Starting them young

This weekend we decided to get out of town for a mini-break. And since Kim and I both believe it is never too early to start college tours, we figured it was also a good time to start instilling Alastair with the proper sense of school pride. Thanks to my good friends Niki and Rachael, Alastair's favorite book is the tale of Hook 'Em as he wanders (in an inexplicably haphazard pattern) through campus. Armed with that sacred text as a guide, we set off with our stroller to show Alastair where his mommy and daddy met.

Once again, we discovered that having a child with us allows us to do somewhat dorky things without the slightest bit of self-consciousness. For example, I would not come to campus to take the following series of shots without knowing this is a not so cool thing to do.

Alastair has known the "hook em" sign for quite a while and delights my friend Audrey by showing it to her every chance he gets. This year at school, both of his teachers turned out to be Longhorns, so he has gotten even better with his sign language. He knows all the colors, most polite phrases, and the all important "hook em."

In front of Littlefield Fountain, where Alastair's Mommy and Daddy met. And where Mommy went swimming/wading in an, ahem, impaired state on two occasions.

See? I'm not even making him do it!

And general Texas education. Kim shows Alastair the capital building. We actually used to go rollerblading around the capital because the ground was smooth and it was closed to car traffic.

After wandering around campus some and letting Alastair run wild through the six pack and check out the turtles at the turtle pond, we headed to the drag to do a little shopping. As if the day couldn't get any better, it turns out that the University Co-Op now has an outlet right on the drag! I found some very cute shirts that you will see in future blogs. (Hook 'Em Holidays! How could I not buy it?)

Some other highlights of our Austin trip:

We drove out to Lake Travis to eat at the Oasis. It was HOT. Kim and I miss being out at the lake since we practically lived there from Junior year on when Kim bought the ski boat. Good times! We have discussed getting a condo and a boat again sometime in the future in Austin.

And Amy's Ice Cream: an Austin institution.

The best part of a mini-break is the perception that no matter how long the trip actually lasts, it feels like a lot longer. We were gone for a little over a day but managed to pack the activities in. Coming home yesterday, it felt like we were there for days. Money/Time well spent!