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| Fox wanted her birthday cake to say, "Happy Birthday. Dear Fox, I love you!" |
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| Birthday girl |
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| I don't know what happened to this photo. Why the Fun House image? |
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| This one is strange too, reminiscent of some of the Twin Peaks special effects. Looked normal on my phone. Hmmm . . . . |
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| Jim, Fox, and Sadie were fascinated by Amon's video game. |
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| Jim, Sadie, and Fox |
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| Fox started out her fifth birthday celebration at Jump Street in Cedar Park. |
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| I joined in with the jumping. Even did a somersault! |
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| Amon was doing front flips and back flips. Photos to blurry to post. |
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| I picked Fox up from school. We played on the Brentwood Elementary playground for a bit. |
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| Fox showed me what a good climber she is. |
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| We were hungry! Time for ice cream at Amy's. |
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| Saw a handful of very interesting films. Our favorites included "Boone," about the reality of running a goat farm in Oregon; "My Beautiful Broken Brain," about a young woman who recovers from a stroke; and the last one we saw, about how music is an integral part of care at a hospice in Scotland. Photo above is from our favorite annual music showcase in the alley behind the Yard Dog. Band was from Georgia; played some great rock n roll. |
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| This poet composed poems on the spot. |
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| Fantastic band from Nashville. |
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| Split lemon cookies from Buc-ee's and strawberry cheesecake and almond dauberge from Katie's six ways at the end of the day. |
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| Emma in an arbor of lights |
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| Dragon of light |
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| Flower garden of light |
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| Acrobats balancing and spinning plates |
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| Papa Tom (with a sucker in his mouth) was born in the Year of the Rabbit |
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| Best gelato ever at Angelo Bracato bakery in Mid-City |
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| Rode the street car from the old Benjamin Franklin High School to downtown and back |
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| Had to run over the levee on River Road to touch the Mississippi |
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| Add caption |
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| Had a little time before the light show at City Park, so grabbed a couple of local brews at Finn McCool's |
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| Donna took time off work to have lunch with us at Katie's, probably our favorite NOLA restaurant thanks to the Atchafalaya pizza topped with oysters, crab, and shrimp. The bacon and bleu cheese french fries and crab beignet were amazing too! |
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| Destry, Donna, and Colton |
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| Emma and Joyce laughing about the face switch in the SnapChat photo of them |
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| Destry, Emma, and Colton (holding the Mardi Gras favor Destry snagged for me from Camille's Dad, who's associated with the Tucks Krewe: a very spiffy toilet bowl cleaner. |
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| We found an open gate at a Masonic cemetery in Mid-City. |
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| Some of the graves date back to the mid-1800s. Others are very recent. |
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| Emma and Papa Tom |
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| Beyond the gate, the grave markers indicated family had arrived in New Orleans from England. |
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| The grave is very old, but someone keeps fresh flowers there, and someone crowned the angel with an azalea blossom. |
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| Stacked graves |
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| We connected with Al, Joyce, and Emma in the Quarter. First stop: dinner at the Original Pierre Maspero's. |
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| Austin friend Greg wanted us to get some Jax beer for him. The product is no longer made; best we could do was a photo of the former Jax brewery, converted to shops and restaurants. |
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| Cafe au lait, hot chocolate, and beignets at Cafe du Monde. |
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| I was supposed to be in Corpus Christi for a hearing, but the parties settled. That meant we got to join Al, Joyce, and Emma and spend time with Donna, Destry, and Colton in New Orleans. Road trips must include stops at Buc-ee's, Papa Tom's favorite place to stop. |
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| Donna is beginning to believe we attract weird incidents on our road trips. This one tops them all, so far. Traffic was slow and/or stopped on Hwy 290 into Houston for one of the drivers in a three-car accident who decided to clamber up on the roof of a semi and dance naked for a few hours until the police could talk her down. |
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| Burger Tex is about as Texan as it gets. We met Roy and Greg there for the annual chicken fried steak and fried okra lunch. Except Tom and Greg went more healthy this year, and I only had iced tea. Roy had to represent us all! |
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| Wouldn't be Texas without longhorns! |
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| Got to wear my red cowgirl boots in honor of Texas's 180th birthday! |
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| We thought we'd be the only people in line at 2:30 p.m. Not so! We waited an hour to vote. But it was a beautiful, sunny day and lovely to be outside. |
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| Decisions, decisions! Thank goodness for the League of Women Voters guide (not the one pictured). Had to read up on the many candidates to finally decide. |
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| We pick Fox up from school on Mondays. Then Amon comes over for dinner and takes her home around 7 p.m. Super Girl played with the KindleFire while having string cheese and sparkling strawberry juice (in her little teapot). |
