds. Thanks to a long wait and great weather, Jack got to play outside at Waterloo with Avery for 2 hours and they were great together.

what a cute couple.... (Amy says this is rehearsal video material)

Crocodile Run (1K)

Jack did his first 1K race today, the 3rd Annual Crocodile Run, benefiting Heart Gift. The "race" went from the Paramount Theater (7th St) down Congress and around the Capitol and back to the theater for a special Biscuit Brothers concert inside. His friends Abby, Forest and Paxton also "ran" the race. Jack was very proud that people clapped for him as he crossed the finish line. Daddy was glad that Jack finally decided to run, since a 1K seems easy enough until you try it w/ a 35-pound 2-year old on your shoulders 99% of the way.

And, we found another trait Jack picked up from his dad. The ability to get hurt. He awoke from his nap with a limp and is complaining about his foot hurting since. Hope he heals quickly (although we have found a way to slow him down temporarily) Oh wait, that was Mommy that broke her foot the last time she tried running.....