FALL TEXAS TRIP: Day 18

Andrew and Sabrina arrived home today right during nap time ... but before they came home, we played for awhile and did our usual stuff ... Karis was really excited to dress up in some of her costumes so we could see what a beautiful princess she is ...

Both Jackson and Karis have cowboy hats ... I think they look adorable in them.

We logged on to the Thomas the Train site and played a few games the children enjoy ... we set a timer so that we wouldn't get too carried away and have hours go by with us just inside the house wasting the beautiful day away ...

Before lunch time, we went outside to take a nice walk. I suggested that we have "an adventure." Since I am unfamiliar with their neighborhood, any street is a new for me and I love to explore new places. Of course, taking a "walk" with Jackson and Karis is NOT exactly like walking ... more like ... running a very fast race! Believe it or not, the housing market is NOT depressed in Austin. There are plenty of new houses being built right on the next street. We got to wander around one that is in the middle of construction. I always love to do that. Karis wasn't sure we should be inside someone else's house ... but the house was only roughed in ... no drywall was hung yet, so I figured there was nothing we could hurt ... we were very careful.

There was a pathway leading from the sidewalk back into a brushy area, very thick with trees and rocks and hills. I suggested that we take our little adventure that direction. You should have seen Karis's little face! No way was she going on that kind of adventure. She told me there were snakes and all kinds of dangerous stuff back there ... she talked me right out of it!

Jackson picked up a stick and pretended he was a very old man. I asked him how old he was and he said he was very very old ... like 66!

So Karis grabbed a pretend cane as well and and walked like a little old lady ... they laughed and laughed about this. They both love to "prend" (their pronounciation of the word "pretend").

We finally came back inside the house for a rousing game of Shoots and Ladders. I think it's probably been 20 years since I've played this little game. We had a lot of fun doing it. Karis was the winningest winner, Jackson came in second, and I was the losing loser.

We ate a nice healthy lunch, read two very interesting stories, and everyone went down for their naps. Andrew and Sabrina came home at about 1:30 and when the little kids woke up, they were so excited!

Here is Karis showing us the pretty dress her mommy and daddy purchased for her in Mexico.

And Jackson was completelyl thrilled with this very cool pirate shirt and matching hat.

And Livie received a beautiful necklace ...

... that she completely loves. I got one too! We've been wearing our necklaces all day! They are exactly the kind of necklace that goes with everything!

And Grandpa Jones requested that Sabrina and Andrew bring him home some Mexican Vanilla ... which is really the very best Vanilla you can buy and it's great to bake with. By the way, doesn't their couch look comfortable? Grandpa has made himself completely at home here!

After dinner tonight, I decided to steal away and go for a walk all by myself. I haven't been alone in many days and I thought it was about time I just got away. During dinner, we had a downpour that lasted for about 30 minutes. Isn't the world so beautiful after a hard rain? Everything washed clean and ... I love the smells!

I don't really know a single thing about the technical aspects of my camera, but I figured tonight would be fun to experiment with some different apperature settings just to try them out. Here are some of the pictures I took around their neighborhood ...

I went crazy over this beautiful plant/flower ... I think it must certainly be a relative of Queen Anne's Lace! I fell in love with it ...

This is quite a fancy neighborhood ... how would you like that house to be yours ... the one peaking through the flowers?

The house at the top of this picture (in the middle) is Andrew and Sabrina's ... in the foreground is Olivia's bus stop ... except she almost never rides the bus.

These are the miniature zinnias in front of Sabrina's house ...

Well, that's all for tonight. Olivia is waiting for me to play a game of Bananagrams with her. We haven't played many games together because she has been so busy with school. We have time tonight to play a few rounds ... so that's what we'll do!