Southern Tour

I had a great trip "down south" last weekend, but sadly, I kept forgetting to get out my camera, so have pictures only of John's family. I missed a lot of great opportunities: Wurstfest with Dan & Lisa; action shots of Emma Grace and Vivi swimming, doing tae kwon do; being lively Brownie Scouts; and . . . BOWLING!!! Yes, we went bowling -- my first attempt in well over a decade. I expected to have swollen arthritic fingers and a sore right forearm, but didn't really have much soreness in my hand/arm. What was sore were my hips and legs! My first yoga session upon returning (Thursday) was really hard . . . but it helped in the long run, I think.

Anyway, it was a great loop -- I stayed with John, Darby & Eli on Friday night. Darby & I took Eli to Zilker Park Friday afternoon, then Dan & Lisa came over for pizza dinner (Darby did a "Girls' Night Out").

After John did his SuperDad routine, we sat out on the patio with the chiminea going . . . ver-r-r-ry nice.

Saturday morning, I went with John & Darby & Eli first to a brunch spot (Wildwood) that has a lot of gluten-free stuff; then to an "Attachment Parenting" exhibit with an adjoining park, so Eli played and played . . .

Then a little after noon, Dan & Lisa picked me up to go down to New Braunfels for Wurstfest. Over the course of the evening, we ate: white wurst & sauerkraut; corn on the cob; fried potatoes; funnel cakes . . . and washed them all down with beer/wine.
Heard a lot of good oompah music; Dan actually succumbed to Lisa's charms and tried a bit of two-stepping. The people-watching was top notch.

After a night at the Holiday Inn and a meat-laden brunch at a smokehouse, we went back to downtown NB for an "art fest," which was mostly little knitted things, doilies, patchwork, and beads.So we didn't fill our shopping bags........not sure why........

Back to Austin and my car around noon, and I took off for Katy. Cliff was traveling, so it was a girlie visit. We were Very Busy the whole time. I marvel that Courtney finds the energy to do all this day after day, week after week! Sunday evening was Christmas program practice for both Courtney and the girls. Courtney is not only singing, but dancing in the adult musical. The girls both have speaking parts in their show. Vivi has quite a long read for a 7-year-old, and handles it beautifully.

Monday morning was full of homeschool, while I tackled Courtney's freezer to help sort out what was in there. Afternoon had swim practice and the Brownie meeting, which Courtney had a major part of, so after lunch we did a lot of cutting and hole-punching to be sure we could move along with the "sit-upon" craft; got together s'more supplies; and Courtney worked out a relay game for learning the Girl Scout Laws. The meeting was very lively, but lots of fun.

Tuesday morning, I tackled a couple of pantry shelves and we took Courtney's car for detailing; Vivi had a violin lesson around noon; we went bowling; and then went to Emma's ballet lesson, followed closely by Vivi's tae kwan do. Cliff came home Tuesday evening, so I did get to see him a bit.

Wednesday morning, we picked up Courtney's car after school; then I finished the pantry and took off for Fort Worth!

It was a very busy, very fun time with everybody! And I wish I had more pictures.