Palaestra for Preschoolers

Cy proudly gave buddy Austin a tour of his Preschool.

Balance Beam
The Pit
Trampoline
Trampoline hair
Swimming pool

"Mama, are you the Easter Bunny?"

A fair question considering the tooth fairy failed to provide a "picture or self portrait" along with cash money under Ella's pillow as requested. I explained that she was free to believe whatever she wanted but that the Jones family party line is strictly RABbiT -- especially where little brothers are concerned. Obviously the urge to believe in mythical characters is powerful and so our girl decided to suspend disbelief for another year.

Colored eggs and hair
Khaki and Clancy's Annual Easter Egg Hunt and Brunch epitomizes Austin hospitality.

The Hunt

Cascarones aka confetti egg response

Plate of Bacon

Pineapple Pinata of course
off season santa

Farewell Marvelous March Madness

March gets a gold star for being the best month of the year in my book. A few reasons why this March is no exception....

Standing NUMBERO UNO: Cy was conceived in March! During the Fighting Illini's Final Four tournament no less.
2. South by Southwest! I found that the joy diet of good music permeates every interaction you have all over town. Good times include The Mother Hips (of course), nothing like seeing the college band you fell madly, deeply in love with still playing music after all these years. AND The Hold Steady, think a youngish Woody Allen does post punk encouraged by a very enthusiastic fan base. Mr Mooks was my charming date. I always feel like he's my boyfriend again when we see live gigs together. He grieved his press pass of yesteryear but managed to enjoy himself with the peons this time around. Picture from the East side day party experience...
3. Houston Road Trip with the Perez's: We adore spending time with C and C. They generously showed us around their old stomping grounds. Good times include talking uninterrupted, the Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, a drive by the prep school where Rushmore (one of my all time fav films) was shot, roman artichokes at Da Marco (a dish I hope to master) and Soul Food at The Breakfast Klub.
4. Domestic Bliss: To ease sibling rivalry we've created a little top bunk oasis for Ella. Mookie and Zito are welcome playmates. As for Cyrus, he is technically not even allowed on the ladder.

Enchanted Rock

... a huge, pink granite dome brought out the Indian spirit in our tribe. Cyrus used his "claws" to climb up about 45 of the 450 foot incline and insisted on "hold you" for the additional 405 feet. Ella, our pony girl effortlessly scrambled up the rock and huffed at my calls to "wait for us!" At the top we enjoyed the Central Texas Hill Country view and waded in the shallow pools until Cy's rock and water play threatened our good mood. On the way home I resisted the urge to stop in Fredericksburg for a pint at one of the many enticing biergartens. The sunburn and sore muscles feel good this morning. I'm so grateful for this precious time with the youngins.

Breakfast for Dinner

Over french toast last night Ella filled me in on a secret.

"The secret to being strong and fast is lots of cartwheels, handstands and vegetables and only sometimes eat treats to wind you up."

as evidenced
In other news...

Mr Mooks is carousing SXSW with our good buddy and Wirednews reporter M.Calore. See some of the action including: G-Strings, Frostings Make Perfect Pair at Burlesque Cupcake Cookoff.

nude biker
zito up a tree

Goings On

Fabulous Farmhouse Delivery party complete with delectable gumbo, artisanal brew, animals, music and friends old and new! I may have to defect from Johnson's Backyard garden to Farmhouse Delivery for the local good stuff.

One view
Nice Chicken
Here comes that kid in the orange jersey again
The Beds
In other news we are still working on house projects with the Grand P's and enjoying longer days with friends.

Manicure
Father and Son

Keeping up with the Grand Joneses Part 1

Grandpa and Grandma are visiting. With them they brought handmade wooden planes a la Larry and Summer 08 memory books a la Roberta for Ella and Cyrus. They also brought their unbelievable know-how, phenomenal energy and mid western way of making it all seem unremarkable.

Planning
Supplies
Cold front and insulation
News of Hardware Store replacing Shopping Mall
Grandma facilitates messy projects
...and desserts
Somomores please
Yea Bamboo in the ground

Good Times

For my Birthday this year my dearest, sweetest most generous friend Mary came to Austin for a visit. Over the last twenty some odd years Mary and I have shared sun kissed days in SoCal, cool urban nights in NoCal, collegiate romps in Chico, awe inspiring sojourns to Europe and countless soul bearing conversations and belly laughs. We were traveling very light and did not take a single picture this visit but here are some shots from previous adventures followed by a summary of our brief but delightful Austin experience.

Fountain and Italians Austrian Horses and Wind
Sweaters and Hats Golden Gate Park
We Started with a nosh at Mullberry followed by a show at Lambert's where we caught the tail end of Gary Clark Jr's (one of the most accomplished young guitarists in the country and star of John Sayles movie Honeydripper) charming set and the beginning of the too loud Latin funk band Brownout (subset of Grupo Fantasma who recently backed the artist formerly known as Prince).

The next day before we looped the trail around Lady Bird Lake we witnessed a shaggy handcuffed dude running at full speed down an embankment and through the creek shouting "Viva Revolution... I love my Dog." While the cop took off his shoe's to cross the creek the dripping wet escapee passed us and kindly said, "Howdy. This probably doesn't look too good."

Our afternoon delights included lunch at Cafe Luz's for macrobiotic eats under the shade of a big Oak tree and a spa manicure at Polish. We then checked in at our downtown hotel where we primped for the night. Parkside Restaurant's rooftop patio provided the perfect vantage point to view 6th Street's Mardi Gras preparations. The food was delicious as always but the waiter was too eager to join our private girl party. Our jaunty walk across town to La Zona Rosa gave us a few more precious minutes to chat and gear up for the Lucinda Williams show. Awwhhhh.... Lucinda, whose backing band opened with instrumental covers including Erotic City by Prince and Led Zeppelin's What Can I Do, which was a delightful tease. Lucinda's set was peppered with songs and anecdotes related to her experiences in Austin. At fifty-five Lucinda has earned her rock star stripes and put on a hell of a show. Mary and I sang and danced and hooted are heads off.

After a long sleep in a dark hotel room we headed to East Austin to catch up with Mary's friend from her elementary school days in Dallas. We were treated to a tour of her urban farm where we met a hipster chicken farmer that was due to give a "chicken processing" demonstration to some richie, foodie, greenie folk with the chef from Dai Due supper club. I am delighted to know this gang of gardeners and look forward to spending my Thursday evenings at the farm. Starting in April they'll be hosting a farmers market with music and cocktails by the Tipsy Texan's.

After Taco's at Pan y Vino (YUM) I bid Mary farewell at the airport and drove away, humming last nights tunes and thinking how unbelievably thankful I am for our friendship. Even tho I'm turning 38 with Mary I feel like I'm 17.

Sickies

Runny noses and wet coughs and high fevers Ojoy! I hate to see them suffer and I complain about all the things that are not getting done but I do love having my little bunnies all snug in the den.

Veggie Box!

After months on the waiting list we finally received our membership to Johnson's Backyard Garden and its luscious bounty.

DIY Chore Charts and Placemat

Ella Rae and Cy have taken to checking off their completed chores with dry erase markers. The laminate chart allows us to change the list as needed.
I'm afraid the portable placemat gift for our buddy Miles was not as well received. To add insult to injury our gift also included an arty book "When Louis Armstrong Taught Me Scat." The DIY Joneses were slightly redeemed by the plastic, lighted spinie thingie attached to the hand stamped recycled craft paper present.