Our Farewell Tour

I wrote this post awhile ago, but was waiting for some photos to add.  Rather than continuing to let it sit, I'll just post it sans extra photos and details.  

We are so sad to say goodbye to Austin and all the wonderful friends we have had here.  I am particularly sad to leave the community of momma friends I've made since Everett was born.  I don't know if I'll ever find such an amazing community again.  I also look at this house, and I see where I nested with my big bellies holding Everett and then Paxton, where I rocked them to sleep, where they took their first steps, learned to crawl, eat, walk, etc.  More beautiful memories to come in our new home, but this one has definitely been chock full.

So this week while Eric has been home from work, we have been doing some things we love in Austin.

Day 1: Hike the Hill of Life to a waterfall, and take a dip in the swimming hole!  We are so proud of Everett (and I so proud of Eric's patience through tantrums and turtle speed).  Ev climbed the hill of life back to our car, and despite wanting to be carried, he did the whole thing himself.  He collected a rock on his journey, which he has named "Stegosaurus" while pretending it was a dinosaur bone.

Day 2:  Collect mementos of our city and take a classic Austin photo.

Day 3 (after a few days of rest): Hike Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve with our Adventure Friday friends!  We learned about butterflies and caterpillars on a special tot tour.


Day 4 (after Eric's work week):  Say good-bye to our Alma Mater and collect some items to show our Longhorn Pride in Colorado.  :)

And we ate lots and lots of our favorite Austin foods throughout!  :)

Our Past Month in 30 Seconds

Mid July, movers pack up our stuff.
We drive to Colorado.  Car breaks down as we're driving into Denver.  Hot day.  Ugh.
9 days later stuff supposed to be here.  It is not. 
Florida vacation.  Everett scared of water, will not go in.  Barely touches sand.   Despite that, fun vacation with my folks and Lauren and Sarmad.
Come back to Colorado a week later.
Two days later - stuff here.  
Yay, my bed!  My bed?
Bed broken. 
:(
There's a big hump down the middle and has been dubbed the "don't touch me" bed. 
Two weeks later, waiting for it to be replaced...

Zoo Trip

I am waaaay behind on blogging.  I've been so overwhelmed with all that's been going on that I haven't had the time or will-power to sit down and write about it.  I will, but in the meantime, here's what we did today. 

In an attempt to make friends, I have joined up with a meetup.com mom group in the area.  We've been to a few playdates, and Everett has been really clingy most of the time.  I knew today would be a surefire hit since it was the Denver Zoo.  Ev really loves animals.  We talked about going for a few days, and then this morning while playing, Everett started getting ready unbeknownst to me.  He was putting a selection of animal themed books into a little box "to read to the animals".  !!!  What a cutie!  This was amazing to me for a few reasons.  This was really the first time he has made a plan this extensive, and he was so serious about it.  I did not give him any ideas in this endeavor.  It was completely Everett.  He was thoughtful in his selections as you can see below and carried them in his lap on the car ride as well as in his lap in the stroller.  Since we were keeping up with people we met there and it was a little crowded, there wasn't really opportunity to sit and read to the animals.  But the thought was just amazing to me.  I did ask him on the way out if he wanted to read the animals a book, to which he said no. 

And tonight...

Preface first - Everett answers almost every question with "yeah" instead of the actual answer.  We've been trying to help him with this. 

Ev: Dad, do you know about the elephants?
Eric:  Yeah.
Ev:  Don't say yeah, Dad.  Answer the question!