July 4th

We had a fun celebrating the 4th of July this year.  Our neighborhood did a little parade and small outdoor party the weekend before the 4th.  It was a grueling 106 on that particular day, but totally worth the memories.  Abby and Kate had such a good time decorating their bikes and strolling down the street until they starting sweating, which turned giggles into whining very quickly.  As soon as we cooled them down, it was back to business and they loved it.  The evening before the 4th we went down to the small lake near our neighborhood and watched fireworks with friends.  I think it was the first year both girls didn't get scared of the noise, which is awesome because the fireworks are a highlight for me. 

This holiday is definitely one of my favorites.  It's just nice to relax and get together to celebrate this great nation.  Politics will always be politics, people will always have their opinions and complaints but no one can change my mind about this country, I love this land.  We are so blessed.  There isn't another nation like it.  Sure we will have our hard times, but this place will remain the 'Land of the Free and the 'Home of the Brave.' Our Founding Fathers were inspired.  I know, sounds cheesy, but after living abroad a few times, I realized how lucky we really are to live here.  Just the fact that we can trust the police is huge, and that's just the beginning. ;)

God Bless America! 

(Wearing pants and shoes...I was insane.  

I need to go shopping. It's so hard to find a pair of shorts that fit right. )

Blurry because they wouldn't hold still for a second.  Kate loved her shades.

Life is so easy when some pushes you all the way down the parade route in triple-digit weather.  She even had her feet propped.  Don't mess with this princess.

(You probably notice the letters written on the back. We bought this at a garage sell for a few dollars and it had some crazy words on the back so we wiped it off and to help cover it even more, we added our own. Ha!)

Chikage and Jamie, our awesome neighbors.

Kate begged to go on the tractor train ride and then screamed the whole time. 

 Cooling off.

 Caught a smile in the heat. 

 Live neighborhood band, too funny. I must say they were pretty good.

Getting ready for fireworks.

Family and the Temple

Something we have come to love about Austin is having family close by.  My cousin Sara and her family live here and their daughter Amy recently got engaged to Cody.  She was able to go through the temple for the first time a few weeks ago, so my Aunts flew in special for the occasion.  Our girls were really excited to have Aunt Ellen, Uncle Bob and Aunt Sue stay with us for part of the time.  

It was a great experience to all go to the San Antonio Temple.  The design of this temple is gorgeous and quickly became a favorite for us.  

Sara, Amy and Dan.

Kate having a great time with Aunt Sue.

 Uncle Bob and Aunt Ellen (Sara's parents.)

Sara caught a quick picture for us.  I sure love this guy.

While family was in town, Dan and Sara we nice and took us all on an awesome boat tour of Austin Lake. We even tasted food from the Hula Hut for the first time.  Dinner on a lake with tasty Tex-Mex. Yum!

I wish I would have had my camera for the boat ride because it was beautiful.  Thank goodness for the phone that caught a few pictures.

Making rolls for the Bridal Shower.

Checking out bugs by the Millett's pool with Uncle Bob.

Game nights.

Central Market

This event gets it's own post because basically it was awesome.  We went with some friends to check out Central Market a month ago.  It was honestly a classic Summer night, kids played while we enjoyed good food and a fun authentic band as the sun set at the end of a day... I mean really?  We will definitely be returning. I think my favorite part was when everyone started dancing to the music, kids and all.

Texans know how to relax, enjoy the moment and have a good time.  

It's the simple things in life that become some of the most memorable. 

I never even knew half of these instruments existed. 

I caught the girls dancing, they were loving it.

 

Summer Days

Summer is in full swing, in fact it's hard to believe we are already half way through. We have been playing so much that I haven't had time to update. We have quickly learned that Summer in Texas involves swimming basically every day, but we aren't complaining.  The girls love the community pools and all the play dates at surrounding splash pads. The water temps in the pool are crazy because it isn't cold, it's more like bath water. Ha! Even with triple digits, I still think DC is hotter overall in the Summer because of the higher humidity index. We will see what August and September bring.  I will admit that I miss the big rain storms all the time. And, the hardest thing about the weather here is that it is the same thing all Summer long without a lot of variety, but we still love Austin and are enjoying it.

Non-stop swimming. 

The libraries here have awesome Summer programs here.  Above is a kids concert and as you can see, the crowd was going wild, lots of dancing to the music.

Lots of feasts on the back porch with neighbor friends.  Hoping the scorpions stay away.  Found one in the house since the kids left the door open.  Yikes. We will be buying an automatic spring for the door to shut.

We finally changed our plates from Virginia to Texas. Bitter-sweet. The change is good but still can't help but miss our friends in VA.  

Daddy-daughter love walking out of the parking garage at work.

Above is the DMV... need I say more.  You should see my picture that resulted from this event, it's basically pathetic. Taking a picture after surviving the DMV with children can't produce the best results. The picture reflects my mood at the end of the ordeal. ;) We came in a rush to get the license because I wasn't aware you get fined and have to take the driving test again if you don't change it fast enough after a move. Thanks to my cousin for letting me know that detail. Gratefully we barely made it. I will just ignore the fact I have the picture til 2019. Ha! 

Loving the bounce house. 

(Don't ask why Kate is practically naked. This kid is a trip.)

BBQs on the back patio with friends. 

Abby and her friend Austen.

Kate and Veda.

I love runs by the lake in the morning. 

My neighbor Nikah runs with me in the morning I really look forward to it.

Soccer Girl

When we first moved into our home some kind ladies in the area invited us to join their soccer kids league.  It was really nice to have an outlet of running and kicking for Abby. Plus, Kate got to play with friends on the sidelines and had a great time.  We also loved getting to know people in the area and making some new friends.  Abby really liked soccer and hopes to do more in the future.  She even made a couple goals...(though one of them might have been for the other team. ) ;)  I am very entertained watching little kids play soccer. 

The teams biggest fans watching and cheering on the sidelines.

 (As you can see Kate's water bottle leaked all over the bag.)

For some reason the stamp at the end is definitely a highlight.  The coach was awesome and let Kate get a stamp as well.  Her coach was fantastic at teaching the kids.

And, of course, the girls wanted their nails done before each game. Oh wow!