I promised a recap of our Austin trip so here we go:
A few days after Christmas, Jason, the kids, and I flew to Austin to visit Jill and Josh. The plane trip was a nonevent -- thank goodness because kids are always a wild card on planes. Both kids behaved, the flight was on time, and Jill and Josh were waiting for us upon arrival. We shed our jackets (though it was actually cold there, certainly by Texas standards), hopped in the car and drove off toward my happy place. I love that city. This is not news to anyone. But each time I go back, it hits me all over again. Even though the city is barely recognizable from when I lived there, it still feels familiar and relaxed and happy and comfortable. I lived there during such an important time in my life. Such a time of change and development and discovery. I wonder where my kids will spend those periods of their lives.
While we were there we did a mix of things - some kid-oriented, some not. Whitney was also in town, so one evening we left the sleeping kids with a sitter and went out to an amazing dinner with Jill, Josh, Whit, and Adam. It was a spicy and boozy Thai dinner - and Jason and I were happy to be out together, with friends, and without children. That doesn't happen often.
But it wasn't all dinners and kid-ditching. Jill and I also took the kids to the children's museum and to this amazing wildlife zoo. That's why, in the pictures I posted, there were ones of Liam and Nora petting camels and zebras and other wild things. It was really one of the coolest things I have ever done with them. Those children are animal lovers and having the opportunity to feed and pet animals - some that they've only ever seen in books before - was really memorable. Especially because the zoo was so laid back and no one was barking rules at us. The kids did what they wanted and no one was eaten or run over by a tractor or trampled by a bison. So it proved to me once again that sometimes it's just best to let them be.
I'm not sure though if Nora was more impressed with the exotic animals or with Sandy and Shady, Jill and Josh's puppies. She loved those puppies and sought them out all day long. She wanted to be with them when they ate, when they played, and when they slept. We had to create some boundaries because the doggies did not feel the same affection for Nora. Especially Shady was not pleased with Nora's proximity at all times. Jill put the dogs in their crates and we told Nora they were sleeping so that they could have some peace. So Nora ran around the house whispering "shhhhhh puppies" to everyone. Over and over again until they came back out to play.
On New Years Eve we fed the kids, wished them a happy new year and put them to bed. Jill and Josh threw a party at their house and our children miraculously slept through all the merriment. Which was good. Very good. The weather was chilly but Jill and Josh set up a fire pit on their newly redone patio. We ate, we drank, and we celebrated the end of 2013, mostly outside. I may have celebrated so much that I don't have much recollection of the beginning of 2014. But I know it got off to a happy start in a place I love surrounded by great people.
And Jill and Josh. I can't even say enough about them. They are the best hosts, the best friends, the most invested in kids that aren't theirs, the most thoughtful, the most fun.. and the list goes on. We are so grateful that they let us descend upon their neat and cozy home with two tiny monsters, three big suitcases, and a back pack full of toys that pretty much exploded all over the place.
It was a perfect trip, except for one important detail: Pia wasn't there.
Happy 2014!
