saturday, part three

Believe it or not, the grand Easter egg hunt that our church hosted on Saturday afternoon at the Capitol was not the end of our busy day. Later that evening we had a crawl fish boil to celebrate my friend's birthday, but my camera was shelved by then and you won't see pictures from that party.

Here is a look at raucous afternoon hunting and rolling eggs in Austin, TX. Watch how Scout is talking strategy with her cronies before the whistle blows:

saturday, part two

After watching a bunch of four year-olds chase a soccer ball around the field at 8:00am on Saturday morning, it was a relief (in a parent watching youth sports kind of way) to move on to Catcher's lacrosse game where a bunch of six to eight year-olds actually passed the ball to one another and gave off the impression that they knew what they were doing. I was truly amazed that these guys could pass and catch the ball. Maybe it's because I'm a novice to the game of lacrosse...or maybe I don't get out much.

Alas, the Scotties lost (you should have seen the other team--I want to check their birth certificates), but Catcher recovered a ground ball and didn't even flinch when he got laid out a couple of times. Being the smallest guy out there, I could always find Catcher when he was in the game. Just look for the little guy.You don't even have to remember he's number six.

saturday, part one

Yes. We are all busy (except young professionals without any kids--you can't call yourselves busy); however, yesterday felt particularly busy for me. Perhaps it was being on my own with the three children and an 8:00am soccer game, 9:00am lacrosse game and 11:00am Easter egg hunt/picnic at the Capitol with our church. Because I had been building up this "Saturday is going to be a really busy day" thing for whole week, the children adjusted surprisingly well to our morning blitzkrieg. It was only when we found ourselves driving around downtown Austin for 40 minutes searching for a parking place--all the while putting our egg hunt in jeopardy--that the wee ones almost lost it. But that story belongs to Saturday, part three.

Before that, there was this: a dewy, 8:00am soccer game where the children claimed they were "freezing" (it was 55 degrees) and Catcher broke down in tears because his shoes were wet. Scout was in the game the entire first half since we had to split at halftime, and she managed to score her team's only three goals (#mombrag) during her 15 minutes of playing time. We had a late start because the goals weren't up and the fields weren't lined prior to the start of the game, so a few soccer dads had to step up and get things in order.

tgif

"Mom. I feel like this week went by fast," Catcher mused at dinner this evening. He was right (or at least I agree with him). It was the first week back after spring break. It was report card week. The sun was shining, and all of our practices--soccer, lacrosse, dance--took place during their regular timetables.

I also spent a portion of my week trying to look at a house that just went on the market in our neighborhood. Since the average house around here is scooped up in less time than it takes a baguette to go stale, I felt a sense of urgency trying to get in and look at the thing. We had to schedule and then reschedule and then reschedule again (we still haven't seen the house and have no confirmation of a future showing) because the homeowner isn't well. The upside, however, is that I can now stalk the house and drive by it every day (not kidding) and imagine how I'm going to renovate (it needs some work, in my estimation from stalking it in drive-bys) and decorate it. This will continue until I learn that, too bad, it's already under contract before we ever had a chance to step foot inside (frowny face).

So my (blogging) plan this week was to get back to the original heart of my diary by sharing pictures and ideas about the aforementioned house. I imagined that I would be writing about an actual sassy shack. Things, however, didn't work out according to my plan, so here's a picture of Scout from Catcher's school this afternoon. She may have been smiling at 2:45, but when I tucked her into bed at 7:00, she told me how much she hates me. I just hope she gets over it before I wake her up for her 8:00am soccer game tomorrow. #parenthood.

photo(s) of the day

Girl with a dandelion.

poser

On this, the last day of spring break, the sun fought its way through the gloomy clouds that have plagued Austin on-and-off for the past week. I was so giddy from sunshine that I took the kids out for frozen yogurt--okay, I'm a little obsessed with frozen yogurt myself--this afternoon. Since we didn't see a lot of Scout during spring break I asked if I could take her picture after she finished her delicious treat. This was the third or fourth (unsolicited) pose that she threw up. I asked her where she was getting all these poses and she replied "I don't know. I like to pose. I had them in my head. I think they came from a dream when I was like two or three or something."

the second day of spring

Rain rain go away; we've been reading all day.

I'm glad I picked up this 600-page tome on a recent trip to Book People. I didn't know I would be halfway in on this soaking wet weekend in Austin. Scout returned from her spring break adventures yesterday just as the rain took hold of the city. We've been trapped inside ever since.

In addition to plowing through Salinger today, I also read eight library books plus a Frog and Toad to Tillie. Scout busied herself with Nancy Clancy while Catcher read Diary of Wimpy Kid for the 15th time. We also completed a 500-piece puzzle and the kids played architect with their Structures. We managed to get a bit of gambling in too, while we caught up on the current standings of our NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Brackets (Scout and I are currently tied for first place if you're wondering). Only one more day of spring break...let's do this.

south by scrapbook

When you live in this city (and don't leave it during the week of spring break) you have to do something South By Southwest--or "South By" as the locals call it--related. And preferably that something is free because why should the locals pay?

Yesterday we struck out on our first try at a free event. Local radio station KGSR hosts free concerts at the W Hotel starting at 6am during the week of South By, and we totally missed the boat when we showed up with our two children around 8:30. In our defense, last year Alex and I took the girls while Catcher was having the time of his life in Houston, and we had no trouble getting into the event. After being denied this year, however, it seems that we somehow lucked out last time by entering through the VIP entrance without being stopped by a radio station representative brandishing a clipboard. Everything worked out okay in the end, though, because we rode the bus downtown. And what child doesn't love riding the city bus? It was the highlight of the day (and probably the year, to be honest).

Today fared much better for the Wheat clan. Alex was absent (he has an assignment in Durham, NC), but we managed to find our way--alerted by other locals, I'm not that cool--to a free event serving bloody marys and breakfast tacos at 10am. I had just finished up a five mile run around the lake when I got the text from my friend, so I was totally down for hanging out with a bunch of white people jamming out to hip hop. Catcher the introvert even clapped along and timidly swayed his hips as the band chanted something or other about "booty sweat."

princesses wear high heels...

as Tillie informed us this afternoon when she dressed up like a ballerina princess and pranced around the yard in her electric blue tutu and pink polka dot plastic heels. Where did she learn this? I'm blaming the older sister who isn't here to defend herself, but word on the street is she's having a wonderful time in Houston sipping kiddie cocktails while lunching at Neiman Marcus.

In other spring break news--what day are we on now?--Catcher practiced his shuttlecock swing with his dad while I was following the aforementioned princess #2 around to make sure she didn't crack her head on the concrete (at the expense of looking chic). Things are getting wild around here.

green day

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I want to give a special shout out to all my non-Irish Irish relatives (you know who you are). Here in Texas it's hard to find green beer, but there are plenty of green margaritas with which to celebrate. Or you could celebrate by dipping your feet in the pool at the Hotel San Jose like these leprechauns...

spring break, day 2

Yesterday Alex returned on Spring Break, Day 2 and we took our two children (I mean those who are at home with us) for a hike and an old-fashioned picnic. You've seen this place in my photos before, but it's been a while since we visited Mt. Bonnell overlooking the Colorado River. During our sophisticated dinner of baguette, cheese, fruit (and wine for the adults), Catcher commented that he didn't realize there were "so many trees down there" as we gazed upon downtown Austin [pictured above with a blimp floating overhead]. This led me into a philosophical--at least in my mind--discussion about seeing things from a different perspective; I told him to go ahead and stand on the table Dead Poets Society style and say "Oh Captain, My Captain." I think he was inspired. And then he spent the rest of the hike back down the mountain photo-bombing Alex and Tillie.

*No children were actually tossed into the bushes during the photographing of this outing.