Adventures in Parenthood: Keeping Austin Weird Part 1

We headed to Austin, TX for my cousin Katie's wedding on July 26, 2016. Tia, Bailey, and Aba came too and we stayed in an Airbnb condo downtown. It was nice having more space and a kitchen and the location was superb, walking distance to a ton of stuff. We got there around two and after collecting our luggage we started out on our adventurous trek to the condo. I hate renting cars at airports because they charge so many extra fees. I looked into it and it would have been and extra $30 per day which I am opposed to on the principle that they are ripping people off because they don't have any other options. I figured out that the condo was right at one of the stops that the airport bus makes since it was right by the convention center so I decided that we could take that. It actually worked pretty well aside from the fact that we had a ton of stuff and took up a lot of space. Clarita was super excited to ride a bus and I kept Emmett in the carrier and he smiled away.

Playing in baggage claim

We got settled in and my friend Sarah brought us a pack n play for the little guy. We went to an early dinner with her and her husband, Rob, at Eureka Burger which was a couple blocks away. It was a nightmare. All the kids were super tired and at some point each one threw one (or more) tantrum. We left thinking we were going to get them ready for bed and call it an early night, but once outside in strollers/carriers, they were all happy so we decided to go for a walk. We walked around Town Lake (it is technically called Ladybird Lake now but I can't stop referring to it as Town Lake since that was it's name when we lived there) on the awesome trail. Emmett slept and the girls walked with Aba. It was super hot and humid and we finally headed back after melting into puddles. We gave the kids baths and put Emmett down. Aba laid with Bailey as the bed was really high and she has never slept in a bed by herself, and Tia, Dada, and I headed to Trader Joe's. The plan was to put Clara to bed too, but she insisted that she was not tired so we brought her along.It was a nice walk there and Clara fell asleep as soon as we arrived. After getting lots of goodies we headed back and we all went to sleep as we were exhausted.

Giant bench

Scenic diaper change

Trader Joe's is exhasusting

Thursday was Emmett's first birthday and we celebrated by dragging him all around Austin! I decided that we should walk to the Capital so we left around 10 hoping to beat the heat (not possible). We walked around inside and the girls ran around and had fun looking at the different rooms and Emmett was obsessed with the busts. We then headed to University of Texas, where I went to grad school, and stocked up on Longhorn gear! We headed to Kerby Lane for lunch and the queso did not disappoint. Emmett and Clara did not like it, but they enjoyed the other food. Bailey likes everything. After lunch we realized that it was now late and we had to walk back in the heat and humidity. It was a long walk and we were all pooped when we got back. Clara and Emmett took naps but Bayleaf fell asleep while we were walking and did not want to sleep anymore. Luckily Tata the baby whisperer laid with her and she eventually fell asleep (I actually fell asleep first and I think she got bored of poking me and eventually fell asleep). After nap time we headed over to Sarah and Rob's for some pizza and amazing views. Their apartment overlooks Town Lake and has a great view of downtown. The girls were riled up, and after eating spent their time chasing each other, screaming, and staring out the windows (with their faces pressed against them) at the people on the balcony. We headed to the Congress Bridge after dinner to see the bats. Austin is home to the largest urban bat colony in North America. At dusk in the summer the bats come out to begin their nightly search for food. It is really quite impressive as 1.5 million little bats swoop out over the river. We met up with Uncle Pete, our cousin Rikka and her husband Eric, and their twins Aaron and Jordan, and our friend Miguel who we did Peace Corps with. It was great to catch up with everyone and of course watch the bats. Emmett and Bayleaf just wanted to run around, Clara watched the bats for awhile then sang and danced around, and we chased after them while trying to talk to everyone. Aba, Tia, and Bailey headed back to the condo after watching the bats while we talked to Miguel for awhile and then headed to Voodoo donuts. Clara declared that she "really really" had to go potty. I took her to the bushes and she started peeing as soon as I pulled her panties down which involved covering both of us in pee. She wasn't too concerned and told me the donut place would have a bathroom to clean her up! We braved Sixth Street to get the donuts and even got to listen to some live music while we waited. Clara chose a Fruit Loop donut and ate all of the fruit loops off the top when we got back and declared she was finished. It was a late night, but the kids were troopers!

He loved the busts!

The eyes of Texas are upon you...

Queso

I'm one!

View of downtown

On Friday we headed out to Zilker Park...due to poor planning on my part (in my defense, nobody else planned anything) we ended up walking a million miles in the heat and humidity and ended up not close to anything really kid friendly (turns out there was actually a really cool playground super close but we missed it). We hit up the Umlauf Sculpture Gardens and Clarita had fun finding the different sculptures listed on the kid's guide. Emmett thought the statues were cool and Bayleaf enjoyed running around and screaming. We decided to take a bus back, however we just missed it and did not want to wait a half hour for the next one so we walked back in the heat and humidity. Along the way we passed a zillion runners and wondered A) does anyone work in Austin B) why does everyone run in the afternoon when it's hot and C) how do they wear long sleeves and pants without getting heat stroke? We headed back and made sandwiches and put the kids down for naps. Then Tia and I headed out to pick up the rental car. Fortunately for us, there was a glitch in the Enterprise system that allowed me to book a minivan even though the location didn't actually have one available. They picked it up from the airport that morning and it was brand spanking new! After nap time we headed out to Via 313 to meet family and eat pizza. The bad news was that they did not take reservations and the wait for 30 plus people was ridiculous. The kids were starving but managed to make due with snacks until we ate. Cousin Eric took Clara and Zianne (Z is 6 months younger, but about 10 pounds heavier and a couple inches taller) on walks, Emee and Talitha (she's six weeks older) took turns drinking her water, Bailey laid on the sidewalk, and Emee and Dada went on an adventure all while we waited. The pizza was amazing and it was great to catch up with family we don't get to see that often! Due to the wait we finished much later than anticipated and Aba and Tia dropped us off to meet up with Miguel while they took the kids home and put them to bed (thanks guys!). We had a great time catching up, reminiscing about Honduras, and talking about all the ways Peace Corps has "ruined" us (you know like being extremely aware of waste, being much more open minded, not buying into all the consumerism, etc). It was a great night and the kids had tons of fun playing with Aba and Tia.