Where did July go?

I really can't believe that it is August already. July was so much fun but went so quickly. Here is a recap of what we've been up to:

On 4th of July, Jake and I ventured out to the Northwest Hills Neighborhood Parade. It was Jake's first parade and he is still talking about it. He loved all and any of the animals involved, the fire truck and perhaps most of all waving his flag.



Even Cow and Morris Stegosaurus enjoyed the parade. They've been Jake's constant companions since Daddy brought them home for him.

On a walk to school one early morning. Jake loved it but maybe because I did all the work.


The next weekend the first of our visitors from Houston for the month arrived. Alex's friend Jen and 2 out of 3 of her adorable kids. Alex and Jen were friends from Alex's year at University of Alabama. They were in Austin for a camp reunion and we had a great time hosting them for a night. Lila and Haiden were so great with Jake. Too bad Jake couldn't be bothered to cooperate for these pictures.



Our next Houston visitors were Todd and Melanie. They came with all the family for Thanksgiving but we were excited to have them come just the two of them. We were so excited to have them visit. They came in on Saturday morning and almost immediately we got right in the car and went to Salt Lick for some BBQ!

Jake and Melanie endure the wait with the help of some popcorn. It's one of Jake's favorites.



After lunch we continued our tour of Driftwood, Texas with a trip down the road to Mandola Winery. Actually they're undergoing a name change to Duchman Winery. We love it there and love taking friends to see this special spot.

This is how Jake rolls at the winery. He was so good and totally content with his "Dinosaur Train".

We've had a bunch of super fun playdates as well this month. We had new friends who just moved to Austin come and visit and our favorite twins, Jonny and Ava (and new baby Dean) came to play. There were also a few pool dates. The last couple of days of July have been hot so we did our best to stay cool hanging out at the pool with Jake's friend Jackie and her mom, Cindy. They were so cute!!



After a pool-side dinner we're heading home for bed! We'll definitely be doing that again soon.


Popsicles are also a great way to cool down in the hot Texas sun. Love how he multi-tasks riding his bike and enjoy a cool frozen treat.




One of the best things about the heat is that it tires him out! Early bedtimes!!

After about 8 months, I finally set up the soccer goal set that Jake got for his birthday last year. Good thing Jake has Alex to teach him a few moves.

Not sure why there isn't sound on this but it is still pretty cute. I think Jake's British grandfather would like to take credit for any soccer skills that he may have one day.


It was a fairly quiet last weekend in July, mostly because it was too hot to do much else. We were downtown at one of our favorite brunch spots yesterday and decided to take a trip down to Zilker Park for the awesome playground and a ride on the train.







August is starting off hot, hot, hot so we're looking forward to heading to Oregon and the beach for a nice long visit. I can't wait for Jake to see the ocean and he's been talking about going to the beach to see seals and to get a shovel for the sand. Needless to say we are excited!

Here are a few other favorite pics from July - Enjoy!