Austin!

We spent Sunday in Austin! I really liked Austin- it is different from Houston and its strip malls and chain stores. Lots of character, and even some hills. Zilker Park was awesome- right near downtown, a Nature Center, playground, spring-fed pool, hiking, kayaking...

The kids' favorite part was the little train that ran along the river. I highly recommend the park for anyone with kids!

Next we went to the Texas State History Museum. Guess why 6 Flags theme park has its name? Because Texas has had 6 flags flying over it: Spain, France, Mexico, Republic of Texas (for 9 years!), USA and Confederate States of America. It was an interesting museum, although I would have learned more if I hadn't been going 60 miles an hour to herd the sheep, er I mean kids.


Of course Austin is the capital of Texas, so we visited the massive capitol building.

And then for dinner we had some Texas barbecue. Everything was very Texan. Except the accents- I thought people from Texas had a southern twang!? So far in Houston and Austin it is not very noticeable and I am a little disappointed that everyone sounds like me (bc obviously I have no accent- haha). I thought the kids would pick up a little singsong as a souvenir, but I haven't even heard them say "ya'll" yet. I'll need to try it more often at home.

Pool time

Most of our days are spent swimming in the pool! We had a fiesta with several of our Venezuelan friends, made some pizza, did some cannonballs:

The whole day looked like it would rain but it never did:

Maya wants to be as big as everyone else, and thinks she is 5. She cannot swim however, and Tonio has pulled her out of the pool once when she slipped underwater. Tonio was right there in the pool when it happened, and Vivi saw her too and was screaming "Maya's under the water." After recovering from my heart attack and aging about 10 years, I frequently just hold Maya in the pool now even though she likes to play on the stairs. My baby!!!

Vivi loves to be a little mama and really takes care of her little sister. Maya completely adores and looks up to Vivi and wants to do everything she says. This can be dangerous sometimes:). Vivi's influence on Maya is incredible, and each one knows how to make the other mad: one time Maya was crying huge crocodile tears, and I finally found out what was wrong: "Vivi say I no princess!" All Vivi had to do was say "OK Maya, you're a princess" and the tears magically stopped. I am humming the "Sisters" song from Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" (Sisters, Sisters, there were never more devoted sisters."

Los Abuelitos!

Our abuelitos are here! (also known as 'ito and 'ita). We've been showing them our newfound swimming skills, spending a lot of time in the pool!

Pool and dress-up

Summertime playdates have begun! It's great at this age that all ages and genders can still play together!!! The experts warn me that this doesn't last forever, so I'll take advantage while I can!

San Antonio Zoo & Feeding the Lorikeets

During our 3rd day in the outdoor sauna we had some meltdowns, but pushed through and conquered the San Antonio zoo. The zoo was hot and sticky (surprise surprise), but way less crowded than San Antonio. The kids' (and parents') favorite times were spent in Lory landing- an exhibit where you can feed Australian lorikeets:






It was just nonsto laughter as the birds licked Tonito's hair and nibbled on Vivi's ponytail holders:

We bought little nectar cups and the lories ate right out of our hands:

Maya was a little cautious, but Vivi the zookeeper dove right in.

Guess who wants a pet lorikeet?

Vivi and Tonito really wanted the birds to climb onto their heads again and would stand perfectly still with their nectar, trying to attract the lories.

The zoo was huge and lush, and walking through the Africa Live! exhibit with the heat and humidity made you feel like you were truly walking across the savannah. Texas zoos don't really have a lot of indoor exhibits because it is nice weather year round (except when it is 100 degrees with 90% humidity). The downside of that, unlike in Chicago where there are indoor exhibits to protect the animals from the cold winter, there aren't many places too cool off! I think I'm talking too much about heat... The animals were great, the kids loved the close encounters, and we ended our weekend in San Antonio with some cold ice cream!

Sea World Day 2!

Sea World day 2 was just as hot and humid as day 1! The kids were feeling braver and rode some different rides, we saw the famous (or now infamous?) Shamu from the first row of the stadium, and we played in the water to cool off. The kids loved seeing a whale that close and Maya was screaming "There's a orka mommy!" In the video (a little cheesey) that they show you in the "Believe" show, it is a boy who dreams of seeing an orka, and it inspired Tonito enough that he decided he might want to be a marine biologist:). Even though we realized it was Memorial Day weekend, the amount of people was overwhelming. Even more astounding was the amount of junk food the hordes of people were consuming. Maybe it was because Maya took a nap in my arms in an air conditioned restaurant and I watched the families file in and out with their lunches piled high- I just couldn't get over how many calories people could eat in one sitting.

The easy ferris wheel and "drop" ride gave them the confidence to move on to the water plunge ride. If you click on the picture you can see Tonio in the second row, khaki shirt, with his hand up! Vivi and Tonito are hugging him on each side! I guess they have gotten over their fear of scary rides!? I love roller coasters, so this will be fun once they are tall enough to ride the big ones!

Mommy and Maya spent some time together while they rode that plunge ride over and over. Like I said, Maya got to sleep for 2 hours in an air conditioned cafeteria! Poor baby needed to sleep.

There weren't any seats left in the huge stadium except the wet benches in the first row...

We did go into the water park for a little while on day 2, but we also cooled off at the little splash park they have:

An exhausting but fun day, but we stayed hydrated and no one got sunburnt! There were 3 in the bed, and the little one said "Roll over, roll over..."

Sea World!

"We're going somewhere special tomorrow, and it's going to take a long time to drive there." Kids: "Ethiopia!!!!!" Me: "No, you can't drive to Ethiopia bc there's an ocean in the middle." Kids: "Yay!!!! We get to take a plane." Me: "No... we're going to Sea World!!!" Kids: "Oh."
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Once we got over the disappointment that we weren't going to meet our son in Ethiopia, we did get excited about San Antonio:). We first dropped of the dogs, and then made our way to Sea World!!! The kids remembered it from last year and could hardly contain themselves as I rushed to slather on sunscreen and shove water bottles at them in an attempt to pre-hydrate.



It was hot (of course) but we managed to cool off in the indoor aquariums and roofed shows.

This time we brought our amazing double stroller, which meant Maya could nap in luxury and we could tote snacks, drinks, towels, bathing suits, and the kitchen sink.

If you click on the roller coaster, you will find Maya enjoying her first wild ride!!! She was so cute- when she got off she shouted "Mommy I didn't cry" (I think she surprised herself!). We tried to go on it again, but this time they checked her height a little more carefully and she didn't make it. I think being carried and sucking her thumb revealed her true age!

It's more fun to be exhausted after a day of having fun at Sea World in 90 degree weather, instead of being exhausted from power-washing the driveway in 90 degree weather:). I also prefer to be splashed by dolphins instead of being splashed with muddy mildew.