I can't figure out how I forgot to mention that my youngest sister and her family visited us in June. It's been so long since I've seen her she's had THREE children! Talk about time for a reunion. She and her family drove from Kansas to San Antonio's Sea World and we're so glad they made a way to stop in Austin on their way back home.
Y'all know how hard it is to get lots of people -- especially little people -- to sit still for a photo, right? Here they meet Alex before he has to go to work. (also, for those who've been asking, this doubles as a photo of our new living room)
We took these five cutie-pies to one of Austin's favorite dessert spots, Amy's Ice Creams. We're pretty excited that our new place is only a few blocks away from all 350 rotating flavors. Luckily for us, we were served by the world's most entertaining ice cream scooper. You might not be able to tell in this photo, but the server, in fact, flipped a scoop of ice cream through the air for Andrew to catch in an empty paper cup.
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| Andrew catches his ice cream scoop mid-air at Amy's Ice Creams, Burnet in Austin |
Between the server's show and the outdoor playground, Desiree's kids barely cared about the actual taste of the ice cream. Hopefully they worked off most of the sugar rush in time to sleep their way home to Kansas.
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| playground at Amy's Ice Creams on Burnet, Austin |
Next?
A few Mondays back I shared how-to links to throw your own Lowcountry Seafood Boil but I forgot to show you proof that we enjoyed our very own feast not once, but TWICE, during our New York vacation.
Proof #1: Todd and Young-Mee's meal for the Hill family vacation -
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| Old Bay Seafood Boil for a family of 20! |
Proof #2: Our friend Scott treated us to a privately-catered affair at the cabin
More vacation left-over stories: In last week's 7 Quick Takes I told you about the winery tour Brian and I took at Seneca Lake, but forgot to show you our photos from the Morning Glory Bed & Breakfast in Trumansburg where we spent the night.
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| Our hostess Laurie set this gorgeous table just for Brian and me! |
Every time we make plans to stay in a B & B I get nervous about staying in someplace unknown. Every time I come away thinking, "why don't we do this more often?!?". The quiet of staying in a home where someone else has done all the work of thinking about our comfort and rest always refreshes me. The Morning Glory Bed & Breakfast in Trumansburg was one of our best experiences yet. The owner, Laurie, took care of every need without intruding our need for privacy. Then, when we were ready to chat, she joined us in a hearty conversation about beauty, society, and heaven. Thank you, Laurie!
We walked in, saw this, and knew we'd ended up in the right place.
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| The Rongovian Embassy in Trumansburg, NY |
We just heard about a start-up backpack company OAK (Ordinary Acts of Kindness). The concept is cool -- buy a backpack and the company donates a backpack to a student-in-need. Also, each backpack comes with a pouch intended to store items you could share with someone you meet who might need a bottle of water, granola bar, a couple of dollars to give to a homeless person or tip a musician. Great concept.
How did we find out about them, you ask? Well, click through the photos on the site and you just might notice our son Alex and his girlfriend Bekah. You just never know what a day will bring when you've got teenagers in the house.
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| OAK product line |
My friend David -- arts pastor, doctoral candidate at Duke University, Olympics mega-fan, posted an epic video homage to the 2012 Summer Olympics. I watched every. single. one. You should too.
Consider it your 2012 Olympics Pep Rally. Here's one to get you started:
Enjoy a beauty-filled weekend!
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