Sunday, December 19, 2010

This is Austin

We have been trying to get through this weekend, what with sick boys, Mrs. B completing 1st term grades, and all the pre-holiday madness. Today on the way home from helping a friend load an engine block into the back of her truck we saw a sight that pretty much sums up what Austin is all about. We were driving back home to have lunch and I was pointing out how well thought out the bike lane was on this portion of 620, highlighting how the group of cyclist were able to avoid getting "right hooked" because of the design. Then we saw it, or maybe I should say "them." Mrs. B was remarking how the group of cyclists were older, when we rolled by their leader.

He looks like your normal, happy, weekend warrior, and by all appearances he was, but he was also carrying along a friend. (At this point, I would like you to form a mental image of what this friend could look like before scrolling down.)
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I bet you didn't see that coming. I know I didn't. The part of this story that makes it really funny is the fact that for about five miles we kept leap frogging the group trying to get a picture of the doggie co-pilot. After five failed attempts using the Iphone, we floored it to get home and get the Nikon. After rushing into the house to grab the camera, I set up on the corner near our house, that I figured they would pass. About thirty seconds later the group came around the corner with the lead dog out in front. By this point the guy was laughing pretty hard because we kept trying to get the picture.

I don't know who this guy was, but he obviously had been out for a pretty significant ride with the group. This guy is representing three of the things that make Austin such an awesome place to live.
1. Bikes - the ATX is the best bike town in America...especially this time of year (it was about 60 degrees when I took this picture at noon).
2. Dogs - dogs are everywhere in Austin....it only seems fitting they are on bikes, as well.
3. Weird - by unbelievably finding a way to combine the previous two, he will also get a shout-out to the weird.

There is no question that Lance is the master of the bike, but I would wager he has never taken his favorite four legged friend for a spin like this.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Home with the Boys

I had an opportunity to spend the afternoon with the boys today. It was an unexpected surprise and we all made the most of our time together. After rushing home midday, we took Mrs. B to work and then came home for lunch. It was like feeding a Sarlacc, food was disappearing faster then I could bring out reinforcements. Between the 3 boys they polished off a helping of mac and cheese, 3 whole oranges, 2 bananas, nearly half a wedge of cranberry cheddar, 3 pieces of toast, and a couple of cookies each. The scary part of the whole thing was "the Boy" ate the least of anybody, I think the Twinkies would have kept on eating if I hadn't just stopped bring them food.

Everybody got a good nap and then we decided to "ride bikes" down to the park. What that really means is that "the Boy" rides his bike while I bring the Twinkies in the stroller. We headed down to do a little swinging.

"the Boy" likes to swing this way, but we did also swing "like Addie and Mina" (ie. sitting in the seat)
The Twinkies are quite content to be pushed for hours and were shivering by the time we left, but they were still both unhappy about having to stop.

Never short on adventure around this place, we ended the night with a bang (or maybe a plop). For the last three evenings one of the twin's has "released some hostages" while still in the bath. The first night, I caught it quick enough to grab Twinkie #1 and put him on the potty so he could finish his business, which he did without a problem. Last night Twinkie #2....well lets just say we had ourselves a Level 6 bio hazard once he was done, and everybody had to be thoroughly rewashed. The quote of the night was from "the Boy" who as we were rapidly removing him from the water said "He didn't make it to the potty tonight momma!" NO HE DID NOT.

Rather then face the possibility of Poop Soup for a third night, I just went the shower route, which everybody was very happy about. We made it all the way through an extended shower without incident, and I took Twinkie #1 to get his PJ's on while "the Boy" and Twinkie #2 finished picking up the toys. When I come back, Twinkie #2 is standing there with this big stupid grin on his face and a pile below him (SEE BELOW). I will admit I was tempted to grab the camera to document that grin, but my inner Mrs. B told me that wouldn't be such a good idea, so I had to settle for a picture once I got everybody clothed and safely away.