Our last day in Austin

Sunday, March 14:

We woke up to a another beautiful day in Austin, which is good because it's our last day here. We're pretty bummed about that, after being here for three weeks. We've really enjoyed being able to spend time with all of our family, and especially to get to see so much of "our boys." They are all growing so fast and we miss them when we're home! We'd no doubt be even more sad to leave if we were having to head north to cold weather back home. Instead, we will be leaving in the morning for Florida, by way of Greenwood, Mississippi to see our friends, Tom and Anne Flanagan for a couple of days.

Bev, Courtney and I went to Mass this morning, and we let the boys sleep in and then stay home with their dad. Daylight savings time started today, and everyone is dragging, including us, of course! Don't ask us what today's sermon was about, okay?

This afternoon we met Molly and James at a park close to downtown Austin and played Frisbee, let the boys play on the playground equipment, and held Sutton's hand while he walked around and around in a circle. He actually took several steps on his own today, which we caught on video. His steps were honest steps...kinda like the honest steps of someone stumbling out of a bar, and being caught before biting the pavement. But steps nonetheless. We're really glad we got in on that big occasion! I'm sure that two days after we leave Austin, Courtney will call us and tell us that Sutton's walking all over the the house!

After leaving the park, we ventured over to the Hula Hut bar and restaurant. The kite festival was today, and there were people EVERYWHERE, which is why we had opted out of going. So Hula Hut was packed to the gills, as it should have been, given that it was about 80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. It seemed funny to us to see people out boating, and having drinks and food in the sun in the middle of March. Reminded us of the Barefoot Bar scene at Lake Okoboji in the summer! Fun in the sun! Gotta love spring!

Alas, the time came for us to say a sad goodbye to Molly and James, and go back to Courtney and Steve's, where we had a lot of packing up of three weeks' worth of stuff for tomorrow's departure.

We love life in Austin! We wouldn't mind spending some time working remotely from there during the winter in the years to come! We'll see. For now, we're just so thankful for having had this amazing time together with Courtney, Steve, Alex, Gabe, Sutton, Molly and James! We love you guys!