Alex and ben at their first Triathlon

My triathelets..

when they had both finished, we got a photo of two happy boys

in the line for there chip ankle braclet

Alex finishing his 200 m

Alex walking after sprinting down the home run of his 2km run

Alex at the end of his 6km bike ride

I am was the cheering party for Alex as he likes being cheered on, and Allan was for Ben as he would prefer no noise at all!!! We had a great morning, all be it early as we had to be on site by 6.15am so we could be marked, chipped and set up the transition area, but that was all managed, and we all learnt a lot. so the next one will be easier..

Is it too cold to swim

So Ben and Alex have been wanting to go in the pool, we have been saying it is cold..well the pool might be but the outside temperature has been in the high 80's and crossing into the 90's, so we just let them go. Allan was even brave enough, although he will confirm, it was cold!!
Ben was reminiscing yesterday after school that he likes diving deep in the summer as the water down there is cool and on the top of the pool it is just too warm to swim in, but he was not having that problem this week he said. I just laughed and asked what it was like down deep and he said too cold for his ears. They all had fun, now I suppose as the pool season gets nearer, i will have to get down there and sort the furniture out and sweep of the rugs and make it look lovely again..I love our pool and we have shade and beautiful furniture this year so it will be a lot of fun.

Ben contemplating the deep end

he is not sure..telling me it is colder

he started in the shallow end

then rushed out again..

Then alex joins the fun

Allan, the hero just dives in from the side

when he surfaces...cold !!!

Alex teases us on the board..but would not dive

he keeps looking, but by now knows this is not warm enough for him

Tex on the other hand, no problem at all- straight in

then it is time to collect all the pool toys and head in

Why did we throw the toys in??? cold to retrieve

Tex is happy to get her bone, and just ignores the other things

one happy Benjamin

What a day

What a lovely evening, we had bison and cranberry burgers .. Salads, pork loins with rub.. Veggie kebabs, wine, wine , wine.. Great time by all .. Loved it.... Heading home , long day but a perfect ending.. Friends certainly make life's journey worth it...... I love my family and appreciate my friends so much ... Thank you Alan for letting us descend and doing all the cooking ..again..very nice..enjoyed the home made burgers as well..


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Our weekend

we have had a lovely family weekend with not a lot of stress which is great, I was at a craft convention on Friday and Saturday with a friend, Jo Ann, which we enjoyed, it was down at San Marcos. Allan collected both sets of children on Friday from school, and Jo Ann eldest Bonnie (3rd grade like Alex), was very impressed that he cooked fresh chocolate chip cookies when they got in from school...i will not ruin her image of him by telling her truth...she has made her dad feel quiet inferior..Jo Ann and I are still laughing..kids, got to love them.
The kids had homework over the weekend which they did with out too much stress and they all enjoyed their games consoles..which are banded from Monday to Thursday nights...my way to focus them during the week.
We enjoyed a leisurely time with lots of meals, walks and slobbing out, the weather was wonderful and it was one of those weekends that you start the week feeling like you actually had a weekend of relaxation.
Cara is settled in to Uni curtsy of Alison, so thank you very much Alison...i think she is having lots of fun getting to know her new flat mates and the reality of lessons I think starts tomorrow, but not actually sure...just letting her roll..this is her time to branch out and have some freedom in a very different way...in the all American way...Go Cara ...
next weekend is the Pecan festival down town, the following weekend is ACL..Austin City limits, which i am going to with a friend, and Alex and Bens launch of the Marathon for Kids..all go as normal..Austin is great for things going on and now we are cooling down..many more things are happening.

Mothers day

Today has been broken down into segments really, first of all I had family time with breakfast in bed, some lovely presents and cards and cuddles from my kids, then we went off for brunch with Diana and her troops, then just the girls went off to see Cinderella at the Long Centre, then back for a barbecue to diana with all the menfolk as well.

So here are some photo's from today.


The end of the day at Diana's

At the ballet, car is modeling Sammy's new ballerina skirt!!

Just before we went in to the ballet we walked around down at Zilker and watched the kids in the fountain. This is Diana and I, and then some of us all.

We had Brunch first so here are some picture for you from that part of the day.




So there was mothers day...very hectic in one way but actually relaxing and very enjoyable. It was lovely to have the children all around be with friends and not be rushing places. Allan being absent was sad, but will make his return all the more enjoyable.

we are still here!!!

I thought since I had not updated the blog for a while, I would start with the weather, as it is sooooo nice to be warm/hot all the time. we are not bored of it yet. This is for this week, and I will have to confess to turning the aircon on now, we try and keep the house cool with blinds, fans and not leaving doors open, but the time has come when the AirCon unit is needed.

The children and i went to breakfast at IHOP on Sunday which was fun, I would not want to go often but they do so love it. IHOP (Internation House Of Pancakes) is open 24 hours a day all year round, it never closes!!!, we then went of to Zilker park to throw sticks for Tex in to Town Lake and let Alex and Ben swim in Barton Creek, the rest of us were happy to paddle/or wade.

I have promised we will go down next saturday and go out on the kayaks, we will see if Tex is steady to boats!!! we are going to take apicnic and spend the day down there.

Sunday is Mothering Sunday car and I are off to see Cinderella at the Austin Ballet with Diana and her two little princesses, which will be fun, we are at the matinee performence, i will update you after we have been.

Jack turns 15 tomorrow so we are gearing up for that at the moment as well.... it will involve a lot of steak i can assure you. We are off to a steak house for tea with Jo and Alan, John, Diana and the princesses, so tomorrow night jack will get his 20oz steak he enjoys, followed by birthday cake galore.

School is nearly over for this year, so we are having all the end of term things happening, field and track event is on Thursday, they are creating T-shirts this week, I will try and keep you updated on there activities as well.

allan took the boys to camp mabry a few weeks ago, where they had Apache helo landing and taking off, live reinactments of the war, so Alex and ben are now into digging trenches and trying to make Shell craters in the back yard...so much fun..it is good we are short of rain and the ground is rock hard.

well i must get on with the day, more update will flow now

Zilker Park

Benjamin having loads of fun
Alex running through all the water, making an awful lot of noise it has to be said!

I got them all to pose for me, Tex included, she was starting to get tired now from the swimming so happy to sit and be cuddled.
Tex in Town Lake fetching sticks we were throwing in for her. It was the first time we had taken her to Town lake and let her in the actual lake, last time she stayed on the lead and went in at Barton Springs, where the dogs are allowed to go. I will write another article on Barton Springs, it is an amazing place.
Anyway, fun was had. we had gone for a walk with Tex, but as usual A and B's enthusiasm for life wins the day. They have a lot of energy- until they decide piggy backs are needed, or on the shoulders, which I have to say Alex is VERY close to not being able to go on my shoulders. I could feel the weight of him push me through to Australia- maybe Australia is not below me any more!!! Anyway the point is that boy is getting BIG. he is counting down to his birthday now big time.
They enjoyed the walk, climbing the sides of the walks( with me cringing and Allan blase), going in to the Lake as well, which was very pleasant temperature actually and then the fountains designed for the children to play in, then the play area back by the car. They have energy. This was after a sleepover at our house the night before with two friends and not going to bed until midnight.