Hat Parade

           I was treated to a hat parade this morning! Giggles and fun!

Austin

It is so nice having Heather and the girls and Megan & Carlos close by - just getting together for simple things and meals is such a treat for us!
We've been swimming at the nearby pool and playing in the water spouts at the "splash pad" that is close by.
Roger & I were very brave and took Samantha and Emily to "Chuck E Cheese Pizza" yesterday, while Heather got her hair done - they had a great time. Actually, it wasn't as bad as we remembered!
Roger drove to San Antonio to work today so Heather & I took the girls to the "Teddy Bear Picnic" sponsored by the Austin Symphony Women's group. It was a musical performance for kids followed by a teddy bear contest - prizes for the biggest and smallest bear; the oldest; the prettiest etc. Emily's "Bear-Bear" is pretty ordinary so he didn't win any prizes but Emily had fun holding him up for inspection by the judges!
After the concert they had face painting - Samantha got a pink butterfly and Emily got a pink and yellow flower. Doesn't she look excited in the picture??!!

Pecan Grove

We moved from San Antonio to Austin yesterday. We are staying in a small RV park right in the city, near the house that Heather has rented. Roger calls it "Hippy Hollow!" It is mostly long time residents - the guy across from us has been here so long a tree has grown right in front of his small Airstream! The old man that runs the place said people call and want to know if there is a pool, a recreation hall etc. and he tells them "We ain't got nothing but location, location, location!" Roger did a great job getting the motorhome in here and situated on our lot. Looking forward to riding our bikes around the city and walking to some funky restaurants and shops!
We took the girls to the animal Safari park, north of San Antonio, on our way yesterday. You drive through the park and feed the animals from your car. Samantha has always loved it and she had fun "showing" Emily. A zebra and an ostrich came right up to the car and looked in the windows - they were up! - thegirls scrambled to the backseat in a heartbeat! It was especially fun because there were so many baby animals.
Samantha & Emily are staying with Megan & Carlos this week-end while Heather gets together with her college room-mates.
We are going exploring!

RAIN - Finally!

It finally rained Tuesday during the night. We woke up to temperatures in the 70's - how refreshing! Roger and I went golfing while it was "cooler" - had to try our new golf clubs. Would like to say mine made a huge difference in my game, but.....I do like them. Roger did great with his! It was really hot and humid by the time we finished - we were definitely "wilted!"
Emily was playing with some Mardi Gras beads - she twisted them in the middle, layed them across her chest and looped them around each arm and then said "look Tima, a boobie case!" Samantha said "No Emily, it's called a bra!"

"Tech'd Up"

George Mitchell told Roger that he needed to get "tech'd up" when we saw him in Florida this winter. He will be happy to learn that Rog finally succumbed to the new gadget world!
He got new golf clubs for Father's Day - the guy at the golf ranch told him his old clubs were really "high end - twenty years ago!"
He got a new lap top from work - with updated programs - which he desperately needed it to keep up with all the communications from the California entities regarding the crash clean-up.
And he broke down and bought a new IPhone! Emily is going to show him how to use it!!! You should see her play games on Heather's phone!

Jellystone Park

Heather and the girls are at SeaWorld today with their cousins - Kyle's sister and family are in San Antonio - so I finally have time to update my blog. We have been having so much fun since the girls arrived, there has been no free time!
They arrived June 11th after "one long, one very long, and a short hop on the airplane" -according to Samantha! It took them until Wednesday to get their body clocks on Texas time.
We took them to Yogi Bear RV park in Waller, TX from Wednesday to Friday and had a great time. The little water park there is perfect for young children and they love it. Samantha was brave and hugged Yogi but Emily is just like Samantha used to be - eager to wave from about 6 ft. We got this picture, with her in my arms, on our last day. As we walked away, she said "He a nice bear!"
We came to SA on Friday. Emily is so intrigued with the "car house" - she kept asking Roger "why the car house not moving?" She talks in complete sentences and if I can't understand her it is usually because she is using a word you wouldn't expect a 2 1/2 year old to use. She asked me the other day if something was "breakable." She loves to watch the hummingbirds at our feeder. Roger told her the bird was "eating" and she corrected him saying "He not eating, he drinking."
All of us "girls" went to see the play "Pinkilicious" at the San Antonio Children's Theatre on Saturday afternoon. It was Roger's Father's Day gift that he did not have to go!! The girls loved it - Pinkilicious ate so many pink cupcakes she turned pink all over - even her hair! They got autographs and pictures afterwards.

They are staying in the townhouse this week and spending time with their cousins. We will all head back to Austin on Friday where Heather has rented a house for the duration of their visit. Kyle will arrive July 1.
All of my family are coming to Austin for the July 4th week-end so we are looking forward to a fun time. Hope they bring some cooler weather with them!

Weather

I saw a weather report from Afghanistan this morning - 110 degrees almost every day. I vow I will not complain about the Texas heat again! At least I don't have to wear a full combat uniform! God bless our troops!
We are going to Megan's today to hang two swings in the yard. The girls will be here tomorrow afternoon!

Jim Hogg Park

We are camped at Jim Hogg Park on Lake Georgetown - well, what is left of Lake Georgetown with the current drought! - just north of Austin. Unfortunately, most of the park is closed while they upgrade from 30 to 50 amp sites - will be nice when they finish but seems to be a slow moving project.
Georgetown is a nice area with a town square, shopping and restaurants. It is the home of Del Webb's "Sun City" retirement community - the only one in Texas. We toured the property, looked at 9 different model homes and talked with a sales representative the other day - just to check out options for the future. It is gorgeous with beautiful landscaping, 3 championship golf courses, two huge indoor and outdoor pools and large activity centers. With only about 7,000 residents it isn't anywhere near the Villages in Florida but very nice.
Carlos and Megan joined us for the week-end. We positioned a car at both ends of the bike trail and rode into Georgetown to brunch on Sunday. A great trail - 6-8 miles - along the San Gabriel River but, glad we didn't have to return uphill - it was too, too hot!!!
Megan fell while roller skating on a trail last week and has a big, nasty looking "road burn" on her right leg. Antibiotics and burn cream have helped but no swimming! Carlos says she no longer has the physical coordination she used to have and will have to start acting her age!
We talked to Heather and the girls on SKYPE Saturday night and Heather said she realized Samantha was picking up on conversations all the Moms were having about how horrible the plane trip to the states will be so she is now trying to make it exciting and "no big deal" - new dolls and toys they can't play with until the trip! Their flight leaves KL at 11pm on Friday so the girls should sleep through the night but pray for her when they wake up!
Roger is still dealing with the aftermath of the plane crash - a nightmare of rules and regulations from so many different agencies he can hardly keep track of them! The primary concerns are from the environmental agencies - "reasonable" and "common sense" are not in their vocabulary! Only in California!