we’re baaaaaack! our big texas trip came and went and we had an incredible time. i was really anxious over the weekend leading up to the day we left because we’d never taken ellie on an airplane before and we had no idea how she’d behave. turns out she was a nearly perfect angel and the flight to austin couldn’t have gone any smoother.

we spent three nights in austin with the seiler family: jeff, denise and their 2-year-old son jaden. ellie was enamored with jaden from the moment she saw him. it was adorable just watching her watch him. oh, and the kisses. there were lots of kisses.

we spent tuesday and wednesday sightseeing in austin. on tuesday we had lunch with jeff and his dad at a restaurant downtown called texas chili parlor. mmm, chili. then we were given a drive-by tour of the university of texas, which reminded me a lot of uc berkeley.

on wednesday jeff took us to zilker park where we saw the barton springs pool, a three-acre swimming area fed from underground spring water. we enjoyed the scenery, and ellie enjoyed getting out of the car and picking up rocks!

from there we went to lunch at a restaurant on lake austin called the hula hut. ryan had fish tacos, i had a grilled chicken sandwich and ellie had her signature favorite, a cheese quesadilla. it was all delicious. i especially enjoyed the “texas martini” jeff recommended … which is actually the same thing as a margarita. silly texas.

after lunch we went to “the last of true texas dance halls,” the broken spoke. i think we we would have sat down for lunch if we hadn’t just stuffed ourselves at the hula hut. instead we looked at all the cool photos and mementos from their famous customers, and ellie had more fun walking around, which, btw, she is getting VERY good at.

we did a little more driving around after that. we did the tourist thing as we drove by the capital building and along the city skyline before we headed over to scholz garten so the boys could enjoy a beer. once again, ellie worked off lots of energy by marching around the backyard picnic area. she also tried to eat a nickel she found on the ground. thankfully, daddy caught her before she could.

we spent our last evening in austin with another night of home cookin’ by jeff, the greatest preparer of meat in all of texas (and side dishes by denise, who ain’t so bad herself).

in all seriousness, though, the seilers are two of the warmest, most welcoming and hospitable people we’re privileged to know. i’m certain we wouldn’t have slept so comfortably or enjoyed such a stress-free time in austin had we not stayed in their lovely home with lovely them. thank you, jeff, denise and jaden. we love you!