Here is a quick overview of our stay in Austin with Andy’s family over the holidays. We have many more photos to publish for each activity.
The plane from Lihue to Phoenix was less than 25% full and everyone got a full row to lay down and sleep. Leilani got to visit the pilots while boarding and her immediate question was “Can I push buttons?”
After we arrived in Austin we took a short nap, ate and went to midnight mass. After some fussing, Leilani took another nap there…
I made Christmas a separate post. But this is my favorite picture:
I think it was Christmas day that we went for an evening walk to a playground:
On the way back we admired the Christmas lights. Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer were Leilani’s fixation this year. We learned the songs to sing to her, Grandma had the books that we had to read over and over, and she loved pointing them out in all the light displays. On this walk, we let her into somebody’s yard for the photo opportunity:
Jim has a garden, and still harvests arugula, lettuce, carrots, and broccoli:
We visited a few places around town, but in the end didn’t do too much driving–Leilani likes it better that way.
Leilani in the Big City, on our way to the Children’s Museum:
When Leilani saw the motorcycles in the window she immediately wanted to go in (and probably ride the Ducatis…).
At the children’s museum she got to chauffeur the big bus:
The Texas state capitol, seven feet (2 m) taller than the US capitol, as they like to point out. When I took this picture, I was really annoyed at the traffic light. But now that it is fixed it up, it’s a nice picture with an extra big red Christmas light—or maybe a symbolic message for the legislature.
We went to the zoo, my favorite was the petting zoo:
New Year’s dinner, with raclette—YUM!
We went for a few short walks in the neighborhood parks:
