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 turns 4!

Inside the photo booth

The photo booth

Lemonade, Root Beer Floats and Ice Cream Sundaes:

Summertime Treats

Sadie had a 4th birthday to remember. She asked for a dress-up party and a strawberry cake with chocolate icing, which is exactly what she got. Daddy was able to get an airstream photo booth to document all the silliness. The kids were great and everyone had so much fun. It is going to be hard to beat this one.

Sadie's first dance recital

Sadie showing off her eye shadow

They definitely had the cutest costumes of the bunch

Sadie and her teacher, Miss Trish

Sadie had her very first dance recital the day before her 4th birthday. She was so excited to wear her costume (and make-up) and show her family what she has been working on all year. They danced to "Little April Showers" from the movie Bambi. They had the cutest little white umbrellas that they twirled and hid behind. Sadie's favorite part of the dance was when she got to skip among the umbrellas. Dana was in for the weekend so she got to relive our days at Shirley McPhail School of Dance.

The girls watching a movie while they wait for their turn to dance. Remind me never to sign up to be a backstage mom. They get a raw deal...they have to wrangle all these bored little girls and keep them from messing up their costumes. They have to watch the dance from the wings while the rest of us relax in the theater.

Easter 2011

Yes, I know, Easter was a long time ago, but I am doing my best here. He happened upon the Easter Bunny at the mall and Cashion was curious, but Sadie was not (you have heard this story before..."Santa").

We enjoyed another Easter Egg Hunt on the Capitol grounds and this year Granny got to come with us. The next day we went to church, had another egg hunt at Bebe and Papa's, discovered Easter basket surprises and had lunch with the Tingley clan. It is rare that we get everyone together for Easter like this and it was fun to spend the holiday with Baby Jack.

Sadie, Granny, Baby Jack and Jack

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.

Cups

At Cashion's 1-year-old check-up, Dr. Brown urged us to help him move from the bottle to a cup. Sadie started using a straw cup at 11 months, but like everything else the second time around, we were not as on the ball with this one. So, when he finally started holding his own sippy cup about a week after that appointment, we were thrilled. It seems like such a small thing, but we always held his bottle for him so this was quite an adjustment for Cashion.

Of course, it is even more fun to practice drinking from a cup while taking a bath in the kitchen sink!

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.