Tolleson Summer Fun!

Happy 4th of July to everyone! Here are a few pictures from the last month.

The Mount Holyoke College front gate and clock tower - I was finally able to share the campus with James, 11 years later!

Not far from MHC is The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, a must see for James.

We were there for prime rhododendron viewing season! They are everywhere in Massachusetts and absolutely beautiful!

With our rental car, we drove out to Cape Cod and stayed in Falmouth, MA where I spent the summer after my freshman year at MHC working at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. As you can tell we hit a rather cloudy moment, but that meant we were not competing for beach space or sitting in traffic to cross the bridge on to the Cape.

We then made our way to NYC to visit the Rutherfords! It was a blast to hang out with Mary, Kurtis, and Aurora. She's growing up so quickly!

One of my friends from MHC, Karen, whom many of you met at our wedding, just had a baby. I was fortunate to make my way to Maryland to visit her, her husband, and Evelyn who you see in the picture.

The baby tour continued in Chicago where I got to meet Theo!!! He is precious. It was great to just sit with Andrew and Katie and watch all of his facial expressions.

The timing allowed me to help Andrew celebrate the big 30! We took this picture before walking to the local farmer's market.

Back in Austin, we had the pleasure of hosting the Rivers! It was a whole new Austin experience as we checked out the more kid friendly venues: Austin Aquarium (pictured above), The Thinkery (children's museum), a water park, the miniature train in Zilker Park, the Nature and Science Center, lots of yummy food, and fun with toys.

Olivia has the lemonade making genes!

Dan, Emily, and Kinley playing a PVC pipe instrument at the Thinkery.

I completed my annual summer puzzle and Duncan thought it was the perfect place for a nap.

Erik stopped in for most of a day before an Ultimate Frisbee tournament in Dallas. We went kayaking/paddle boarding on the lake downtown and ate Tex Mex food. Then Mom, Dad, and Samuel drove down for a July 4th weekend visit. We took Dad to Pinballz, an arcade of pinball machines, to celebrate Father's Day.

We checked out Mayfield Park, which is an historic home in Austin where peafowl (peacocks, peahens, and peachicks) roam. The owners were given a pair of peafowl for Christmas in the 1930s and their descendants have made the home and surrounding land their own. There are beautiful flower gardens and trails to follow from the house down to the river.

An updated picture of the garden. We've harvested a few peppers and herbs and are looking forward to the fennel and strawberries that will be ready soon.

We added some spinach, which loves to climb, zucchini, and squash!

A pepper which is supposed to eventually turn red.

Mom, Samuel, and I pickled jalapenos! Yum!

Sending love and prayers from Austin! We look forward to seeing everyone soon.

Hannah and James