Austin Vacation

After our illustrious trip to Paris, we came back to Houston and to a teary-eyed reunion with Elizabeth! We love her and missed her so, so much. She and Matt's mom met us at the airport. We then spent the night in Houston and the next morning left for Austin. If I had to sum up our vacation in two words, they would be eating and resting. :)

TUESDAY, JULY 3
We arrived in Austin and picked up the key to our home for the week from my dear friend Heidi Cook. She had arranged for us to live in the home of a very generous Crusade staff family that was in Colorado for most of the summer. It was the perfect set-up for our family because they had an upstairs playroom, stocked full of girl toys. Elizabeth was able to sleep in a twin bed just like at home, and Matt and I stayed downstairs. We were able to do a bit of laundry and buy some groceries for the week. We were hugely grateful for this wonderful blessing!! While we were settling in, Matt used the computer to locate the nearest Chuy's, a legendary Mexican food place. (I suppose he was done with French food. :)) I have to admit it was very good, and E ate her fair share of chips and queso.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 4
We spent the morning of Independence Day exploring all the new toys in the playroom. It was actually raining, so it made it extra easy to stay inside, take it easy, and wear our pajamas until noon. Later on in the day, we did take showers and venture out to a cookout with Heidi and Joel's small group from their church. They grilled ribs and chicken, and they had even bought chips and dip from Chuy's. It was some of the best food we had EVER had at a cookout EVER! (Is that too dramatic?)

THURSDAY, JULY 5
Matt planned our activities in Austin, and the first place he wanted to take us was to Zilker Park. We visited the Nature Preserve which featured some native Texas animals. We then ventured over to the kids' playground and rode on the train!



















I know she looks nervous here, but she really did have a great time on the train.















Loves to drive! And yes, she has already asked us if she can drive our cars.




































We then went to Kerbey Lane, an Austin "must-eat" restaurant. It was there that we took this (blasphemous perhaps) picture.



















FRIDAY, JULY 6
We visited Whole Foods, a great organic supermarket, and really enjoyed looking around at all the choices of yummy foods. This was our second visit, so we felt more comfortable with the store and found some of our old favorites, unique salsas and "Barbara's" cookies. We also ate lunch: Matt had Indian food and I had salad; E had something in-between. Finally, we went outside and up to the second floor, where E could play on the playground. Awesome day!

SATURDAY, JULY 7
Elizabeth and I had a girls' day: we went shopping while Matt prepared his sermon. Since there's not much more to say about shopping, I'll leave it there. Later on that night, Joel and Heidi kept Elizabeth overnight so that Matt and I could have a date night in Austin! We went to Macaroni Grill and then saw Oceans 13. It was wonderfully unique to have a date in a different city. :)

SUNDAY, JULY 8
Matt had been asked to speak in the morning services at a great church in Austin called Grace Covenant Church. From this particular ministry, we get a lot of our best student leaders, so it was a real treat to be with them. As a special bonus, we connected with some old friends from college and young married life in Dallas. We loved having lunch with them and catching up.

MONDAY, JULY 9
This was our last official day in Austin and the only other day we took pictures. Matt wanted to take us to the children's museum because he had heard that it was good and also because E loves going with her Siti and Ghido to the one in Houston. E explored everything, but by far her favorite place was the kitchen. I tied an apron on that girl and she was off!

















































Then it was necessary to go to the grocery store to get more food for the kitchen!!
































Other highlights include:
Fixing, not playing with, the chess pieces that had fallen down,


















And now the black pieces...,


















Playing doctor,




































Pretending to be on a work crew with Daddy,


















And my favorite, driving the bus! (Note: not a real bus!!)
































Overall, we had a great time in Austin. What a treat to spend a whole week together with almost nothing we HAD to do. We thank God for His provisions and for our family!