Boys

We had another first at our house last Friday night. DA had gone to a friend's house to spend the night so that she could go play ultimate frisbee early Saturday morning with the friend a bunch of other theatre kids. This left DB home alone (with me, John, and eventually JB when he got home from work). She asked if a friend could come over and watch a movie...sure...friends do that all the time. The difference was this friend was a BOY! And not just any boy - one who likes her. He's really nice and polite, and truth be told she probably likes him back a least a little. But this was the first bit of teenage romance her daddy has seen involving her! It was NOT easy for him. The boy had an arm around his little girl! And they were sitting next to each other in the big cushy chair watching the movie - close together.

I went to bed, but it seems that the evening went along smoothly; even after JB came in and did the big brother thing. John was able to relax and leave the kids alone long enough to go out and practice his trumpet. He didn't do any of the things he considered through the years to embarrass his daughters when they finally had boys come over. (He did tell her that all boys are "evil" the next day at lunch.) I was proud of him. He was a calm, quiet, restrained father of a couple of beautiful 15-year-old girls.

Ahhh, our baby girls are growing up!

More About Learning to Drive

A couple of weeks ago it was raining pretty hard on a Sunday afternoon, so I decided to take the girls to drive in the rain. There wasn't much traffic, so I thought we'd probably be safe. (We were.) Daughter A got to go first. We ran to the car. She started it up; pulled out of the driveway and said, "Can the windshield wipers go any faster? I can't see anything." They couldn't, so I just told her to take it slow and easy. We meandered through the neighborhood with her complaining about having to drive. My girls NEVER complain about that. They BEG to drive at any opportunity. When we got home, DA ran in and sent DB out - I stayed dry in the car. DB turned on the car; pulled out of the driveway and said, "Can the windshield wipers go any faster? I can't see anything." Again they were going as fast as they could, so I just told her to take it slow and easy. Again we meandered through the neighborhood with her complaining about having to drive.

Sometimes it seems like I live each new experience twice - once with DA and again with DB. It gives me the opportunity to try things out and fix them with the second child. I just have to make sure I alternate who goes first.

Jethro the Jeep

JB loves his Jeep, Jethro. Jethro is red and cute and has spent most of his summer with his top off (as has JB). According to JB, Jethro likes to play in the mud, but central Texas has been in a drought, so he hasn't had many opportunities. The few times it has rained since he's had the Jeep, he has tried to go get muddy. Every time (or at least most of the time) something has happened to Jethro - doors crunched, tailgate crunched, 4-wheel drive went out. I don't remember what all has gone wrong, but there always seems to be something. One day last week one of his friends (who also has a Jeep) went out to play and got stuck....JB to the rescue. But in the process of saving the friend he banged his own Jeep up yet again; he knocked off one of his side mirrors and messed up his relatively new top. I was kind of frustrated by the whole thing, but he very maturely responded with, "I've come to the conclusion that if I'm going to play in the mud, I'm going to have to fix something. So I can't go out if I don't have the money to fix it." WOW! I'm so proud that he's growing up to be a such a responsible man. He is still a kid, though, and I'm sure he'll act like one again.

Homecoming

Daughter A and Daughter B had their first Homecoming Dance last night. Only DA actually went to the dance, but both girls got dressed up and went out. And both had a wonderful time. As usual, they are so different that a single activity couldn't have satisfied them both.

The evening began with the girls getting ready - with the help of a friend who goes to another school. DA wore a dress she had gotten for our cruise last year, and looked even better in it now than she did then. Her biggest concern was shoes, but eventually she agreed that the shoes would come off as soon as she got to the dance, so there was really no need to be concerned. DB couldn't decide what to wear and ended up with a dress borrowed from the friend. It looked great on her! (She borrowed some of my shoes.) We did the obligatory pictures in front of the fireplace, and then John took DB out to the Oasis (see yesterday's post) to meet her swim team friends for dinner, and I took DA to a friend's house for dinner and then she would go on to the dance.

At the end of the evening DA has danced the night away with friends and then gone to the new "in" place in Cedar Park - Berry Cool for some frozen yogurt (one of her favorite snacks), and DB had had dinner at the Oasis and played laser tag and bowled at Main Event with her friends. Both got off easier than expected with the expense of the evening. DA learned that dance tickets were CHEAPER at the door than in advance for some strange reason, and DB's meal was left off the restaurant check so she just had to pay for the tip. All in all it was a great night for them. But I still can't believe my babies are old enough to be going to Homecoming. I'm just not that old!

A Dream Come True

I finally got to go to the Oasis. If you don't live in Austin, I'll fill you in... The Oasis is a restaurant out on Lake (Pond?) Travis that is famous for being a great viewing spot for sunsets. It opened my sophomore year in college (a long time ago!), and I've wanted to go since then. It was once on a list of places I dreamed of going to. A few years back it burned down - at least part of it burned. And I thought my chances were over, but the owners rebuilt. Last night I got to go!

As promised the food wasn't great, but the view was pretty. It was nice to sit outside and enjoy the fresh air. The sunset wasn't a particularly inspiring one, but it was nice. The company was great! John was with me. Daughter B put a bug in his ear last week about me still wanting to go there. She was planning to go with her swim team for Homecoming, and I mentioned to her that it would be sad if she got there before me. So she took care of it.

Actually, the best part of the experience was the fact that the lake is so low. I don't find Lake Travis to be particularly pretty - it's brown and dirty, and just not my thing. But with the lake down almost to it's river channel, it was interesting to imagine what the area might have looked like 100 years ago before the dam was built. Imagining how the Colorado River meandered through the area was fascinating to me. Where would animals have lived? What about people? What did the lake bottom look like when it was covered with trees and brush? Did the Colorado River narrow like the Pedernales to a trickle in drought times like these? Or was it still a decent size river? I need to go searching for pictures and documentation....I'm curious.