Last Day of Summer

As I lay in bed waking up this morning, I realized it was my last official day of summer with Anna, as her preschool starts next Monday. Sure, I'll still have weekend days with her, and it'll still feel like summer here in Central Texas until October, but the laziness of summer will be gone. So I sleepily made big plans.

After breakfast, we went to the Rec Center, so Anna could see Ms Anja, one of her favorite people, and so Mommy could get a work-out. Afterwards, we played basketball in the gym and Anna ran around the track. I asked Anna where she wanted to eat lunch, and she said, "I know... CHUY'S!" I really didn't have a sit-down restaurant in mind, but she said it with such awe and passion, I couldn't talk myself out of it.

Taking 2 small children to a real restaurant by yourself can be like asking for a big serving of indigestion and public distain. However, I had a good feeling about these two little people, and they came through for me. It helps that Chuy's is loud and irreverent, and that the kids LOVE the food, and that they serve chips immediately. Anna said please and thank you to the server, and Colin stayed strapped in his high chair. He asked for seconds on "guacamole - with chips"!

After we stuffed ourselves, we went swimming at a natural swimming pool in Austin, Deep Eddy. It is spring fed, so no chlorine and it was COLD (though not as cold as Barton Springs) - perfect on this hot August day. The water was so refreshing and didn't reek or dry you out like the chlorinated kind - it reminded me of a lake and I wanted to pee in it (but I refrained). After the second adult swim was called, I told Anna it was time to go. She threw a little bit of a fit, but I told her I had one more surprise for our fun-filled day. "What is it, Mommy? I can't hear you...what? Did you say gelato?" That was sufficient motivation to get her moving.

When we got to the gelateria, I opened the van to find Colin nodding off. He's still in between needing and not needing an afternoon nap. "Come on, Colin," Anna said, shaking his arm, "Its time for ice cream." He opened his bleary eyes, looking like he wanted to return to REM, but murmuring, "Ice Cream...."

The intense, cold dessert was the perfect end to our farewell to summer day. You can bet that Daddio was jealous...