Walking, talking, living and loving in Austin ...
This is a "delayed post", so please bear with me as I show you some pictures of our last few days in Austin. The internet was "down" at Sabrina's for the last 24 hours we were there and I was sick the 24 hours prior to that, so this is going to be kind of a hodgepodge of stuff thrown together.
Jackson and Karis love animals and have nice toy ones to play with. We liked setting them up on the coffee table in the great room and pretending, making stories, etc. It's nice when kids have great toys, isn't it?
We went downtown to Zilker Park Wednesday morning. There is a wonderful playground there, a great train ride, and just a beautiful setting ... Jackson and Karis love to climb on this old firetruck.
We just missed the first train leaving the station, so we played at the park awhile and then bought our tickets!
This is not a skimpy ride around a little park ... this is a nice, long, relaxing train ride all over this beautiful place!
Jackson and Karis were very excited to ride the train with Grandpa Jones! 
There are all kinds of nature trails, pathways, and great sites at Zilker Park. You can see some of the tall buildings of Austin peeking through these trees ...
Right near this playground, there was a young man (early 20's) who was grinding seeds and making bread dough from them ... difficult to explain because I didn't take a picture. I asked him if I could photograph the process, but he said he preferred that I didn't do that. I listened to him talk about how excited he was to be in Austin and how he loved grinding these seeds to make bread dough. He was a friendly sort of fellow and he offered me some of his uncooked bread dough to sample. And me, never ever turning down an opportunity to eat, accepted and ate three bites. I was the only one of us who ate any of it ... and we wonder if this isn't what made me sick later on in the middle of the night ... a real yucky, stomach-flu kind of sick ... oh well!
This is Barton Creek that runs through Zilker Park.
I brought along a bean bag toss game that I can take from family to family for a little indoor play. Jackson and Karis had fun with it; however, I think perhaps older kids would enjoy it a little bit more.
Both of them have pretty good aim, though, and enjoyed seeing how many bean bags they could sink.
We did a little cooking with mommy in the kitchen ... everyone got involved and helped out as Sabrina made the famous yummy raisin-filled cookies that go way back in the Jones family.
We took a few walks around the neighborhood. What a beautiful place it is! There are amazing flowers everywhere and great paths to explore. However, since much of the land is undeveloped, there is always the possibility of rattle snakes, etc. Sabrina kept us on well-worn paths; you know, the safer ones!
We played for awhile at the playground that is about a 1/2 mile walk from their house. Karis had fun trying to bury Sabrina's legs with the little stones there.
We had fun just watching the kiddos enjoy the day ...
We had a gorgeous couple of days. It's been so much fun to extend summer weather into the fall! We actually started an early spring down here in Texas as well ... so we have had a nice long seven months of mild weather!
Don't you just LOVE those red-striped socks? Isn't it sweet the way little kids like to hold hands with us old folk? :)
The days flew quickly by ... always too fast ... always too few ...
Karis is still little enough to not get greatly annoyed with everyone snapping her picture. She will pose almost any time you ask her to and smile sweetly. I really love this picture of her.
I can't tell you how many times I attempted to sneak Olivia into a picture. She absolutely WILL NOT tolerate it! I got lucky here because she was so absorbed in taking a picture of her own.
I have a ton more pictures of this beautiful family, but I am too exhausted to post any more of them! We said our sad good-byes and told the little kids we would see them at our house for Christmas. It's difficult to be a long-distance grandparent. We're thankful for the love of this dear family!
Jackson and Karis love animals and have nice toy ones to play with. We liked setting them up on the coffee table in the great room and pretending, making stories, etc. It's nice when kids have great toys, isn't it?
We went downtown to Zilker Park Wednesday morning. There is a wonderful playground there, a great train ride, and just a beautiful setting ... Jackson and Karis love to climb on this old firetruck.
We just missed the first train leaving the station, so we played at the park awhile and then bought our tickets!
This is not a skimpy ride around a little park ... this is a nice, long, relaxing train ride all over this beautiful place!
Jackson and Karis were very excited to ride the train with Grandpa Jones! 
There are all kinds of nature trails, pathways, and great sites at Zilker Park. You can see some of the tall buildings of Austin peeking through these trees ...
Right near this playground, there was a young man (early 20's) who was grinding seeds and making bread dough from them ... difficult to explain because I didn't take a picture. I asked him if I could photograph the process, but he said he preferred that I didn't do that. I listened to him talk about how excited he was to be in Austin and how he loved grinding these seeds to make bread dough. He was a friendly sort of fellow and he offered me some of his uncooked bread dough to sample. And me, never ever turning down an opportunity to eat, accepted and ate three bites. I was the only one of us who ate any of it ... and we wonder if this isn't what made me sick later on in the middle of the night ... a real yucky, stomach-flu kind of sick ... oh well! 
This is Barton Creek that runs through Zilker Park.
I brought along a bean bag toss game that I can take from family to family for a little indoor play. Jackson and Karis had fun with it; however, I think perhaps older kids would enjoy it a little bit more.
Both of them have pretty good aim, though, and enjoyed seeing how many bean bags they could sink.
We did a little cooking with mommy in the kitchen ... everyone got involved and helped out as Sabrina made the famous yummy raisin-filled cookies that go way back in the Jones family.
We took a few walks around the neighborhood. What a beautiful place it is! There are amazing flowers everywhere and great paths to explore. However, since much of the land is undeveloped, there is always the possibility of rattle snakes, etc. Sabrina kept us on well-worn paths; you know, the safer ones!
We played for awhile at the playground that is about a 1/2 mile walk from their house. Karis had fun trying to bury Sabrina's legs with the little stones there.
We had fun just watching the kiddos enjoy the day ...
We had a gorgeous couple of days. It's been so much fun to extend summer weather into the fall! We actually started an early spring down here in Texas as well ... so we have had a nice long seven months of mild weather!
Don't you just LOVE those red-striped socks? Isn't it sweet the way little kids like to hold hands with us old folk? :)
The days flew quickly by ... always too fast ... always too few ...
Karis is still little enough to not get greatly annoyed with everyone snapping her picture. She will pose almost any time you ask her to and smile sweetly. I really love this picture of her.
I can't tell you how many times I attempted to sneak Olivia into a picture. She absolutely WILL NOT tolerate it! I got lucky here because she was so absorbed in taking a picture of her own.
I have a ton more pictures of this beautiful family, but I am too exhausted to post any more of them! We said our sad good-byes and told the little kids we would see them at our house for Christmas. It's difficult to be a long-distance grandparent. We're thankful for the love of this dear family!
2 comments:
Hi Carol, I have been following your trip every day. Looks like you are again having a very busy time. The month is flying by, isn't it? Matthew is three in about a week - doesn't seem possible. He and Karis are close in age. I saw that Sabrina was on facebook the other day when I was on and I tried to pop in on her to say hi to you, but it didn't work. She may not have been watching the screen. Don't get too tired - drive carefully and have a nice visit with everyone. Love you, Ruthanne
Hey Mom! We sure had a great week together, except for the stomach bug you got that is. Next time you're in town we'll head back to that tex-mex place so you can actually eat the food and we'll walk town lake if you want so you can get some better pictures. We miss you both so much- the kids were asking for you both yesterday as soon as they woke up! Looking forward to Christmas already! All my love!
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