December in Austin

Hazel's motorcycle - it was fun while it lasted.

We had a really fun weekend! We got back from Pennsylvania, where it was cold. Mom had packed away all of our summer clothes and we were getting used to wearing coats and gloves.  Surprise! It was in the eighties this weekend.  What a great excuse to spend a bunch of time outside!

Saturday we had a really neat day.  Saturday morning, Dad took us to the park.  I rode my bike there, Hazel rode her tricycle, and Dad walked.  We played at the park for about an hour before coming home for lunch and then we all napped, which was really nice.

After nap time, we went to the store and bought Hazel her very own bicycle!  She picked out one that looked just like a motorcycle.  It was pretty cool.  She even rode it out of the store.  When we got home, Dad took Hazel and I out on our bikes.  We rode around the neighborhood, showing off Hazel's new bike to all of our neighbors.

Saturday night, we drove to Marble Falls to see the Walkway of Lights.  Mom packed us a delicious and healthy dinner, which we ate right after our one hour drive.  The lights were very pretty.  We all loved it, but I think Turner loved it most of all.  Dad kept saying that there were two million lights there.  We all thought that was very impressive.  Before we left, Mom put us in our pajamas, thinking we'd be fast asleep by the time we got home.  But we were so excited that we stayed up singing the Star Spangled Banner and talking the whole way home.

Sunday, all of us kids got up and climbed into Mom and Dad's bed and just hung out for a relaxing morning.  Chanukah is coming up next week, so Mom pulled out our Chanukah box and we all went through it.  There were some toys, menorahs and driedels.  It was exciting to see all of it.  Then we realized we needed candles for our menorah.  So after breakfast we went to synagogue to pick up some Chanukah candles.  I don't think we had ever been there on a Sunday before.  We got to watch the kids in Sunday school, singing songs and playing.  It looked like fun.

Since the weather was so nice, and we were all ready to play, we went down the street to Central Market and played on the playground.  Hazel and I climbed all of the ladders and went down the slides.  Turner went with Mom to watch the ducks.  Hazel and I eventually joined them.

Soon, our cousins Chuck and Kim met us there for brunch.  It was great to see them again, and Hazel and I were both in a very chatty mood for brunch.  We told them all about the stuff going on in our lives and I sang them my theme song, the Star Spangled Banner.

After brunch, Chuck and Kim stuck around to watch us play on the playground a bit more until Turner and Hazel started getting tired.  There were a lot of birds in the area and as we were leaving we noticed that one of them pooped on poor Chuck's jacket.  We said goodbye to Chuck and Kim and headed for home.  All Hazel and I could talk about on the way home was the bird that pooped on Chuck's jacket.

After napping, Dad made us an orange sno-cone.  There's nothing Mom and Dad can't do with their Vitamix.  Refreshed from my delicious sno-cone, Mom and I headed out for a run.  We warmed up with a walk, then Mom said we could walk when I wanted, run when I wanted and stop when I wanted.  Mom was super impressed with how well I did. We stopped once I caught sight of the playground at the park.  We went almost a mile and a half.

Meanwhile, Dad took Hazel and Turner to the park; Hazel rode her new bike there.  We met up with them there and played for a while.  Mostly, we pretended we were on a farm.  Turner went up the stairs and down the little slide over and over again all by himself.

While we were at the park, Dad realized that Hazel's new bike was too small.  He and Mom were worried that Hazel was going to be really sad when they told her that they were going to need to swap it for a bigger bike, but she handled it like a champ.  Mom went to the store to exchange it Sunday night.

It was a fun weekend.  We'll update you on Hazel's new bike in a later post.