Austin, TX

As you know, Dan had a business class in Austin this past week. He flew out on Sunday and Russell and I flew out on Tuesday. The flight was 3 1/2 hours and Russell did his best (for a 2 3/4 year old wiggle worm). The next morning, Dan left for his class and Russell and I headed to Zilkor Park, the 'Central Park' of Austin. The minute he saw the large fields, he just ran and ran and ran...

Zilkor Park also had a great playground. I had to laugh a little when I realized how much has changed since I worked in Texas 7-8 years ago. No longer do I look for historical museums and interesting tourist displays. Nope. I just look for the best playground in town. The weather was so nice (high 70's/low 80's) and it felt great to be outdoors.

On Wednesday night, I met a new friend who I connected with on an online January '06 Mom's group. Beth is a Christian woman who shares many of the same interests and it was fun to meet in person:-)

On Thursday, Russell and I headed out east to visit Linda, with whom I had worked at Camp Tejas. She now works at a different camp, though. We've kept in touch over the years and it was a joy to see her again.

After visiting Linda, I stopped by Camp Tejas. It was strange to be back (my last visit was 5 years ago), this time, visiting with a child in tow. Russell loved to throw rocks into the lake. I wish I could have stayed longer and visited longer with the staff but Russell was already nap-deprived and we still had the 90 minute drive back to Austin. Being back at the camp made me realize how important those summers were to me.

On Friday morning, Russell and I met up with Beth and her kiddos, Ana and Eli, once more before departing on our afternoon flight. Ana was a sweetheart and Eli was probably the best baby I've ever met. Seriously. No fuss, no muss.

After a quick stop at the ice-cream shop (thanks, Beth:-), we said our good-byes and left to pick Dan up from the hotel.

Any time that Dan and I travel, whether within the state or outside of the state, we ponder, "could we live here?" Austin is a great city although traffic is terrible because of the influx of California-ites that have moved into town. It is difficult to think of leaving the West Coast. Our whole lives are here. I guess just seeing the brand-new 4bd/2ba houses for $200k really tempt us though...