A happy busy Labor Day

This Labor Day we went to Austin for Chloe and Bruno's baby shower and house warming party. Total of 17 adults and 6 kids came to their party from Dallas and California. Our previous neighbor Johnathan and Lindsey invited us to stay with them and we happily accepted.

Norah had just started to sleep through the night three times in a row. And we were nervous about this trip that our routine would be broke again. We went after a morning stroll to burn off some of their energy Saturday morning. We stopped for lunch at Waco, which makes a good break for potty and a later nap. The drive went much smoother as I thought as they both slept after the lunch break.

We joined everybody at Chloe's new house. It is in East Austin and is a modern design. The house fit them and is decorated nicely. Jackson met with his "twin" Oscar who was born three days later than him. They started playing together immediately.

Buddies reconnected

We left early to go to Terrazas' house since it's about 45 minutes away. They have a 4 year old boy and 2 year old girl, plus two 13 year old dogs. Jackson was so happy to have two dogs to play with in those two days. He kept on following them and petting them, occasionally annoy them. And the house with 4,3,2,1 year old kids is never quiet.  Jackson told us he didn't want to go home.

What a houseful!

Norah was jealous of all the actions

The highlights of the trip are a boat ride on Lake Travis. The Terrazas belong to a boat club and they reserved a pontoon boat for Sunday morning. The kids are mesmerized by the boat ride, except Norah got a bit scared at the beginning of the loud engine noise and strong wind. We went in for a swim and stopped at the Rough Hollow Grill for some good food.

We also enjoyed the gatherings at Chloe and Bruno's place. It reminded me of how I grew up -- a big house full of people and kids of all ages. People comes in, people comes out. There is always somebody in the kitchen cleaning and cooking, kids entertaining each other without being bored. We didn't get to be there as much as I wished because of Jackson and Norah's sleeping schedule, but we felt the warmth and energy of the party.

We took a walk in the neighborhood of Sweetwater Monday morning before we leave. Austin is growing in front of us. We were not far from Bill and Jenny's old house. We were thinking of them all the time when we were in Austin.

The trip back is not as smooth as heavy traffic added 1.5 hours on our journey and it took us 5 hours to get home. It exceeded Jackson and Norah's good behavior limit in a car. But we are now happily home and can't wait to be back to our routine ... until next time we travel!