Austin, Texas

No, this post isn't about a far-away place across the globe.  This time, it's right here at home in Austin, Texas.  I was a lucky, lucky man to have all of my children under one roof over Labor Day weekend.  It was an unbelievable treat, as they haven't all been at my house for over two years.  Those of you who have kids that have moved away, will know exactly what I'm talking about.  In my case, it's a little more unique.  I have two older children, who are both married.  In addition, I have two younger children, who are 20 months and 5 years-old.  It's an interesting combination - but it works.  My older kids are wonderful, and really make an effort to spend time with their younger siblings.  It makes a father's heart burst with joy ; )

My oldest son lives in Dallas, only 4 hours away.  He and his lovely wife drove down to our house.  My oldest daughter was supposed to arrive that evening, but the airlines delayed her flight and she missed a connection.  We passed the time waiting for her by playing a fun game called Headbanz: Disney Edition:

Basically, you take turns trying to guess which Disney character is place on your forehead, by asking questions.  It's fun and even a 5-year-old can play ; )

When my daughter arrived, we went right to one of our favorite restaurants - Torchy's Tacos:

We took all of the kids to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.  This is a wonderful park in South Austin that showcases much of the native Texas trees, plants and flowers.  It was really hot outside, but we hiked for a short distance to see a variety of trees.  It was a gorgeous day:

G-Man and his older sister

Taken from a tower, showing the view of Southern Austin

My daughter and I, and our friendly cactus

One of the things that the kids were excited about, was visiting new restaurants and food trailers on this trip.  A return to one of the first food trailers were experienced was requested.  We headed for The Mighty Cone:

 The food was outstanding, as usual.  The food is a little spicy.  I'm definitely a "wuss" when it comes to spice, as I was sweating a little with dinner.  It was worth it ; )

Over the years, all of us have seen the famous Austin bats under the Congress Street Bridge.  We decided to take a special approach this time.  We took a leisurely cruise on Lady Bird Lake, in the heart of Austin.

The cruise took us on a gorgeous tour of downtown.  The sun setting over the water was stunning.

We made our way back towards the Congress Street Bridge, where almost 1.5 million Mexican Fruit Bats like to "hang out" ; )  They leave the bridge each evening at sunset.  The event draws hundreds of people every night.  Here are some great pictures of the people lined up on top of the bridge:

We also decided to try another popular Austin activity that, until know, had eluded us.  We took the kids floating down the San Marcos river on inner tubes.  This is a really popular activity, especially when it gets hot during the summer.  The river moves at a slow pace, with gorgeous vegitation lining the banks of the river.

We really enjoyed ourselves - and were smart enough to get out of the water before it got really hot.  Special points go out to my wife, who wrestled the littlest one on the inner tube ; )

The kids even played videogames together.  Here's a short clip of G-Man and my daughter playing with the Xbox 360 Kinect:

Overall, the weekend was just fantastic.  As a coda to the entire experience, my wife took some pictures of all the kids at my request.

Brothers!

The Girls ; )

Sisters!

The Boys