Saturday, March 27, 2010















































































BIPPY'S 70th BIRTHDAY PARTY

Our Bippy is having a big birthday this year. The event warranted a celebration so we gathered the family and Bippy's closest friends in Austin together at Chez Meroney for a little dinner party featuring all of his favorites - steak, ceasar salad, cheesey potatoes and creme brulee cheesecake. Super yum. Uncle Russ, Aunt Amy & Russell came down for the occasion and the boys had their own little party in the gameroom while the big kids ate. They did come out to help sing & watch Bippy blow out candles. It was a quick trip but Cal & Griff are always up for a cousin fix so they had a blast with Russell. We haven't been swimming in a loooooong time and it is almost warm enough so everyone was pretty giddy to dip their toe in the water. Cal even got in up to his waist. Happy birthday, Bippy!! Good times....
b

Monday, March 22, 2010


























































































CAL'S FIRST SOCCER GAME
So, it happened. I'm not sure when. But my baby grew up. Cal had his first official "team" soccer game this weekend. We found a league for 3 & 4 year olds that is a great "starter" league - all players play an equal amount of time, the only "practices" are 30 minutes before each game on Sunday afternoon - a very laid back time slot. We bought athletic shorts, shinguards, tall socks and new shoes. It was both sweet and sad. Sweet because all the players were 3 & 4 yrs old and not real good at soccer but loved running around on the field and pretending to be. Sad because he's now officially a "big boy" doing big boy stuff. I'm trying not to be TOO sad about it b/c they really didn't act very much like big boys. The majority of them cried at some point in the game (including Cal but only once and just for a few seconds out of frustration and not pain - which is good, I guess?) and several of them really didn't want to leave their parents - Cal had no problem with that part. Only 2 of the 8 or so players on our team showed any real skills as a player - and one of them was at least a foot taller than all the others and HAD to be at least 4 and a half - he scored 5 of the 6 goals! I'm certain this is his 2nd season. The other was Cal's best friend Brady from his class at school and he scored the other goal. So....already we have some catching up to do. :0)

Cal did OK, mostly paid attention, mostly did what his coaches said, and seemed interested. It was sunny and about 60 but SUPER windy and felt really cold as a result. Cal complained that he was too cold the last 10 minutes of the game and sat out most of that time. His main problem was that he lagged behind the crowd and didn't really get much time with the ball. He told me later that the other boys were "too fast" for him and he couldn't keep up (which wasn't really true - he kept up pretty well, even when they were running). He then said that the other boys were mean and didn't ask him if he wanted the ball or if they could take it from him. Which made me realize how ridiculous it is to go from a constant barrage of "Cal, no hitting! Cal, don't steal toys from your brother! Cal, please ask before you take something from somone else" to "Cal, get in there! Steal the ball! Take it away! Shove those kids out of the way!" Anyone see a conflict here? So in some ways I feel a huge victory in raising such a polite, well-mannered, sweet boy who does what he has been taught by mom and dad. On the other hand, I'm wondering how we are going to balance those manners with the heart and soul of a champion who will earn a full college scholarship in some yet-t0-be-determined sport??? Your feedback is welcome here. For now, I'm just glad he enjoys it and didn't cling to his daddy the whole game. He's #45 in the dark blue jerseys in these photos and, yes, that's dad in a red jersey being one of the coaches - enjoy!

Saturday, March 20, 2010































































































































































































NOT OUR FIRST RODEO















This was our 2nd trip to the Austin Rodeo but the boys enjoyed it a lot more this year! We spent some time in the barn with the animals first and watched some sheep-shearing which was interesting.!? Then we made our way to the arena and watched the big show - bronc riding, mutton busting, barrel racing, bull riding and calf roping. THey liked it all but were getting pretty restless by the time we left (before the concert). While we were walking around to stretch our legs, Cal found a big boy cowboy hat he liked which, of course, mommy prompty bought. Who could say no? It looked just like daddy's. We enjoyed the mandatory corndogs and popcorn as well. The boys were a hit and made new fans in the audience all around us. The boots and hat were a HUGE hit - we can't get them to put them away.

Sunday, March 14, 2010















































































KITE FESTIVAL 2010
Every year in early March there is a huge Kite Festival at our main city park - Zilker Park. The kids love it and it's a great excuse to get out of the house, especially if the weather is good. This year we are pretty sure the boys enjoyed the park & ride via yellow school buses more than the actual festival. Griff is fairly obsessed with buses and loves to point them out everywhere. So when we got to ride on one it was pretty big time! They also enjoyed the popsicles at the festival. They did not enjoy the 20-30 minute line to go down the inflatable slide three times or spend 2 minutes in a bouncy house. Give me a break. Anyway, there were a lot of cool kites and gorgeous weather (after a 1 week posponement for a rain date). We're glad we made the trip.