Anne Michal's 16th Birthday Trip Post II

 We had a lot of fun spotting various murals and taking pictures with them so this post is simply those pictures. So fun!

 irony at it's finest

 for Peggy

Anne Michal's 16th birthday -- Post I

  Anne Michal turned 16 on the 16th of July. I wanted to take her on a fun little trip just the two of us so we headed to Austin to spend a night and a couple of days. On the agenda was to stand-up kayak, eat at food trucks, hit the capitol and Presidential library, maybe see campus, and take some pictures with murals.

Our first stop was Round Rock Donuts wehre we bought a couple small donuts...a blueberry cake for me and an apple fritter for her....and one of their giant donuts. The glaze really is orangish in color. It was pretty good though I think we only ate about an 1/8 of it!

 Our next stop was Barton Springs in Zilcher Park where we rented Kayaks and headed out onto Towne Lake. She definitely was better at it than I was but I managed to stay on my feet until we came in to "land" and I hit a rock and fell backward into the water!!! It was way too hot and I needed a cooling off anyway!!!

  Our next stop was to head to a taco food truck that was recommended by a friend. If I had blogged about this when I should have, put the name in the picture, or bothered to look it up I could tell you the name! It was kind of late for lunch and they were out of our first choice so we both got breakfast tacos, split and order of garlic fries, and mexican cokes. It was very good!

 Random photo of horse in the middle of Austin.

 This cracked me up for some reason!

 

Anne Michal in front of the capitol. Thanks to a high school friend (I grew up in KY) whose wife is the museum curator there, we got a great tour. We really enjoyed it and learned quite a bit. The air conditioning was nice too. ;-)

 

 Looking up into the rotunda.  Portraits of the former governors grace the walls.

 Looking down on the Texas Seal.

 Leaving the capitol and looking into the city.

 Trailer park where we ate our second day's lunch. Neither of us could remember the name of the place but we had the best tacos ever. If we go back, we will find it again! We also bought fried oreos from a neighboring trailer called "Fried and True." They were surprisingly good!

 The best taco ever. We still occasionally say, "I'd love one of those tacos!"

 The guy that stole Anne Michal's sprite that she had set down so I could take her picture.

 Looking out from the Lyndon Johnson Presidential Library.

We took so many pictures of murals those will have to be a separate post. We had such a good time; she is such good company and a joy to be around. I am very thankful we had this time together!

When Dad is awy, Mom will play.

Stay tuned...

A Little Pattern Testing Photo Shoot

 I had the opportunity to test a pattern for Annaliese at The Aesthetic Nest.

 The pattern is called the Bateau Neck Top. The first version has a box pleat and faced neck. The second version is a basic boatneck tee. I really like how both turned out. The shorts she has on are from a pattern she already has for sale called the Flutter Top/Dress and Bloomers. They are my favorite shorts! You can buy the pattern here.

 

Little Miss Daredevil Gets Acquainted with Grandma's Tree

   They just don't make trees like this in Texas, people.

 Climbing a tree is a right of passage for a kid.

I climbed a tree like this one almost every day for 2 years.

 I bet she thinks she can reach the clouds.

 

And to 'wing in a tree. That might be the best of all.