Austin

When Uncle Troy and Aunt Cheryle came for a visit back in May, they had invited us up to their place in Kansas for 4th of July weekend, and we were really excited about the trip, as they had tons of fun stuff planned for us to do. But as it got closer, we decided that it would be too long of a trip to try to make with John David being so little and with the short amount of time that we would have. So we decided to go to Austin instead and visit Adam and Rachel. We left Thursday after Aaron got off of work. After the girls asking nine hundred ninety-nine and a half times "Are we there yet?", we finally arrived around 6PM, and went out to eat some yummy Mexican food. Then we headed back to Adam and Rachel's place to hang out for a little while. The girls had a blast playing on the skateboard ramp that Uncle Adam built in his back yard. Katie loved rolling around on the skateboard, while Sarah thought it also made a great slide. Aaron even tried to see if he could still do some tricks too. He was a bit rusty, to say the least. I'm just glad he didn't hurt himself.



On Friday morning we went to the Austin Zoo while Adam and Rachel were working. It was a small zoo, but very shady, which was nice since it was so hot. And honestly, we think a small zoo is much better than a large zoo when you have small kids. They had a petting area, where the girls got to feed and pet goats, sheep, and llamas. They loved it, especially our little animal lover, Sarah. Several of the goats looked like they were going to jump the fence trying to get to the food. It was funny. They also had peacocks walking all over the zoo, which Sarah loved and pointed out each time she saw one. My favorite animals were the two cutest little ducks I have ever seen!



Since we can't seem to go on vacation without eating at Chuck E Cheese, we had to stop at the one on the way back from the Zoo. Aaron and I were sitting down while the girls were playing, when we heard two very familiar screaming voices. No, they weren't hurt, they were enjoying the "roller coaster ride". They loved it, and probably spent more tokens on it than anything else. It was pretty funny to watch, because they were acting like they were on a real roller coaster. But their favorite thing about Chuck E Cheese that day was buying ice cream on the way out. It was pretty dang good. Nothing beats ice cream on a hot summer day!



That night we headed to downtown Austin to eat at The Green Mesquite, which had some dee-licious BBQ. Like many resturants in Austin, it had an outdoor seating area and a little stage for the live band. Great food and atmosphere. We then went to see the largest population of bats in the United States. It is apparently a big deal, as you can see from the crowd on the bridge, and under the bridge as well. Every evening just before nightfall, they come out and fly to who knows where to hunt for the night. They were seriously streaming out for at least 20 minutes, Aaron says it was even longer. Anyway, it was pretty cool.