LadyBird Tribute Day

Sunday, the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center hosted a tribute day for Ladybird. The center was open for free, and they had all kinds of events and exhibitions. We went in the morning to try to get it in before nap time and before it got unbearably hot. We succeeded for the most part on the first goal, but for the second one, it didn't seem to matter. :) While the wildflower fields aren't in bloom (it's too late in the season and WAY to hot and dry), there were some other things going strong. And some critters. And a neat origami exhibit. And a scorpion that almost ate Maya!

Customer Service

Tim has an Aerogarden (it's an indoor garden under a grow light that lets him grow herbs and vegetables and such). It was a gift, but he loves it so much he may be looking into getting another.

In any case, he needed to buy some replacement bulbs for the grow light. So he went to their website and ordered them. But when they came, he realized he'd ordered the wrong ones. (His mistake, if you're keeping track.) We located the "right" ones in the catalog (they were a little more expensive), and looked up how to return the others. I called to get my RMA and to order the right ones. The woman on the phone said, "oh, here, let me just have the right bulbs sent out to you at no cost. You keep those other ones. If you come across someone else with an Aerogarden or if you get a new one, then you'll have them."

WOW.

Spaghetti Time!

We enjoyed some spaghetti and yogurt at the Triangle last night. Maya had a good time. Though we've discovered that she does NOT care for public rest rooms. She's started asking to "go potty at home now."

Family Photos

We had some new family photos taken today. I'm not as happy with them as I was with the previous set, especially of the group ones, but there are some pretty decent ones in there, especially of Maya. Here are the digital versions of some of them.

Colorado and Baby Marc

This past weekend, I went out to Louisville, CO to visit Jeannette, Xavi, and their new baby Marc. Marc is (sorry Xavi) beautiful. He also seems to be a pretty easy baby--not overly fussy. :) The Torrents are also beautiful parents. I already have learned a bunch from them (it's true) about patience and getting things done and going with the flow. Marc just seems to be a very natural fit for them. I had a wonderful visit and can't wait to see them again!

Fourth of July with Addie

We spent the fourth of July at Addie's house. James and Laura had some great food and some fireworks for the front yard (Maya did NOT approve), and then we set up lawn chairs to watch the Pflugerville Pfireworks (I can't make this stuff up).

Wonder World

Last weekend, we went to "Wonder World" down in San Marcos, TX. The main attraction is a "dry-formed" cave; basically a space inside the earth formed during an earthquake. The cave doesn't have the wet structures you're used to seeing in a cave (the dripping and the stalactites and stalagmites), and you're allowed to touch the rock. :) The park also included an observation tower from which it was really easy to differentiate the Texas Hill Country and the plains (hence the fault line). It was rounded out with an "anti-gravity" house and a tram ride to feed some goats. It was not a thrilling trip, but a good way to spend a weekend day.

Playing with Addie (Part 2)

A while back, we had Addie over for the evening while James and Laura went to a party. The girls had a good time having fruit, playing the piano, and playing with the kitchen. Addie got tired and wanted to go to bed... way before Maya was ready to stop playing. :)

Playing with Addie (Part 1 of Many)

There are several variations of this post that will follow; Maya and Addie have been seeing quite a bit of each other lately, to their apparent joy. My sister captured this picture the other night of them lounging in a bean bag.

Big Girl

Guess who only had one wet diaper all day today? And that one was after naptime...

CLARIFICATION: and not because she has a "problem." But because she's going in the potty now...

Weekend Time with Dad

I grabbed these photos of Maya having story time with dad yesterday and learning how to play Wii today. (She in fact won the Wii game with no help, except for that her controller/character was on the "Strong" setting and Tim's was on the "Weak" setting.)

LBJ National Park (and State Park)

Since Tim had the day off today and Maya's day care was closed, we decided to do a little sightseeing here in central Texas. We drove out to Johnson City and Stonewall to see a variety of (mostly LBJ-themed) historical sites. We started in Johnson City (not, in fact named for president Johnson but for his forebears instead), where there's a restored settlement.






We also toured Johnson's boyhood home, where he lived from the ages of 5-15 and from where he announced his candidacy for president.

We then drove another 15 miles up the road to the LBJ State Park and National Park (a joint venture that includes the LBJ Ranch). We stopped first to have a picnic.

During the picnic, Maya leaned under the table and said "what's that?" We assumed it was the chip that she'd dropped, but when we looked, it turns out that she'd discovered a beautiful caterpillar (that she was subsequently petrified of).


After lunch, we headed to a working historical farm, complete with all kinds of livestock (pigs, cows, mules, chickens, turkeys, among others) and people dressed in costumes "living" on the farm the way they lived 100 years ago. We tried to get an egg from the chicken coop (but Maya was skittish when the chickens started clucking), saw butter and whey being made, and many other things.


From the farm, we headed to the visitors center and prepared for our visit to the LBJ ranch. They have a very nice setup; for free, you get some paper guides and a CD to use during your drive. You play the CD, and it gives you step by step directions and tons of stories told about times on the ranch by LBJ himself, Ladybird Johnson, and friends and staff members. We saw the house where LBJ's parents originally settled (where he was born), the show barn, a "stampede" of cattle (as much as I imagine cattle can stampede in 100 degree weather), and lots of other buildings.



The tour ended at the "Texas White House" where LBJ ran much of his white house operations (it has its own landing strip, so Air Force One could practically pull right up to the house). The Johnsons retired here when Johnson's term finished; they've only recently opened up four rooms in the house (including his office), but are returning all of the rest of the house to the condition and furnishing it was in when he lived there for the 5 years between the end of his term and his death.

For this trip in EveryTrail, click here.