Dear Governor: Nice House!

This week was our first post-Christmas outing and as you can imagine, Domonic and I couldn't stop talking about all our Christmas loot. Here's the lowdown: Domonic got lots of video games and some regular games too (including a chess set from me). He got two puzzles, some lovely pots for planting and two watches: one stop watch and one regular. He also got plenty of new clothes; he was looking pretty sharp that night!

Then we were off to take a free tour of the Texas Governor's Mansion. Domonic put the stop watch to good use throughout our evening excursion. It took us twenty minutes to drive to the Governor's mansion, find a parking spot and get in line for the tour. It took us forty-four minutes to get through the line for the tour and it took us seven minutes to actually take the tour. We stopped for a nice shot in front of the Capitol Christmas tree and then after a quick trip to McDonald's for some ice cream, that was it for the evening. Can't wait until next week!

Some Pig!

Domonic and I saw Charlotte's Web and it was so cute. I love that darn Wilbur! And Domonic finally conquered the quarter gobbling crane machine that tempts you with stuffed animals and other elusive prizes. Go Domonic!

It's Sushi Time!

Domonic and I decided to try something new this week: sushi! We watched as the expert chefs at Sushi Sake created some beautiful dishes, tried some very interesting things (it turns out that Domonic is a big fan of barbecued eel!) and practiced our chopstick maneuvering techniques. It was a lot of fun and we left very full and happy, so the evening was a success!

In other news, Domonic made six A's and one B on his latest report card! His teacher has informed him that he will soon be moved to pre-AP classes! Congratulations Domonic!

Stitch! A Crafter's Dream!

What a show! Domonic and I went to a very cool event this weekend: the Stitch fashion show. It was so very neat seeing all the original handmade designs (and as you can tell, we staked out a front row spot to do so!) Since both Domonic and I love to sew and craft, we were very inspired.

When I asked Domonic after the show if he would be moving on from making pillows to creating some cool outfits like the ones we saw that night he thoughtfully said, "Probably." Watch out Austin, we have a future fashion designer in our midst!

A Pumpkin Extravaganza

This week, Domonic and I were all about baking and carving. We decided to have a pumpkin themed evening by making a lovely post-Halloween Jack-o-Lantern and a delicious pumpkin pie. They turned out wonderful!

Domonic and his family also suprised me with a whole bunch of birthday presents! They are just the sweetest and I feel so blessed! Here is the teddy bear that Domonic got me for my birthday making friends with my favorite bunny.

Halloween Havok!

Last night was the Big Brothers Big Sisters Halloween party! Woot! My stated purpose was to eat so much candy that I threw up. I tried to get Domonic on board, but he wasn't having any of it. Nope, he saved all of his candy for later. I am pretty sure he pays his brother and sister in Tootsie Rolls and Snickers to do his chores for him... Smart man!

There were games aplenty at the party and I cheered Domonic on (while munching Skittles and Reese's) as he pinned the eyes on the mummy, played a couple rounds of musical chairs and got a very crazy balloon hat and sword set. The games were fun, but I think Domonic was really in it for the prizes. And he got plenty of good ones, so it was a successful night for him! It was a success for me as well as I had a mighty good time, even if I didn't eat enough candy to throw up.

A Very Spooky Evening in Zilker Park....

This weekend, in honor of Halloween, Domonic and I decided to go to Zilker Park to hear some ghost stories. We got their early to get a good spot and do some climbing of the lovely Zilker oaks before the show. Some good advice was given to me by a fellow tree monkey: "It's easy! Just pretend like you're a wild animal!" It was a great way to start an evening filled with the ghosts of wild wolves and goblins.

So Domonic and I hunkered down on our blanket with a thermos of home-made hot chocolate and caramel popcorn ready to hear the very spooky tales related by the raconteurs of The Central Texas Storytelling Guild.

We heard stories about a kiddie gobbling, lake slurping, forest eating witch, a headless hostess, a very persistent East Texas goblin, the ghost of a legendary Texas Frontiersman with a bit of a drinking problem, a fierce American Indian battle come to life and one very unwelcoming Bed and Breakfast... We looked up at the stars and over our shoulders as we sipped hot cocoa. When it was all over, we laughed it off. But, I'll admit, I had a teeny bit of trouble sleeping that night...

What We Did Today: My First Post

Today we went to a rib restaurant called Artz Rib House. We ate ribs and they were delicious. Then I had a root beer float. After we ate, we went to an art museum. We looked at all kinds of pictures. Then, after that, we went to a coffee shop called Spider House. There, Debby and I wrote a list of things we want to do together so we won't forget. Plus I had another root beer float.

Pizza Chef Extraordinaire

Domonic was quite the chef this weekend. That's right, pizza (made from scratch!) was the order of the day and it came out great, if a tad bit burnt (I blame the recipe). At any rate, it made a delicious dinner. Yum!

Domonic is the winner!

Update: The results are in and Domonic has taken the crown in the funny face contest! Funny Face number 5 took in the most votes and is officially deemed the funniest of all the faces. I knew those ears would drive the voters batty! It was a subtle yet confident move. What skill! What execution! Thanks to all those who participated!

Blendin' it up at the Dairy Queen

It was all about ice cream this week. Well, a Blizzard of ice cream, M&M's, Oreos and chocolate sauce that is. And Man was it delicious! The guys at DQ were kind enough to give us a behind the scenes look while the magic happened.

Our fabulous treat went from this:

To this:

In no time!!

The Best Book Signing in the Universe!

Domonic and I went to a book signing and met Maddox, my favorite humorist and the author of The Alphabet of Manliness. That's right, we ran in the rain to buy this book:
Maddox was kind enough to settle a little debate that Domonic and I had: Who is more manly, Superman or The Incredible Hulk? You guessed it! It's The Incredible Hulk! (Score one for me!) He also told us that Teddy Roosevelt was the manliest president (case in point, he was once shot in the chest but instead of rushing to the hospital, he delivered his speech!) and that Tabasco is the preferred hot sauce of the arbiter of all things manly. I am pretty sure that Maddox thought Domonic was the real fan and had dragged me there for the signing... little did he know, I also have a teenage boy's sense of humor!! I love Maddox!

One Sunny Afternoon

On one especially sunny afternoon, Domonic and I were fortunate enough to get a tour of the lovely Sunshine Gardens, a large community garden. Our tour guide was the knowledgable Ila Falvey. The beautiful plots there are filled with fruits, vegetables, flowers and plenty of buzzing little insects and Domonic and I were filled with questions. "What kind of plant is that?" "How many seeds does it have?" "How long does it take to make compost?" And Ila answered them all. The part that tickled us the most (literally, those chickens will nibble on your fingers!) was the chicken coop. Chickens eveywhere! They ate right from our hands and flapped and danced all around us. I knew that chickens produced white and brown eggs, but who knew they came in hues of green and blue as well?! But after all that time in the blazing sun, we needed something special to cool us off. A couple of root beer floats sure did the trick!!

Austin: Windy City?

Austin Children's Museum has a great exhibit going on now and it's all about air: it's the Air Fair! There's a vortex of air that swirls, tubes that will suck objects in and spit them out who knows where (across the other side of the museum it turns out), and fans that will turn you into a superhero. You can even make music with air! All of this in addition to the usual cool stuff to do. Austin Children's Museum was, as always, a breath of fresh air!

Bugs! = a buzzin' good time!

We love Bugs! Did you know there are more than 20,000 different kinds of bees or that one kind of Australian cockroach sprays tear gas or that cicadas stay underground for 17 years before waking up or that fire flies aren't flies at all; they're beetles?? This weekend Domonic and I went to a great play and had a fabulous time learning about real bugs and watching all the kids in the Austin original musical Bugs!

Domonic's favorite bug was Guido the assassin bug from Brooklyn while I really loved the delightfully long-winded and oh-so romantico Castilian Fly Zalamera.

So congratulations to the kidsActing kids! Ya'll were great!

A Water Adventure

Happy Birthday Domonic!! That's right, Domonic and I recently celebrated his 11th birthday together. For the special day we went kayaking on Townlake. Domonic is officially an adventurer!

Then it was off to the Hula Hut for some Mexican food and their famous birthday nachos. Never had a birthday nacho? It could be the best moment of your life. They are that good.

I hope it was as fun for Domonic as was it was for me!

Go Express!

The Round Rock Express beat out the Nashville Sounds 4-3 this weekend! What a game! We saw two homeruns, a few great plays and some great pitching. But the Express weren't the only ones; Domonic tried his hand at it as well.

Domonic won MVP for the day in my book for allowing me to eat most of his cotton candy... so I bought him a snow cone.

Man, I love baseball, cotton candy and snow cones!

Ballet Austin presents: Romeo and Juliet

So Domonic and I went to the ballet Thursday night. Neither of us had ever been before and it was quite a treat. We were looking pretty sharp so we had to take a few snapshots...

The ballerinas were so graceful we had to try a little twirling ourselves!

I sure was feeling like a prom queen that night! Thanks Lindsay for being such a great photographer!

A Big Little beginning...

So Domonic and I met back in 2003. Meeting for the first time can be a little stressful since there is a lot of anticipation and one never knows what to expect. "Will my Little like me?" is a question that I am sure goes through every Big's mind... When I was gearing up to meet my Little, I knew he must be just as curious and I wanted to make a good impression. We got off to a bit of a rocky start... he was very quiet during introductions and when we were to go off to the park and get to know one another... he started to cry. Not exactly the impression I had hoped for! I'd never thought of myself as scary, but I guess I can be to an 8-year old boy! Change of plans, we decided to stay at his house and he gave me a tour of his room. After a little while of viewing his sweet collection of video games and class photos I was able to bribe him with ice cream to go on a little excursion with me. Forget the park, we went to Dairy Queen! And the rest is history...

The main purpose of this blog is to share our stories with others, to thank those who have played a positive role in our mentoring relationship, to help both Domonic and I to be more computer savvy and to give Domonic a venue to express his unique point of view. We also just want to create something really cool that we can call our own!