No Place Like Home

Almost a week after our trip to Austin I am having writers block about how to get everything into words without sounding full of it. Blah blah blah...our trip was so perfect, and we are so happy and blah blah blah... But, yesterday I took the duo to see Papa and in the silent car ride home with two sleeping babies I had to laugh because I thought, "I have to write about this." And there was nothing special to say except that it was a perfect rainy day where the sky is a foreboding gray and the trees and grass look vibrant and lit up with such an intense green and when the rain comes you know it is going to be big and there are going to be some frightening thunder claps. I love the feeling before a storm. I find that it energizes me. Even the smell. There were so many things I wanted to write about our trip - our first family getaway...And now time is getting away from me and everything is getting watered down. I think that besides writing about the highlights of a vacation, I want to write about something a bit more introspective. Time with family. Time with family somewhere besides home. It changes your perspective a bit. I learned a lot about myself and my capabilities as a parent...a "fun mom". I also learned a lot about my kids and their stamina with enjoying themselves when out of their element and comfort zones. There is a balance...kind of like sunshine vs rainy days.

Austin really was incredible. I would definitely say put it on your list of places you need to go. The city just explodes with culture and this awesome social buzz. There is so much music there, and music is what my soul thrives on. I felt at home. The people were very friendly and welcoming. It was easy to have fun. I took the kids out in the city while Derek was presenting in meetings and I took on this new place and did my best to ease the kids into this new vibe. They missed naps and home cooked meals and went to bed so much later than usual. We took our time, easing out of the hotel mid morning into an adventure that sometimes was no greater than laying out a blanket in the grass by the hotel and people watching...and bird watching. We ordered room service with chocolate cake. Greta shared a special Coke with me at a brick oven pizza kitchen were she ordered a pizza for us with tomatoes, pepperoni, mushrooms and green olives. We saw the Capitol up close and we saw every single inch of the Austin Children's Museum two days in a row.

And Derek finished his work at 3:00 every afternoon and always had something fun planned. We swam. We hot tubbed. We dipped our toes in Barton Springs swim hole (68 degree Texas refreshment). We ate enchiladas and tacos and Texas sized bbq ribs. We stood on the Congress Bridge to see the bats wake up and fly out for the night (over 1 million bats fly out from underneath this bridge everynight and eat pounds and pounds of bugs before morning). But, that one night we were there waiting, they slept in. We had ice cream in SoCo and tried on fancy cowboy boots and hats. And, just to be honest about this picture I paint...We did all of this in between toddler fits and laments for home. Greta and Jack also like many sunny days in a row, but need a day of gray and cool rains to maintain a balance. Sometimes a perfect scoop of chocolate ice cream does not make a cranky baby cheer up. Some times you have to deny the toddler the 100.00 pink boots that will be too tight in 3 months...and eat the perfect scoop of chocolate ice cream while the tears are a flowin down the cheeks. And it all balances with the pure happiness created when a butterfly lands on your calamari and licks the lemon wedge just so the borderline cranky toddler can see the funny tongue. This was the vibe of our vacation. We found a really good balance.

One of my favorite things about our trip was that we had a wonderful time and had a lot of laughter besides the toddler tears, and when we finally pulled into the driveway of our home it felt just as wonderful to be back. On to the next adventure...