St. Patty's

When I was a kid, St. Patrick's day consisted of nothing more than wearing green in an effort to guard against getting pinched by that annoying kid Robbie.  Growing up in NY, there were a lot of genuinely Irish kids who would show up with their "Kiss Me I'm Irish!" buttons, but that was about it.  Not a big deal, holiday-wise.

For the two oldest, I tried to do just a smidge extra for St. Patty's Day.  So for dinner I'd make all the food green.  This was probably more of a punishment than a reward - who really wants to eat green mac and cheese with a side of green applesauce?  (Certainly not Diamond).  But it was something a little different, and for that the kids seemed happy enough.

But the other day the Caboose came home from school jabbering all about Leprechaun traps and St. Patrick Day treats.  Apparently all the kids at school were making traps and expecting treats.  Curse Pintrest!  The Caboose set up a trap consisting of goldfish crackers and some fake gold coins.  Here's what he woke up St. Patrick's Day morning:

Although it wasn't at all what I experienced growing up, and a whole lot more than the older kids got, seeing my little boy all lit up that morning was spectacular.  Maybe it's because he's my baby, but I am such a sucker for that kid and his twinkling eyes.

I wonder what he's gonna expect come Arbor Day...

Austin

Diamond had a business trip to Austin this spring, and since that was another part of the country I had yet to explore, I tagged along.  (LOVE going on business trips with him!  Other than my airfare the trip is totally free, we get time together checking out new places, but because Diamond has work I get to sleep in and have a little bit of time all to myself - perfection!)

Diamond's business was to attend South by Southwest (SxSW, or South By).  It's a huge conference pulling in tons of celebrities and experts in the fields of music, film and gaming.  Sixth Street (the main bar/club/music part of the city) was hoping with crowds of people, fabulous bands and commercial promoters.  Diamond managed to score me a day pass to the conference where I collected way too much swag and attended a couple lectures.  It was awesome!

As I was wandering around the conference I happened across these two stars from the TV show Glee- a show that I watch regularly despite the fact that it sometimes makes me cringe, but whose music is all over my iPhone.  I also saw a couple actors from the show New Girl.  Cool!

While I was hobnobbing with celebrates, Diamond was hanging out with Captain Crunch.  There was so much promotion of so many different things.  I found it all very entertaining.

As much as we enjoyed the conference, we also wanted to explore Austin.  Here is a view of the river.

We spent one afternoon walking around Austin, checking out UT campus and taking a tour of the Texas state capital.  It was rainy and a bit cool, but I absolutely love exploring new places.  To be honest I was expecting a bunch of obese cowboys, but Austin was full of hip, young musicians.  It reminded me quite a bit of Boulder - very cool.

 You can't very well go to Texas without trying to find a hole-in-the-wall BBQ place and Saltlick fit the bill.  Wow, that place was very, very, um, Texas.  We ate at wooden picnic tables and everyone brought their own beer (like tubs full of ice and beer, coolers full of drinks, etc)  There was plenty of camouflage clothing and an all around laid back atmosphere.  To be honest, I'm wasn't a bit fan of the food - I preferred the TexMex at Chuys - super yum!

 We were only an hour or so away from San Antonio and so we rented a car and went to the Alamo.  There was a ridiculously long line to get into the chapel were the Travis letter was on display.  (As one of the guides was talking about it he was on the verge of tears - apparently Texans take the Alamo VERY seriously!)

 At the long house in the Alamo complex.  I wasn't all that familiar with Texas history, but by the end of the trip it all started to fit together.

At the Alamo

We also went up to the Tower of America while in San Antonio.  Gorgeous views.

 Everyone had told us that in San Antonio, you have to go to the Riverwalk.  They were right, it was fabulous!

 Eating a taco salad with Diamond along the Riverwalk in San Antonio = perfect afternoon.

By the end of the trip, Diamond decided to become a Texan.  Ahh, my cowboy!  Such a great trip!

He's Seven

The little guy turned seven!  He opted for a bit of smaller group going miniature golfing for his party:

He Likes:  Build-a-Bear Workshop, movies, birthday parties, sports (especially basketball), freeze tag, kickball, Texas Roadhouse, Nanna's stuffed potatoes, shopping, remote-control things

He Dislikes: Bananas, not being able to play with his brothers and their friends, getting hurt, sleeping in his own bed, taking showers, getting kicked out of his brothers room at bedtime.

What I love about the Caboose:  Sometimes in the morning, he'll wake me up by giving me kisses.  It startles me every time, but I love it!  He will also randomly come up and give me these super great, strong hugs - pure heaven!  He has a fabulous laugh and is a super funny kid - even if his humor leans toward yucky, boy stuff.  The Caboose is a smart little kid and will surprise me with the things he comes up with.  (Tonight at dinner he used the word "transparent" appropriately).  He can totally focus on something that interests him and is willing to tackle hard things if he decides it's worth it.  (ex:  He is reading the Book of Mormon, already in 3rd Nephi.  He doesn't understand most of it, but he is faithfully reading each and every word). 

He's an all around wonderful person and I can't wait to see what he becomes as he continues to grow.  Love you buddy!