Living in Munchkinland

Did we have winter this year? It doesn't feel like it. We never had ice or snow and I think we only wore our heavy jackets on one weekend. Is this a sweet goodbye from Texas before we leave for Colorado? (no, Amber, the world doesn't revolve around you.). Still, I'll take it. All the trees are budding green and pink. The mountain laurels are full and fragrant. There are already bluebonnets on the side of the road! It was a lovely weekend. On Friday my mama and I went to see Davis's project at the science fair. We ran into our friend Claudia there and so we all decided to try out the new sushi place for lunch. It was very good and we had a wonderful time tasting and talking. That evening we went out to dinner at the Railyard with five hundred of our closest friends! It was crowded and fun and I had lots of drinks that apparently had NO alcohol in them (says night time Amber. Day time Amber disagrees.) The kids ran around outside with five hundred of ...

My Sweet Samuel is not like the rest of us in this family. He is not bossy. He does not need to be the center of attention. He does not crave the spotlight. Because of this, I am afraid that sometimes he does not get the recognition that he deserves. He doesn't really realize how special and wonderful he really is. Case in point- Today, he was recognized as a Knight at his school for the quality of Tolerance. Each month has a virtue that is celebrated and each month one child from each class is nominated to be "knighted" by the Rotary Club in front of teachers and parents and students on the stage and receive a medal. Davis has won this twice. Samuel had never been nominated until today. The nominations are kept secret until the kids come in and catch sight of their parents and grandparents sitting up at the front. Samuel walked in and saw us and smiled and waved, but did not look excited. It wasn't until his teacher stood up and called his name that he l...

We had a really nice weekend. We did. I was sick. I've been sick for all of February it feels like, but I industriously ignored it. The weather was fantastic- sunny and low eighties. On Friday, Michael and I dropped the kids off for a couple of hours with my parents and went out to the new wine bar in town, Dolcetto, to have happy hour with our friends. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to meet up with all of them due to a last minute venue change, but we did spend an hour in the sunshine sipping lovely wine with our friends BG, Cecily and Mike. The next morning I got up early and my mom picked me up and we drove up to Austin for a Lewy Body forum with our support group. My sister met us there. It was a wonderful meeting and we learned a lot. We saw someone who at our last meeting was extremely frantic and harried. This time she was calm and neatly dressed and seemed happy. We asked her what had happened and she said she got hospice! Apparently, you don't have...

We had a lovely weekend in New Orleans. This has been a Valentine's tradition for the last three years and we love it. The kids had a day off of school for President's Day and Michael had the day off. Martha and Clark spent the weekend with the kids and they seemed to have a great time. Martha took Davis to STEM fair and Clark fished with the boys and Davis did his science project with Martha! They played lots and lots of games and took good care of Holly and the dogs and I am forever and ever blessed to have them as my in laws. Michael and I flew into New Orleans early Saturday morning and dropped off our stuff and took off for the quarter. We had an early lunch at the Green Goddess. The sweet potato biscuits were drool worthy, but it was chilly in the shady alley so we didn't linger over lunch. We walked up and down Royal Street, ducking into shops and holding hands, lingering to hear the street musicians. We stopped at Michael's favorite store called Ita...

We didn't go to NOLA this year, but we did celebrate Mardi Gras. I made four homemade king cakes and my friend Anne cohosted the party at her new house. We had a big potluck and watched the parade go by and even participated in it. The sun was bright and it wasn't too cold. We spent all day on the big lawn having a wonderful time. We got there at 10AM and didn't leave until 6ish. It was a splendid day of overindulgence with our friends.