Friday, October 14, 2022

Getaway

Jamie and I took a 3-day trip to Austin, Texas for a fun little getaway!  We had some air miles, found a concert we wanted to see, and used it as an excuse to recharge a little bit.  We needed a break really bad, and this was just perfect!!  Beautiful weather, no constraints, sleeping in - yes!


Ate lots of barbecue goodness

Our first day we didn't have much planned except dinner reservations, so we were looking for something to do.  A quick search showed us that one of my fave bands, Metric, was in town and doing an acoustic record release session at a local record store.  I think there were only 100 people+/-, couldn't believe how close we got!  They were so good! 

"Give me sympathy..."

Jamie thought this was one of the best logos ever

Beautiful bar under a tree - getting some refreshment!

We made reservations at Arlo Grey, a restaurant opened by Top Chef champion Kristin Kish.  She's pretty famous now and has several restaurants, so we were shocked when she walked out of the kitchen to greet some patrons.  I realize it's weird to be fans of a chef if you've never even eaten their food, but she was such a lovely person on the show!  We told our waitress that we were visiting from Michigan and were fans... well guess who brought dessert to our table and sat down for a few minutes?!  She's actually from Grand Rapids and has family next door in Birmingham, MI - small world!  Just as lovely in person if not more - and her food - soooo good.

Be cool, be cool
(I definitely told her we were so proud of her, smh)

On Saturday we got breakfast tacos (really wish this more of a thing in Michigan) and went on a walking tour of the local art / graffiti scene.  Later we went to see one of our fave performers, Iron and Wine along with Andrew Bird.

Migas!

Art and stuff (look at his instagram if you
want details... I'm not good at this stuff!)

Feelin myself (and buzzed) before the concert


On our feet til midnight - pretty great time!

Iron and Wine with Andrew Bird - amazing musicians!

The next day we had to leave, but we spent some hours checking out the town and relaxing first.  Had a really delicious brunch!

Ordered breakfast biscuits as an appetizer... thinking
they would be cute little things.  Big as my head.
But so delicious!

Before our trip we helped throw a surprise birthday party for Aunt Judy!  It was fun to have the whole family over, and we finally got to expand our dining table to "giant" size!

Happy 80th!

Family!

Some random photos of the kids!


Think I found my new screensaver

Playing around with friends

Bold explorer

Evie got to try playing tennis, loved it!

Baby walrus

Daddy walrus (or sabertooth?)

Mathing at school


After school ice cream session

Too Cool

The first time Evie remember to clean up her breakfast without
being asked - had to mark this occasion

Grandma helped them create slime

Helping babysit Ben during soccer practice



Monday, September 19, 2022

Back to School

All four of my darlings headed back to school after Labor Day.  Maggie is in fourth grade, Evie is in second grade and Ben started preschool!  Jamie is back at Lakeview teaching and also teaching an evening course at Atlier downtown.  So far things are going really well, everyone seems to like their teachers and is making friends.  Life has resumed its hectic pace with non-stop scheduling issues!

Ready to go!

Ben's first day of preschool
A little scary for him, but he adjusted quickly!

First day of second grade!

First day of fourth grade!

We got to visit Ben's new school the week
earlier and he was very into all the toys

Dad got them all Slurpee's to celebrate the start of school
Poor Maggie was very tearful before the bell rang
with her best buds in other classes - she's doing great now!

Psyched that her best bud is with her
again this year!

Soccer is back in full swing as well, both girls are playing.  They have the same coach this year and I'm helping out with Maggie's team.

Unicorns waiting to start the game!

Look who joined the team this year!

Girl Talk getting ready

We had a fun time celebrating Dad's birthday this year.  Grammer had all sorts of fun games ready for the kids and they even got a ride on the motorcycle!

Happy Birthday, Pops!

Evie went out on the "real" roads this year, she loved it!

Maggie had a blast!

Second round of tug-of-war: Jamie vs. all the kids
(Jamie won)

The things we do...

Egg balancing (Ben just held on to it the whole time, but
still continued to walk very slowly and carefully)

Jamie has been promising Evie a laser-tag outing all summer, and they finally had a chance to go this past weekend.  The only place still open is Jamie's old stomping grounds, so Evie got to see where Jamie and I met all those fateful years ago.  Turns out laser-tag is really intimidating and Evie was not a fan; the arcade was all she needed though!

Winner winner!

Best date ever

Jamie's high school mural is still up
(note the holly bush in outer space
he painted just for me, ha ha!)

Jamie does a "print exchange" every fall with a large group of artists. Basically you design a small print and mail out 20 copies, and then get 20 copies in return.  In a moment of tipsy-ness I've come to regret, I said I would do a print along with him so he could get 20 more prints this year.  It turned out ok-ish, but I'll leave the artistry to him!  It took way more time and effort than I expected!

My traffic light series

Jamie's highly detailed dinosaur series

Jamie taught the girls how to do their own, 
which turned out pretty cool too!

Some others:

5-girl sleepover (thankfully not at my house)!

Checking out football practice after school

No one wants a puppy more than this girl... sigh

Sylvan Esso with Will and Kim!

Getting silly at Pine Knob!

Kid swap with the Rabines!

Last swim date of the summer with these cuties

Grammer knows how to do ice cream right!

The kids just love being on Grammer's deck

Snuggles after swim lessons