Only in Austin

Austin has the motto, Keep Austin Weird. It is on T-shirts, bumper stickers, radio ads and posted all over the city.

One weekend day we ate BBQ lunch from this school bus fitted with a smoker. Yeah, pretty weird.

Oliver's Birthday

Ollie turned 3 on July 8th. We started the day having breakfast with Daddy at Oliver's favorite restaurant, Chic-fil-A. They even brought him a balloon, ice-cream and sang happy birthday. Ice-cream for breakfast seemed a little unnecessary to Mommy but Ollie didn't seem bothered by it:)

Later we went to the mall bouncy place to play with his friend, Ella. Then home for dinner, cake and presents.

All in all, a successful third birthday!

Fourth of July Weekend

We went to the Georgetown Festival with Scott and Cindy to watch the fireworks and play on the 4th of July. Ollie liked the idea of the fireworks but wasn't thrilled with the big boom. He was a trooper though and watched the whole show. Ava on the other hand was happy to watch or sleep. More pictures to come on the fourth...

We enjoyed the long weekend and took a family trip to the zoo in Waco. Ollie liked the foxes:


And the rare Daddy Monkey:

The Big 3!

This year Oliver decided (unwaveringly) that he wanted a soccer party. So a soccer party he had! We were lucky to share the event with lots of friends and even a little extended family since Aunt Jen, Chase and Maddie stayed in town for the event. Mommy procrastination note: This party took place on July 3rd....one day I will catch up to real time.

The birthday cake...Thanks Aunt Jen for the decorating help!

The Birthday Boy in Action


Ollie and some Friends Preparing for Red Light, Green Light


Let 'em Eat Cake


Ollie and Ava enjoying the Bouncy House at the Party

Chase Getting in on the Action!

Camp Austin

Cousin Maddie came back to Austin with us for a visit after St. Louis. We had tons of fun showing her around and getting to break a few rules without her mom around. Best yet, Ollie got to experience what it is like to have a big sister for a couple of weeks...while he didn't always love being dethroned as the head honcho he loved having her here. She was also a great help with Ava (Mommy got a break from changing diapers - woohoo!)

Maddie and Ollie at Home Plate after Running the Bases at The Round Rock Express Game


Maddie Driving her Go-Cart at Austin's Park and Pizza

High Tea

Maddie at our Melting Pot Date - yum!

Jen and Chase came in town to pick Maddie up and stayed for Ollie's birthday party....more from the big 3-year-old's day in the next post!

St. Louis - The Unposted

As promised I have recovered some other St. Louis trip pictures with the help of my live in tech support, a.k.a Daddy.

The Boys (Dylan, Ollie and Chase) on Dylan's Birthday


Ava Enjoying the Water Exhibit at The Magic House


All the Kids Slip and Sliding at Dylan's Birthday Celebration


The Cousins Having Fun at GiGi's Birthday Party


The Sterns with Gigi


What Trip to St. Louis is Complete Without a Cards Game???

St. Louis Trip

The kids and Mommy took a trip to St. Louis for Gigi's 99th birthday. We also got to celebrate Dylan, Aunt Brooke and Uncle Ken's birthdays as well as attend Morgan and Madison's dance recitals. It was a fun-filled (packed)time with the family!

Morgan and Madison happened to have recitals on the same day. Oliver and Ava enjoyed watching their cousins perform and did a great job throughout both performances (Mommy was particularly impressed since Madison's didn't start until after 7pm).

Oliver Congratulating Morgan after her Recital


Post recital pictures with Maddie...Ava only fell asleep after the finale!


Gigi's 99th party was a great success...with just the family (children, grandchildren and great grandchildren) there were over 30 people! She seemed to enjoy herself as did the rest of us.

Gigi with all 13 of her Great Grandchildren - I assure you that everyone was happy during most of the party but by picture time some of the younger greats were a little crabby.


And all 6 Grandchildren


Last but not Least the Children


While we were in town, we also got to visit fun St. Louis places like the zoo, The Magic House and Grant's farm.
Riding the Carousel at Grant's Farm


Mommy seems to be missing some vital pictures from the trip that she will upload as soon as she recovers them (trapped away on the server that she can't remember how to access). They include Dylan's actual birthday at an arcade style pizza place, his family party, Uncle Ken's birthday party and Dylan's kids party at Chuck-E-Cheese. Stay posted...