Playing in the Sand

After a couple of days, Kate got used to playing in the sand.  But her shoes would most definitely stay on!  During our second week there were several families with children also at our resort.  Kate played a lot with a little girl Meredith.  Charlie became almost inseparable from a little boy his age named Connor.  He also played with Meredith's older sister Avery.

Kate and Meredith playing

Kate playing with Tamara.  Tamara was six and Kate just loved her.  Tamara was so cute and would play with Kate a lot. 

 Charlie and Kate playing in the sand

Another day and Charlie and Kate playing in the sand

Daddy also spent a lot of time building sand castles with the kids.  Ofcourse, Charlie's favorite part was destroying them when they were finished!

 The first sand castle they built.  Charlie destroyed it very quickly.  

The next one they did was more elaborate.  With a starting outline and everything.  Charlie had to promise not to ruin it until they were all done.  Some of the other children at the resort helped as well.  

Putting all the towers in place.  Charlie was very good at this part.

Now all they need is the water for the moats!

Beach Lounger

Our little Kate still is not a fan of the sand.  She would play in it a bit, but had to keep her crocs on.  If any sand got on her toes she would have a complete breakdown pointing at her toes.  So, she spent a lot of time lounging on her lounge chair sucking on her two fingers.

Here is our little lounger.  Notice she has her crocs on.

And again.

 And again...

Yet again.

Maybe she learned it from her Daddy....

The gorgeous Cayman Islands

Our family just got back from 11 days on Grand Cayman.  It was a wonderful family vacation in the one of the most beautiful destinations I have ever been.  The beach was just gorgeous.  Our hotel was quaint and catered to families like us.  We had a two bedroom suite with a little kitchenette so we had a refrigerator, toaster and microwave.  Made our vacation nice and easy!

Considering we have a bazillion pictures from our trip, we'll have to break up the postings.  Here is the beautiful place we stayed.

View back from the beach of the hotel and pool bar (with swim up area).  Right after we got there Paul and Charlie went down to the swim-up bar.  Charlie had an apple juice and Daddy had a beer. 

The beach.  

Paul and I could have stayed here all day every day.  The kids loved the pool and their daily motto was "pool first, pool first."  Why go to a pool when you have this?!?  Being the good parents we are, we compromised each day and spent time at both places.

More beach

You could see the cruise ships in the distance when they were at port.

View of hotel from the beach.

The people who lived there were so incredibly nice and proud of their island.  It was extremely safe and every night we walked around with the kids before we would find a place for dinner.   

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins

Every year we take the kids to the Elgin Christmas Tree's fall festival.  They have a corn maze, tons of pumpkins, a fun hayride, face painting, a petting zoo and lots of other things that the children love.

A couple of weeks ago we went after Charlie's soccer game.  I should note that the town of Elgin is also famous for their sausage, so getting Daddy excited to go was very easy after we told him we would eat lunch there.

Here are some pictures!

It was very hard to get a good picture of the two of them.  Kate wanted no part of sitting still.  

Here, Kate was up and running before I could even get my camera on!

Here is a picture of them last year so you can see how much they have grown.

Apparently, getting a picture of them together last year was just as difficult. :-)

After we saw the pumpkins, the kids saw some of the animals in the petting zoo.  No fear Kate had to held back from putting her fingers in all the animals' mouths.

Then we took the hayride throughout the grounds.  There was a spooky trail we followed with lots of Halloween decorations.

After the hayride, the kids got to go on a ride and play on the playground.  Charlie got to play on all the old farming equipment.  

By that time Daddy was begging for sausage so off for lunch we went.  A very enjoyable beautiful fall day in Austin!

Crowe's Nest Farm

Charlie's class had a field trip to Crowe's Nest Farm.  Since Kate was in school Mommy got to come as well.  It's a big farm about 40 minutes outside Austin.  They have turtles, snakes, cows, bison, ostriches and a lot of other animals that have been rescued from the wild.  We had a picnic lunch and then went and explored the farm.

Eating up his lunch with friends

Some of the boys in Charlie's class holding hands.  So cute. 

Climbing the fence.  Boys will be boys.

Charlie and Alexander putting on their "listening ears."

Checking out the snakes with his buddy Avrum

The boys holding hands again

Watching the demonstration of a cow getting milked.  Charlie did not seem to keen on the whole process.

Class photo

On the hayride

Bison

Ostriches.  And my friend Marilyn's head. :-)

Beautiful Austin Weather

We are in the season where the weather in Austin is just absolutely perfect.  Our favorite thing to do during this time of year is spend as much time as possible outside on our deck.  We eat outside every night and the kids love to play around in their cars (thanks Mema!), watch for deer, bunnies and squirrels, or collect acorns that fall this time of year from our oak trees.

Standing on the table.  She knows she is being a stinker, but she is so darn cute what's a parent to do?

Mommy stealing cuddles

Being very silly with Mommy.  Charlie has Kate's doll's pants on his head.  

Silly girl again!  

Thomas The Tank Engine!

When we heard that Thomas was coming to a town near Austin, we knew we had to get tickets.  What was supposed to be a fun day for the family, turned into a Daddy-Charlie day because Kate was sick. :-(

Daddy and Charlie headed out to go for a ride on Thomas the Train.

Here he comes!

All aboard!

Charlie so excited to be on Thomas the Train!

When they got home I asked Charlie to tell me about his day.  They had to leave straight from Charlie's soccer game and were in a bit of a time crunch.  Apparently they went through Terra Burger drive-thru and Charlie got to eat in the car!!  I kid you not, I think this was the highlight of the day for him.  Eating his burger and french fries in the car.  Yes, we are a bit of neat freaks....and yes, Paul more so than I am. That and the M&Ms that Daddy bought him for the car ride home were highlights of his day.  Well, I think having Daddy to himself all day was the very best part.