Austin or Bust

Crowds and football fight for the number one spot on my list of Things I Do Not Enjoy. So when I heard the Super Bowl was headed to Houston and that Husband would be busy with Super Bowl-related work events all weekend, I knew I would not be sticking around. We spent about 36 hours exploring Austin and the city did not disappoint. We spent most of the first day at Zilker Park and even though the weather was dismal, the kids loved every second of it. We had dinner at Chuy’s, made a trip to HEB for breakfast goods and snacks, then headed to the Airbnb rental that was in the middle of nowhere but still in the middle of the city if that makes any sense at all. Basically it was a country home (acreage, deer, no street lights, a water well) smack in the middle of Austin. We showed up after dark and I could tell the kids were a bit apprehensive when the owners came to show us around. As they were giving the run down of all the amenities, P yelled “I don’t wanna sleep here” while B was whispered “This place is creepy” and yeah, that wasn’t embarrassing at all. Ten minutes later when they were in their PJ’s and under the blankets and in front of a movie, they were saying they wanted to live there. Kids don’t know anything about anything.

(Thank you, cement wall for holding my camera for this photo)

^I think I’d feel good about washing dishes every day if this was the view outside my kitchen window. Nope. I’m lying. I will never ever feel good about wishing dishes.

The rental was an apartment above a detached garage. The next five photos were taken in the back yard of the main house.
We ended up spending a bit too much time playing around at the house and at lunch so I almost skipped this next park. The kids were beat and ready to get on the road so they could finally play their computer games. I asked if they wanted to hit one more spot and they said no. But then I remembered I was the grownup with the car and the keys so we went anyway. Ten minutes later they were hugging me and thanking me for taking them. They did that all weekend, actually. I’m glad they’re still at the age where they think time spent outdoors with their mom is a treat and not a punishment. I know it’s coming so I’m milking these years for all they’re worth. (Thank you, stranger who offered to take the photo of all four of us)

This is McKinney Falls State Park, by the way.