Lily, Lauren and Sean visit us in Texas!
We were so lucky this year to spend time with our families at Christmas, it was an unexpected treat to also get some one on one time with my brother Sean, his wife Lauren and our our niece Lily over MLK day. They have been trying to get down here to see us for a few years now. I'm so glad they finally made it! And they actually took our advice and didn't try to come in the middle of summer, so they were rewarded with some awesome weather, too! We had a great time showing them around the hill country and just hanging out at the house. Here are some photos of our adventures. Enjoy!
We drove by Starburger on our way out of town. With the vegetarians outnumbering the omnivores 3 to 2, we didn't order anything, but I just had to get a photo of this "only in Texas" roadside stop.
Our site seeing took us just northwest of Austin near Marble Falls, Texas. The weather was perfect for some hiking. Here are Sean, Lauren, and Kearson (and a sleeping Lily under the blanket) at Inks Lake State Park. We didn't tell Lauren, but the visitor's center had a HUGE rattlesnake skin up on the wall. Luckily, it had been cold a few days before, so we didn't see anything slithering about despite the warm sunshine!
Later on, Lily woke up and had a great time riding in her deluxe Dad-powered backpack. She laughed and laughed while we made our way along the trails. We even came upon some deer in the woods munching on some native plants; "Cholo" I think it's called in this part of the state.
After our hike, we drove south a bit to Longhorn Caverns. We were just in time for the last tour of the day. Our tour guide reminded me of my junior high woodshop teacher. You could tell from his quick wit and charisma that he spends a lot of time one on one with the rocks. The caverns are beautiful, though. Lots of amazing crystal formations. Here's a great photo of Sean, Lauren and Lily enjoying the cave.
By the time we got back from our day trip, we were all so worn out that we decided to skip 6th street (much to the chagrin of Dana, who was all set to babysit for us!) and just take it easy at the house. It was nice to just relax together. Here's Lily playing with MacGuyver the next morning.
Uncle Kearson makes sure that Lily gets an early start on the computer. He doesn't want to have to give her tech support later on!
Lily picks up quickly!
Lily on the move in the kitchen. She's 11 month's old now, and SO close to being dangerously mobile!
Here's a nice photo of the family on the steps of Mount Bonnell in Austin. From the top of the "mountain" (which is really just up a long flight of stone steps) there are great views of city of Austin and surrounding hills.
One with me, too!
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