More fun in Austin

We visited the state capital while we were in Austin over the fourth of July weekend. None of the Wilsons had been to the capital building yet so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to see it.



When we arrived at the capital we started talking about how this was the headquarters for the Texas government. John exclaimed, "Ooh! Maybe we can see the President! Mommy, can we go talk to the President?". Then Amelia answered, "No, John, we cannot see the President because he lives in Washington D.C. That is the place of our country's government. This is for the state, our state of Texas. The governor is the man who is in charge of our state." So John asked, "Mommy, can we go talk to the governor?" Needless to say, we did not encounter Governor Perry during our visit.


Below is a shot of Scott and John Hammill leading Amelia and John up the walkway towards the capital. Svetlana and I were lagging behind, busy snapping photos of the picturesque capital on this plesantly sunny Texas afternoon.

The interior of the capital was spectacular. There are five floors in the main building, where one wing houses the senate and the other is the location of the house of representatives. The dome of the capital is massive. In true Texas tradition, it is the largest state capital in the nation, only outdone by the size of the US Capital Building in Washington.
The floor beneath the dome is beautiful inlaid marble with this crest in the center. Also in true Texas-fashion, it states "Republic of Texas" (referring back to when Texas was an independent nation), whereas I suspect most states use the wording "state of ____". Around the perimeter of the marble floor are the names of the six flags which have flown over the Texas capital building: France, Spain, Republic of Texas, Mexico, Confederate States, and the United States of America.

After we toured inside the children had fun running around the grounds, which were beautifully landscaped and dotted with statues to soldiers and leaders as well as cannons. This shot was taken from the steps leading to the capital, looking down on the front lawn (Amelia and John are running just after the base of the stairs) towards some of the buildings downtown.

Later in the afternoon we returned to John's parents' house where we relaxed before dinner. Or rather I should say that Svetlana and Scott and I relaxed on the porch while the children engaged John in a (Nerf) sword fight in the backyard. John is a brave soul to have engaged the children in an extensive fight after a long day!

I call this one "Man down!", and I think it is awesome that John played it up for the kids so much that he even got down on the grass and rolled around playing dead. Amelia and John ate this up. Little John's pose says "Victory!", doesn't it?

After the sword-fighting, John returned to the porch for some fun with his dad. Below John is being goofy with Scott.

And then a sweet moment, where John just looks so happy to be sword-fighting one minute and then hanging out with his dad the next.And then finally, the beautiful sky at sunset. The view from John's parents' backyard was spectacular. We were waiting for the sun to go down so that we could start our show of fireworks!

As soon as it was dark enough we all piled into Scott's car and went to a local elementary school's parking lot to shoot fireworks. Scott had some leftover fireworks that he purchased at the Texas-Louisiana state line on our trip to Alabama last summer, and we all had a good time watching Scott and big John shooting them up into the dark Texas sky. Below are Amelia and John, waiting in the far back of Scott's car for the fireworks to begin. The children are wearing their pajamas (and had been for several hours) because we made a big deal out of how this was a very special occasion to stay up so late, but that they would be going to bed as soon as we got back to the house.

Not to be outdone by our eventful Fourth of July weekend, Amelia turned 7 on July 6! We had a small family celebration on Tuesday night, the day after we returned from Austin. We all enjoyed dinner out at Amelia's favorite restaurant, Gloria's, and then came home for presents and cake. Amelia will celebrate with her friends at her birthday party on the 21st of July.

Amelia with her gifts, happy birthday shirt, and an arm full of silly bands.

Amelia below with her family cake. Yes, we got a huge 13-inch cookie cake for this evening, even though the kids and I couldn't do much damage by ourselves. I am happy that we have many leftovers in the freezer to enjoy all summer!

And how could the evening be complete without John being John?!? I believe this was after we had opened presents and before cake, when he was screaming madly that he was a warrior or something similar.

Next up...photos from our wonderful trip to Jackson Hole. I am so far behind with processing our adventures, but I have so many wonderful memories and photos to share. Stay tuned.