Mayfield Park

Mayfield Park is a hidden gem not too far from our neighborhood. Peacocks roam the grounds and there are short trails that are easy for families. The house and grounds make me wish we could host a party here.

Fun in the yard

Climbing trees and freeze tag

Labor Day at the Lake

This was the first time in a long time that Richard, Talie and Rodd were all able to join us at the lake house for a long weekend. It was a great time to relax and catch up, even though it took Rodd and Talie many more hours to get there than it should have due to the wild fires along Hwy 71. They persevered and made it to Oak Ridge late at night, but were able to enjoy the next day with us. We played Bocce Ball and ate great food as usual. Hope it isn't too long before we can do it again.

Cashions together

Cashion got to meet another Cashion! Jacob Hale Cashion, that is. My cousin, Hart, and his wife Jennifer live in Houston with their little baby boy, but we have gotten to visit with them a couple of times over the past couple of months. Jennifer has done quite a bit of family tree research on my mother's family, which has spawned some new interest in tracing our ancestry. Bebe even met a family member in Fredericksburg for the first time this summer due to these new discoveries.

Gramps in Austin

Gramps had an extended stay in Austin over the summer due to some visa and passport issues. We were overjoyed to have him here so long, even if the reason was frustrating for him and the weather was consistently in the 100s. We got to check out his hotel room at the W, including the view of the skyline. He got to spend time with the kids at swim lessons, too.

It was really great for the kids (and us) to spend so much time with Gramps this summer. We miss Gramps and Mimi when they are way across the pond!

Sadie goes to San Diego

We took a very special trip with just Sadie, her Daddy and I in April. Cashion got to stay with Bebe and Papa while the 3 of us explored San Diego. We went to the Zoo and had a backstage tour with Pam, who took us to meet some of the "animal ambassadors." The highlight for me (maybe more than Sadie) was getting a behind-the-scenes look at the koala habitat. They were making the most unusual howling sound, that you would never guess came from a koala. They had the males in different areas in the back, because they don't get along, and the females with their babies were out in the exhibit for zoo-goers to see. They grow over 300 kinds of eukalyptus for these little creatures because they all have different tastes. And the San Diego Zoo has the largest collection of koalas outside of Australia because they are able to grow the eukalyptus due to the temperate climate.

We saw tons of other animals...bears, flamingos, arangutans, pandas, a baby hippo and a baby giraffe. It was a really fun day. Sadie had her own camera to capture memories from her perspective.


She is really fun to travel with at this age. She does great on an airplane and can sleep in a regular bed (or pull out sofa, in this case.) She doesn't require special food and can make it through the day without needing to take a nap (although we took a couple of family naps, which was awesome!)

We had lots of treats, including cupcakes and Ghiradelli chocolate sundaes, which Daddy and I ended up eating most of. Sadie rode the little train that runs around Balboa Park and I got to walk around and take pictures of the lush gardens and beautiful architecture. The 3 of us toured antique ships on the harbor and Sadie got to pretend she was a pirate.

We went to Coronado Beach at the Coronado Hotel, which was beautiful and peaceful if a bit chilly. Sadie looked for shells and built sandcastles, which is right up there with her favorite things to do in the world. We took a drive up to the Safari Park, which is also operated by the San Diego Zoo, and has acres and acres of natural habitats with rhinos, giraffes, elephants and all sorts of wild animals. They had a butterfly garden exhibit, which was beautiful, but Sadie was a little apprehensive about the butterflies landing on her. This was understandable since her Daddy and I freaked out a little bit when a bird landed on each of us in the lorakeet habitat. We got out of there pretty quickly, to say the least. Sadie's favorite part of this park was the bubble show. What is it about bubbles and kids? We finished off our weekend with a trip to In-N-Out burger and it was as good as I remember it. Thanks to Bebe and Papa for keeping Cashion, who won't remember that he missed out on this trip but maybe someday we can make it up to him.

Rodeo

That is a llama!

We always try to make it out to Rodeo Austin when it is here around Spring Break. Sadie and her daddy are always very excited about the petting zoo, and they wanted to introduce Cashion to the experience. This year, Sadie was big enough and brave enough to have a pony ride. She

even tried a couple of carnival games and won a stuffed banana (her choice) by popping a balloon with a dart on her own.