A weekend of exploring

On Saturday we went into downtown Austin to look around. The downtown area is famous for its nightclubs, funky shops and trendy restaurants. Austin is known as the Live Music Capital of the World and there is always someplace you can go in the city to hear just about any kind of music.

We strolled up and down the streets and eventually headed to the Capitol building. It sits at the top of a hill on Congress Avenue and seems to look out over the rest of the city. We stopped on a bench in the shade to relax and look at the statues and the gardens surrounding the Capitol before heading into the actual building. Besides the amazing air conditioning (which was reason enough to go there), the Capitol had several small historical exhibits to keep us entertained. The kids stood in the middle of the floor and looked up at the high dome with their mouths open. They walked up and down the huge staircases and counted the stairs (Laine: sixteen, seventeen, twelve, seventeen). Then we found a sandwich shop for lunch before heading home.

On Sunday the kids and I went to a new church. We have been trying to find a church that we like and I think we found it with this one. The music was upbeat and the sermons short and uplifting. Laine actually cried when it was time to leave and I figured that was the best endorsement I could have asked for. Both kids have talked about how much they are looking forward to going back next Sunday.

Today we went to the pool with friends and played for almost three hours. Jared and Laine are both little fish and love swimming. We all have deep tans and the kids seem to get blonder by the day. Afterward we came home and watched their favorite video: Stranger Safety. This is a goofy video (produced by John Walsh) that has Safe Side Superchick telling the kids how to avoid dangerous situations. There is a part in the video where the kids get to yell out, “help, this is not my mom!” when they playact what to do if a stranger tries to get them to go somewhere with them. The kids love it and want to practice this part all the time. Jared even practiced when I was helping him get into the car this afternoon and I had to remind him not to do it in public less I get arrested.