Living in Munchkinland

We had your typical spring weekend. It was busy. We try to squeeze these weekends in at home in between getaways so we can get stuff done. The problem is, we usually fill our weekends at home with super fun things to do. Getting stuff done gets in the way. Here is how we filled our weekend. FRIDAY: I attended a puppet show in Samuel's classroom. I worked. I had a swim party at my parent's house. I hosted an outdoor family movie night which has spectacular weather and a crowd of super nice people and we watched Galaxy Quest which totally cracked me up. SATURDAY: Frantic laundry, music practice, exercise, home maintenance in the two hours before leaving the house. Block walking to gain support for our friend Anne Halsey's school board campaign. Food Stock at the Square to support the San Marcos Food Bank and honor our friend Kyle Mylius. Fantastic cuban dinner at our friends Tom and Odille's house with my parents. So relaxing and delicious! SUNDAY: Fra...

Two weekends ago, Michael and I headed to Austin for the fourth annual Food and Wine Festival. We had so much fun. We've been every year, but this year we changed it up a bit. We bought "all in" passes which got us into the evening activities. We also stayed at the Driskill hotel instead of they Hyatt Regency. They were both great choices. Our room was lovely and it was fun to sit in the bar on Friday night before we went out. The evening events of Taste of Texas, Sips and Sweets and Rock Your Taco were a blast. They were held at Republic Square park and were intimate and romantic. We got to taste each chef's food and take pictures of them and listen to some amazing bands. My favorite moment was slow dancing under the stars to Jamestown Revival with my husband. It was hot and humid on Saturday and I had to take a breather in our hotel room during the day on Saturday, which wasn't actually that bad, because how often do I get to laze around a hotel room...

Both my boys are in the public school system. This is a decision that Michael and I did not take lightly. We tried private school and considered home schooling and did a lot of research. We believe in the value of the public school system. We believe that if caring, invested, passionate parents all put their children, time and money into the system, then we can make that system better. My friend Anne Halsey is the embodiment of that idea. She has three children in the local public school system. She is not a politician. She is a passionate, intelligent, dedicated mother who is willing to put in the hard work to serve all of our children in the district. She is running for our local school board. I am part of a team that supports her 100% and is working to help her win. We have thrown her meet the candidate events, put out signs, made phone calls and emails. I wear her button everywhere I go and try to engage people in discussion about her. I do all of this because I beli...

Samuel has been learning guitar this year. My boys can do whatever other extra curricular activities that they choose, but they both HAVE to learn an instrument. I consider that part of their core curriculum. Davis has been taking piano for three and a half years. I have been seeing major progress this year, especially in his theory, as he is beginning to write his own melodies in his composition book. Samuel has been taking guitar for the last year. It has been a huge struggle. He cried almost every time he had to practice, though he swore he enjoyed his lessons. We weren't seeing much progress. We finally switched him to a new method and teacher and we have watched him blossom over the last month. It's like a light switched inside him. He understands it now. Yesterday, he got a new guitar and new strap and case as he had outgrown his old one. He proudly strummed me several chords and the pride and joy in his face made me so happy. It was a good day in Samuel...

We went on our annual spring family cubscout campout this weekend. We had a big thunderstorm with hail on Thursday and they were forecast more of that for the weekend. We decided to stay home on Friday night and venture out when the storm cleared on Saturday morning. We arrived at McKinney Falls State Park around 9:30AM on Saturday morning in the misty rain and set up camp. We had the youth group site as we were the den expecting the most kids. We set up a nice camp and waited for our friends to arrive. The day cleared up nicely, and the sun came out, and we had a nice day. We hiked with our kids, played hide and seek, made up a skit and song. I played Scrabble with Cheris and read my people magazine in the tent. The kids rode their bikes through huge mud puddles. Violet and Graham were out guests and the kids were so happy. Davis had been nominated to attend a leadership training at the high school with the national honor society and so I had to enlist both sets of grandpar...

Last Tuesday I volunteered to go on Samuel's second grade field trip. We went to San Antonio to the Institute of Texan Cultures. It is a really neat place with some great exhibits. We had a tour guide and stopped at some different countries for a tour and then went out to the "back forty", which has several old timey buildings with tour guides in period costumes. It was an interesting day and I am so grateful to be able to do these things with my boys. I also noted that there is a Texas Folklife Festival there in June that is very appealing.

I really love our church. Our small Unitarian Universalist church is such a gift in my life. They are open minded, kind, intelligent people who all strive for social justice. I joined the church for community and that is what I have received. We have been there for five years and I am grateful that my children are able to grow up with UU beliefs and teachings. I often think I don't have time to go or that is too hard to get motivated by another obligation, but once I am there, I am always so happy. This last Sunday was our flower communion. I took some pictures and thought I would share, here, on this record of our life.