Yo-Yo Ma Rocks!

Sean and I went to see Yo-Yo Ma play with the Austin Symphony last week. The concert was wonderful. It was held at a new facility that just opened earlier this year, so we got to check out the new surroundings as well. The facility looks a little odd as you drive up, but it's got a great view of the Austin skyline. There is a huge semi-circular terrace overlooking Lady Bird Lake and the skyline, so it was fun to step out at intermission. Sean and I had great seats. We were in a raised box along the side about 5 rows back, so we could see really well. 2 high points...to open the concert season, the symphony played the Star Bangled Banner and practically everyone sang. It was amazing, much better than the sporadic singing at the ballpark. The second high point and absolute best part was Yo-Yo Ma's encore. He played a solo called Appalachia Waltz (this is only a short clip of it). I looked back and Sean had tears in his eyes. If you have a chance, click on the link and take a listen. Last week was the week of sickness around here. Alex was home on Monday and Wednesday with a stomack bug. On Thursday, his teacher jokingly asked if he would be there on Friday since he seemed to be an every other day kid that week. Benjamin came down with a cold on Wednesday and is still in the process getting over it. Sean came home from work on Friday with a sore throat and has been miserable with a cold all weekend. It remains to be seen if Emma is coming down with anything. She's had a little cough, but hasn't been too bad.

Emma had her second soccer game on Saturday. Her entire team seemed to play opposite of what they did last week. Who knows, maybe it was something in the air. As Grandpa Hested says, the score was a lot to a little. I don't think Emma's team scored any goals, in fact. Oh well, better luck next time. They do seem to be enjoying themselves.

Sunday, it was Free Museum Day in Austin. We have participated the previous 2 years, so we couldn't pass it up this year. We went to the Wild Basin Preserve, a small preserve in the hills of West Austin. The center had many different kinds of bugs to look at, face painting and offered guided hikes. We went on a hike to the non-existent waterfall (that would be better to see in the spring) and learned about different plants and trees. We all enjoyed it, although I got my work-out on the way back. The trail was 0.8 miles to the waterfall and about half of that was downhill over rocky steps, etc. Benjamin refused to walk on the return trip, so I carried him the entire way. There's nothing like carrying around an extra 30 pounds to make you work up a sweat. At least, the weather wasn't too hot.

Oh, I almost forgot...2 other things...

Hurricane Ike completely bypassed Austin. Saturday morning was a little windy, but that was about it. We could have used a little rain, but we didn't get any of the rain bands around here. There are a number of evacuees staying in shelters in Austin and, at this point, they don't know when they'll be able to return home. I talked with a friend from Houston this morning and she said power is not back on at her home yet, although schools in their neighborhood are slated to open on Wednesday. I'm not sure that will happen since you have to have staff to open the school as well. She lives on the western side that was not hit as badly.

Benjamin did a pretty good job eating during his "feeding challenge" last week. He didn't make-up all the calories he lost by not having the feeding pump, but he did eat rather than just wait it out. The second morning, he ate a pretty nice bowl of tinies (Rice Krispies) and had some smoothie. He also requested food because he was hungry. That's a good thing! He certainly has a long way to go with increasing volume and speed, but it's a good first step. Let's keep it up, Benjamin!

I just had to post this picture of him after he gave up the fight last night. He fell asleep while I was reading to Alex. What an angel boy!