OK, I’m not really adding a Part 6 to this expose on the mundane aspects of moving. I am totally done now. Instead, I’ll just start keeping this page updated. Promise, really. If you’re just starting, you might want to start at the beginning, where I sort of throw out some excuses for 2006 and tell you about our new home here. Can’t believe I spent over 5 chapters on this update. Can your Christmas Letter do this?



So to wrap this up, since spring began we’ve made lots of new friends in our neighborhood (now that others have moved in–we arrived to an almost empty street), and it’s been a surprising 180° turn from quiet Auburn, CA, because we’re constantly busy almost non stop.  If there’s not something going on, something usually emerges, frequently at our house (which we learned is quite expensive). We just got our boat sea-worthy again and are looking forward to getting out on the river-lake soon (we keep getting rained out). Which reminds me, the weather here is quite wonky. Not dependable at all. At least in CA you can depend on the forecast. Sunny days inevitably end up being rainy days and vice versa. In fact, some of the most exciting things around here next to the music are the wild thunder and lightning storms, which recently took out a favorite restaurant down the road overlooking Lake Travis, the Oasis (not related to that other Oasis). BTW, put that one on your itinerary as well.

So, the Girls‘ parents, Juan and Ruthie have had a boat (much like ours), and they recently took us down the river, errrhhh, Lake Austin. That was a good time, especially for Daniel and the Girls, who were making the moves on each other. Cruising down the river (ahhh, Lake Austin) we were in total awe of the homes along the shore, because it is lined with bazillion dollar spreads (remember, this is not CA)… Italian villas, modern marvels complete with chairlifts from hilltop houses down the cliffs to the water, and then one amazing place that looks like a sports training camp. It’s complete with a four-boat dock, floating bar, tennis courts, basket ball courts, a huge pool, oh and don’t forget that giant glass house, and, get this… a full size football field (American football that is), complete with regulation NFL goal posts. You can buy some too, here. Anyway, that trip got us motivated to ready our boat, because there’s lots to do on the lakes, as well as some nice restaurants (including BBQ of course) and bars as you get closer to downtown Austin (you can take the river/lake, almost all the way into downtown Austin, and dock at some restaurants and bars). So put that on your itenerary for your visit to the Roberts (which is soon, right?).

So now we’re well into June, and the heat is setting in. Everyone is telling us the worse is yet to come (heat + humidity) and that we may spend most of July and August in A/C refuge. Ally, who had knee surgery in April, had to have the surgery redone last week (after being cooped up in a crate for six weeks), and now has to spend another six weeks in that crate. For such a psycho bouncing dog, she is taking it well. (Lucy fans will be glad to know that she is still howling up a storm in her new home, where she has no petitions filed against her yet.) Also this month, Daniel finally had a train ride (not quite a real train ride), which he loved being the Thomas addict he is. That’s it for my version of our first months in Austin. My mission is to keep this updated and get Louise to at least share a few words here. Now it’s your turn. Please stay in touch, and let us know what you’re up to:-) As a side note, we have all new phone numbers, including our cell phones.