A Family Week in Austin

Good News:
We got a call one day in May-- "Hey Mom, did you know that Mark will be in Austin the week of June 1-7?"  Nope, didn't know, but yep, we'd move plans around and be there to see him.  After all, Mark is a rare sighting in the US, so we'll show up.   So off we drove along our oft traveled Durango to Austin Route.   We were to pick Mark up from the airport in Austin when he told us not to, because his friend Amber would do that.   Hmmmmm?    Amber?   She's  a college girlfriend that we had been suspecting was back in his picture. And we were right, and very glad we got to see them both during this week.  

 As most of you know our family consists of two 'sets' of boys.  The 'big boys" are John and Matt and the 'little boys' are Mark and Michael.  So the picture above is an almost complete picture of the adult and I-can't-call-them-that-any-more "Little Boys" et al. John and Matt aren't in the picture because they weren't in Austin.  Lindsay is missing because she was working.  But, yipee,  Amber IS literally and figuratively in the picture, and aren't we glad to have her back?!    So above,  from left to right:  William (Michael's son), Mark, Amber, Michael, me, Bill. 

And below here's one photo of  just the 'little boys".  This pose is almost iconic in our family.  I bet that I could dig up a similar pose at many ages -- right back to the cradle(s).

The Route to Austin:  No matter what you do, West Texas is between SW Colorado and Austin.  You have to drive through it.    This time we veered a little south from Lubbock and explored the charming city of San Angelo, TX.   There we found sheep statues all over town because it is a very large producer of merino wool.  Our best finds, though,  were a dedication to sandy mosaic street art and a nifty library with a great vegan restaurant in it.  We're always looking for good vegan meals, but this is the first one we found in a library.   

 

Saying Goodbye to Austin

This extra Austin trip was a chance for us to say goodbye to our Austin trips.  About a week after we left there,  Michael and his family moved on to his next post.  Lieutenant Colonel Michael Miller will assume duties once again in Fort Huachuca, Arizona; William will enter 5th (!) grade  in a post school  and Lindsay will continue her on line work.  Before leaving,  Lindsay arranged a roller skating party for William.  It was a surprise for him that his friends were there.  He had a great time and was touchingly grateful to his Mom for arranging it.  

Before the skating pictures, a multiple choice question for you*:

This picture was snapped by Amber as we were all leaving for the roller rink.  In it Mark and Michael are looking at:

a.  Their dad, who has just criticized Michael's speedy driving.

b.  William,  who has just spilled a Dr. Pepper, all over the back seat.

c.  Their mom, who has just discovered she left her phone in a comic book store.

d.  All of the above.

You can leave your answer in the comments below. 

Roller Skating pictures:

Here's William (third from left) with his friends.  Friend Thaddeus  is climbing over the wall.

Michael (l) and Mark

William at speed.

Michael and Lindsay

And of course, Austin means a visit to my brother -- We haven't figured out how many more times we will get to see him.  Its been easy with Michael there, but we'll find a way to get back there even when William isn't there as a draw.  

Joe was always called Jay in his family of origin.  I may be the only one left who thinks that's his name, but I do.   This was his 81st birthday and his son, Jeff, had brought him a cheese burger, fries and his favorite diet coke. Mark brought him Austrian chocolate.

Jay and me:

Jeff, Barbara, me, Bill, Mark and Jay:

Jeff and Barbara and his children,  Carson and his intended, Addie, and Alex and her husband Dakota invited us for dinner at Jeff's new home in south Austin.  Always wonderful cooking and company.   And as always, I forgot to take the picture. 

Soon after Mark left to return to Austria,  Amber showed us her home,  my brother stayed put, William went off to his other grandparents to go to Aviation Camp, and we left for points north.

Retirement Lessons Learned:   There's always a surprise around the corner.

Woyaya!  

 

*The correct answer is c.  D is a perfectly reasonable choice, and the most likely, but in this case, it was only c.