Sunday morning. my favorite morning of the week.

we've had a nice weekend so far, and have done well in trying to keep up with our resolution to be more hospitable. Margaret brought home her friend, Stella, on Friday, and then brought home another friend from her basketball game that night. i guess the girls are getting a little older, or maybe that these two friends are more mature than her others, but there wasn't as much squealing and late night giggling as there has been in the past.

Brian took the boys to their games on Saturday. this was John's first time to play basketball. he's a child with the very short attention span. his take on the whole thing: "i did alright in the first game, but then we played that other one and i got tired." i guess we should've explained to him beforehand that there would be two halves to the game.

Samuel and William went to play at a friends house. this was a big milestone for William, as he's never gone to a friend's house before, someone he isn't related to without Brian or me. he survived and had a good time.

i rode my new bike across town to the library across town, a 4 mile each way trip. i was pleased that i didn't get honked at, ticketed, or run over, on this, my first ever excursion out on a bike. thankfully we have lots of bike lanes around central Austin, so it shouldn't be too hard to get used to being out on the road. i had to go to the library to check out books on science fair projects since all the kids are needing to create one for the upcoming science fair at Maplewood. it was really the most beautiful day for a ride! i rode through the cozy little neighborhoods of Hyde Park, Chesterfield, and Rosedale, with their small, old house painted in such delicious varieties of colors. and past all the funky vintage shops on North Loop with names like Blue Velvet, Hog Wild, and Room Service. i could've ridden all day, just poking along, taking in the sights and sounds.

after we got the kids fed and bathed, we left Margaret in charge for a bit so that Brian and i could get in a little date. we went over to Cherrywood Coffeehouse, which is just across the train tracks from the kids' school. Brian had a beer and i had a glass of wine and we watched a little football on tv.
Cherrywood is like the hub of Maplewood Elementary. it's the after school go-to place for coffee and smoothies, and many kids go there to work on  their homework while they wait for their moms or dads to pick them up. it's sort of like the drugstore of days gone by. 

so we had a sweet tiny little date, just enough time to reconnect and feel like lovers again. one of the great things about living in central Austin is the abundance of locally owned cafes, coffee shops, and lounges. i'd love to see how many different ones Brian and i can visit for mini-dates. maybe that will be a goal of sorts for this year.

well, i'm off to spend some time in the Word before the rest of the family gets up.

*pics that i borrowed from somewhere else...