Family Fun

We celebrated Ethan's 6th B-day Thu. Aug. 15 with all the decorations, balloons, and of course an ice cream cake.  He must have had about 10 balloons taped to him.  Its always nice that Ethan is here on vacation during his B-day so we can all celebrate with him.

On Fri we fed the kids and gave them baths early, put them in their pjs and went to East Austin for our trailer fest.  Betsy and I along with the kids stayed in our cars while Steve and Scott went into Eastside Kings and ordered food.  I've always wanted to try Paul Qui's trailer and I thought our food was pretty good.  Then we were off to Gourdough's doughnuts.  Joshua fell asleep before we got to Eastside Kings but Noah didn't fall asleep till Gourdough's.

On Sat., we took the kids to Mayfield Park with the peacocks.  Then we headed to Ms. P's Electric Cock (fried chicken)  and then Coolhaus for ice cream sandwiches.  We were all pretty tired by the time we got home.
We went to church Sun. morning and that afternoon Steve, Joshua, Scott, Ethan, and Mia went to see Planes the movie.  It was Joshua's first movie in a theater.  Betsy and Eva came over as Noah and I got dinner ready for the family.  Mom and Dad joined us that evening for BBQ, all the sides, and apple pie.

Steve and I took off work Mon and Tue and we all headed to Hamilton Pool in Dripping Springs.  I've always heard this a must see in the Austin area and now I know why.  It was a 50 minute drive but well worth it.  You'll see the pic below.  Noble Pig sandwiches for lunch.

On Tue we went to Portrait Innovations for pics and then headed to Bull Creek Park where we met Abby.  From there we hiked up the cliff overlooking the Pennybacker Bridge where Steve got interviewed about whether there should be a guard rail since a guy fell off the cliff that morning.  We were on the 5:00 KXAN news.  We then headed to Waterloo for lunch and of course, Gourdough's ( the restaurant) for doughnuts.

On Thu. we celebrated my birthday with Pei Wei and what else - ice cream cake (toffee.)  Pretty delicious.

I feel like this year we were able to get out and see Austin and spend quality time with everyone.  We had lots of laughs, good conversation, and good food.  Joshua and Noah still say Ethan, Mia, and Eva's name all the time and I really think they got to know their cousins in these past 2 weeks.   
Enjoy the pics!!

                                                   Mayfield Park

                                             Hamilton Pool

 

                                            Bull Creek Park

                                    Hike up the cliff

                                   Overlooking the Bridge

                                  Steve's 10 seconds of fame

 

Welcome Christian Michael Varghese!

On July 16 we welcomed into the world Christian Michael Varghese.  He was 5 days past his due date and even with being induced he still wasn't born till late Tue. evening.  He must have Sunil's stubbornness. :)   
Of course, we went to Dallas that weekend and was able to see him on Sat the 20th.  Joshua was very excited about meeting Christian because he loves babies.  Noah glanced at him a couple of times.  He was so precious and cute.  He slept in my arms most of the time we were there.  He reminded me of how I love love love infants.  Can't wait to see baby Christian grow and interact with his cousins!  Such an exciting time for Sunil and Julie! 

Subin arrived in Dallas on Wed. July 31 from Germany.  His 3 year commitment was finally over with one deployment to Afghanistan.  For now he will remain in the States - South Carolina for a 1yr assignment in Sumter.  We went to Dallas Aug 2 and had his Welcome Home/Happy 33rd B-day party on Sat.  All our family in Dallas came that evening and it was so nice for everyone to visit with him and properly welcome him home.

We were unsure if we would even be able to go to Dallas that weekend because Joshua suffered his 3rd seizure on Tue July 30 at Mom and Dad's house and was hospitalized for a couple of hours.  He bounced back quickly but not before Noah also got sick.  Thankfully, by Friday they were on the road to recovery.

The Samuel family arrived in Austin Sun, Aug 11 after spending a week in FL.  Joshua was very excited about their visit and had a list of all the things he wanted to do with them.  Ethan and Mia are almost the same exact height with Mia looking so mature for her age.  Eva is adorable and quiet.  It's going to be fun getting reacquainted with the kids. 
Joshua was able to cross off #1 on his list:  Sophie the train.  And to think we did that on Sun.
Except for Noah and I, everyone else went to Top Golf on Mon morning and apparently had a great time.  We later went to  Rock and River Aquatic Center in the afternoon and got the kids tired out (us too!)  It was a pretty fun time.
Unfortunately, we won't see them again till Ethan's B-day on Thu.  But there's still more fun to be had!