ACL Music Festival

We spent the final days of our vacation in Austin where we attended our second Austin City Limits Music Festival.  We weren't sure how it would work with Emily... because weather in Texas in September is typically very warm.  Go figure.  While we were there, we stayed with Jill and Shawn, and it was nice to see them.  We didn't get to spend much time together, though, because we were at the festival until late every night.  I think we may have to get there a day earlier next time so we can spend some time with them.  

Jill and Emily before we headed back home.

Emily, Andrew, and I enjoying some music... while trying to stay cool.

Here's a sight you don't see everyday... a middle-aged, white woman signing the lyrics to N.E.R.D. (rap music)... she was really getting into it.

I never get tired of seeing Emily in her ear muffs... they're so cute.  

My friend, Andi, came on Saturday and Sunday to hang out with us.   

Emily, Andrew, and I outside the festival gates at the end of the night.

Emily and Andi enjoying the shade.

Andrew and I with our oh so cool wet bandanas...

Andrew, Emily, and I at the end of the weekend... we had a great time and are already planning next year's trip.

Another Trip to Texas

We spent the last week in Texas... again.  Honestly, I don't know why we don't just move there... it would definitely cut travel time.  We headed down there for ACL Music Festival (more on that later) and to tackle the huge task of going through one of the storage buildings that has been collecting dust (among other things) for over 7 years now.  I have taken a sampling of photos from our trip to share with you... Enjoy!

When Andrew and I got tired of driving, Emily volunteered to help pick up some of the slack.  It wasn't a total break though, since someone still had to be in charge of the pedals.  Don't worry, we made sure we had her seatbelt on before we left the parking lot.

On our way down, we made a stop at Kerith's house in San Antonio.  We stop by to see Kerith and Cody everytime we make our way down, but we need to plan a trip to spend more time with them next time.

Casandra and Andrew taking a look at the task at hand... we cleaned out almost 2/3 of the storage building by the end of our three days there.  We also managed to make it out of there with $800... which Casandra made us share with her... I guess she deserved it after all of the work she did.

Another room of mess...

Unfortunately, I forgot to take after photos, so you will just have to imagine the rooms without so much stuff.  Aren't you jealous that you don't get to have such fun vacations?  I think this is one instance where I would have preferred  to be at work.

While we were in Beeville, we also got to see Casandra and Matt's house.  It was so adorable... I would share photos from the rest of our time there, but I apparently forgot how to use my camera because I don't have any more pictures.

After we left Beeville, we stopped in La Grange to spend an evening with Aunt April and Uncle Harley.  They finally got to meet their "little princess," Emily.  

After we got to their house, we decided to go on a nature walk... on our walk around the pond, we found a crawdad... and we saw about a million frogs.

Emily getting to know her Tante April.

Emily enjoying another of her favorite past times... eating Andrew's hair.  If you happen to notice that Andrew's hair is thinner the next time you see him, it's probably thanks to Emily.

Onkel Harley and Tante April entertaining Emily while Andrew and I ate breakfast.  

We had such a lovely time there.  I'm glad we made time to stop by and spend a night with them.  I remember going to their house when I was little, and it was awesome to take Emily there to enjoy it too.  

El Paso Trip

Last weekend Emily and I made a trip to El Paso to meet Emily's newest cousin, Layla.  This was my first flight alone with Emily and I was nervous about being able to keep her calm on a full plan with a bunch of other people.  After our first flight, I had already decided to pack light.  I reminded myself that I wouldn't need that book or magazine because it wasn't like she was going to let me read it anyway.  I just took her, my sling, and a few toys to keep her occupied with... and I was very glad I did.  Everything went off without a hitch, and we had a great time.  

This was my first visit to Kathleen and Johnny's house... and also one of the first times I had gotten to spend much time with Johnny.  It seems that every other trip in the past was always rushed and I never got to know him very well... and I am glad I finally got a chance to.  While I was there, I taught Kathleen and Johnny how to use a sling, and we watched the Happiest Baby on the Block video.  We tried out what we learned, and I think we all found it quite helpful... it really worked... we were all amazed.  I highly recommend it.  

Our trip was short, but Emily and I were glad to finally get to see Layla. Here are a few of our pictures from our trip...  

Layla and I getting to know one another.

Kathleen and Emily playing on the chair.

The happy family just before we left for the airport.  Emily and I had such a good time... we can't wait for our next visit over Thanksgiving.

Emily enjoying her new hobby of sticking out her tongue while we wait for our airplane.

Bumbershoot

While we were in Seattle, Emily also had a chance to visit her first music festival.  We had purchased ear muffs earlier this year so we could take her to music events while keeping her ears safe, but the last time we tried to use them we had little success.  She didn't want anything to do with them... probably because she could barely hold her head up on her own (with or without the ear muffs).  But as you will see below, she has learned to tolerate them quite well.  Below are some of our last pics from Seattle that include our trip to Bumbershoot.  

Jamie reading the newspaper to Ike...

Emily and Ike sporting matching muffs... pink for girls, blue for boys of course.

We saw several shows on this sound stage... a few of the musicians came in for a short set that they broadcast live from the festival.  It was very cool to see.  

  

Here's a closer shot of Emily in her cool ear muffs.  They definitely attracted attention.  We had many people ask to take her photo while we were there.  It would be pretty funny to come across her picture somewhere later... let me know if you find one.

Here's the "arts" part of the art and music festival.  These four people would shimmy up the poles and strap themselves in... then they had this dance/show that they put on to music.  They would sway back and forth and interact with each other.  It was cool to see.

It appeared to be quite a workout.  I can't imagine what kind of core muscles they must have had to be able to control themselves on the poles.  

Wouldn't you know that Andrew would find a game of Guitar Hero to play while he was there.  One of the radio stations had a booth where they were letting people battle at Guitar Hero.  When Andrew first stepped up to play against someone, the guy running the booth asked Andrew if he wanted to play on Medium... Andrew said "No, expert's fine...".  He then proceeded to kick some college kids butt... it was pretty funny.  He went back later to play again and the guy running the booth remembered him.  I guess they didn't see too many 30 something Guitar Hero Gods that day.

Danielle feeding a sleepy cuddly Ike.  

Seattle Trip... Part 2

Monday, we spent the day shopping in Ballard and visiting the Locks with Danielle and Isaac.  We found some great toys for Emily and the boys and visited a consignment shop where I got some new baby books and clothes for Emily.  I had to remind myself that we had to fly back and didn't have unlimited space in our bags for too much stuff...  

For those of you who haven't been to the Locks it is basically a ship channel that allows boats (big and small) to travel between the saltwater of the Puget Sound and the fresh water of the Ship Canal connecting to Lake Union and Lake Washington.  I know... doesn't it sound exciting... but it is really quite interesting.  They also have a fish ladder that allows the salmon to migrate.  We got to see a few salmon through the glass that were making their way up to the sound.

Here are Emily and I on our way to the fish ladder...

We saw this sign, so we knew we were close.

Here are a few salmon making their way up the ladder. 

 

Monday evening we went out to dinner with Jan and Jim before they made their way back to Tulsa.  I didn't get any photos of us at dinner, but we did take a few of Jamie, Andrew, and the babies (and a rare glimpse of the large bunny-growth on Isaac's head).

On Tuesday, we headed back out to the island to spend a few days with Grandma and Grandpa Bacon.  Mike, Carol, Randy, Erin, and Savannah were also still on the island, so we spent the afternoon hanging out with them.  We played washers in the back yard and made a big dinner for Grandpa's actual birthday, and played some Mexican Train... On Wednesday, we went out for a walk on the beach where we enjoyed being outside and looked for shells and sand dollars.  We went into town for lunch, and spent the rest of the day at the house where we ended the evening playing Phase 10.  

Here we are on the beach where we looked for sand dollars and other wildlife after breakfast.  

Here is Savannah with some of her treasured shells and sand dollars she found during her trip to the sand spit.

Everyone enjoying an evening of games... we played a long game of Phase 10.  It was a nice quiet evening on the island.

Thursday we headed back to the mainland, driving over deception pass.  Emily was asleep, so she didn't get to see it... she was a little disappointed, but I promised her we would go back there next time.  

Here is Emily with Grandma and Grandpa before we headed back to Seattle.  

Here are Andrew and I in front of Deception Pass.  We couldn't make it much closer than this because Emily was asleep in the car.  Maybe next time...

This is the last picture we got with my old camera... after over 4 long years of service, it decided to call it quits.  We had to make an impromptu trip to Best Buy while we were there to pick up a new one.  

Friday we headed downtown for lunch with Jamie and a trip to the Seattle Library. That evening, we headed out to dinner with Mary and AP.  

Here is Andrew at the library... needless to say, the nerdy engineers had to check out and discuss how it was put together.  It was a very cool building... I think I might go to the library more if we had a more interesting one here in town.

Here Andrew is being attacked by an Ewok at the park.

And Emily is enjoying her first time being pushed in a swing of her very own.

Here we are at Mary and AP's before dinner.  The babies were very interested in the birds.  

Emily is getting acquainted with Jamie and Danielle's dog Lucy.