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Category Archives: Austin Adventures

Field Trip to U.T.!!!

11 Monday Aug 2014

Posted by sunconnor in Austin Adventures, Coolin' and Homeschoolin' the kid!

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activities, Austin, boys, college, field trip, homeschool, out and about in austin, sun in austin, suninaustin, Texas, University of Texas, unschool, UT

Today, the kid accompanied me to the University of Texas for a visit with an old friend who’s also a student there.  For months, he’d inquired about UT as we’d often pass it walking or driving along the drag.   So, I thought I’d plan a lunch date with “Ms. Nikki!”  My son was filled with great excitement as this was his first time visiting the university.  “WOW!  It’s HUGE!”  Is what he said.

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When we arrived, he noticed students with a boyfriend or girlfriend.  He’d look up at me, frown and say, “YUCK!”  Normal for a young boy, right? After lunch, “Ms. Nikki” took him on a brief tour of the campus – he was really thrilled to be there!

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He later discovered the George Washington and Martin Luther King statues on Campus which was perfect, as we’d recently read about the American Revolution and Civil Rights.

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It was a great adventure for him to eat and hang around all of  the “young adults” as he referred to them…  He created his own play area -SLIDE INCLUDED- and the students passing by smiled and admired his high energy level and tenacity!  I was totally amazed to see him comfortably interacting with UT students at such a young age! blah, blah, blah….not surprised one bit.

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This kid IS a social butterfly!.  He was in a superb mood as he gallivanted around the UT campus exploring and chatting with students.  His face and this moment brought up a pleasant smile within me. The kid had a great day and the world is HIS playground!

 

May MADNESS! recap!

16 Monday Jun 2014

Posted by sunconnor in Austin Adventures, Coolin' and Homeschoolin' the kid!, Food Allergies, Travel

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Austin, Austin Families with Food Allergies, awareness, Danny's Pantry, Dr. Lieberman, FARE, Food Allergy Awareness Week, Food allergy friendly, food allergy research & education, Food Allergy retreat, Food Allergy-Friendly Food Pantry, Food bank, KUT Austin, KVUE, no sneezes, NPR, Peaceable Kingdom, Sun Connor, sun in austin, zipline

This is my first opportunity to post since Food Allergy Awareness Week.  My boy has had a busy month!

We attended a Kyle Dine concert hosted by the Austin Families with Food Allergies and as the PR volunteer – I was busy snapping photos.  I didn’t realize that the NPR/ KUT Austin crew who were there to interview, snapped a shot of the boy!  I received a call from a friend travelling in Iowa.  She’d gone to NPR’s website and was tickled to see the kid’s face on their homepage.  I must admit…so was I!

http://kut.org/post/musician-has-unique-and-maybe-lifesaving-message-kids-food-allergies

Then, there’s the 3rd Annual Food Allergy Retreat.  Instead of the usual 6 and under obstacle courses, my bravehearted 5 year old was persistent on going with the 6 and up crowd.  He wanted to hang out with his 9 year old buddy, Noah.  – AND to our dismay, climbed a 40 foot rock wall and ziplined for the first time!

During Food Allergy Awareness Week, we announced, Danny’s Pantry:

Danny's Pantry

We’re collecting non-persishable food items FREE of the top 8 food allergens.  I was inspired 3 years ago, as I read an article in Living Without Magazine titled, “Special Diet Pantries.”  It made me think about the food insecure and families with food allergies right here in the Austin community.  We’re currently in the phase of collecting food, but also collecting donations via the Austin Community Foundation.

We also received news coverage during Food Allergy Awareness Week – with a little help from our allergist and friend, Dr. Allen Lieberman at the Asthma and Allergy Center of Austin.  Here “he” is again!

http://www.kvue.com/story/news/2014/05/28/2462212/


If I include our Houston trip and the Austin parks we frequented – It was March ALL OVER AGAIN!!!!!!  Fun and exhausting.

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Our new pit stop to beat the heat!

14 Saturday Jun 2014

Posted by sunconnor in Austin Adventures, Food Allergies, Recipes and Reviews

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Austin, Casey's, Casey's New Orleans Snoballs, Food allergy friendly, ice treat, New Orleans, sno- cones, Snoballs

Casey’s New Orleans Snowballs!

My buddy, Carl Webb suggested we attend the grand opening a few months ago.  So glad he did because the kid tried the rainbow flavored sno – ball for the first time and it’s now his favorite! Even with the long lines, Mars and crew took their time to find food allergy friendly flavors for our order.  THANK YOU!

Casey’s New Orleans Snoballs “food allergy friendly” Rain – Bo (flavors):

Bubble Gum
Tiger’s Blood
Custard or Pineapple

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My ADVENTUROUS 5 year old ziplined for the first time this month!

20 Tuesday May 2014

Posted by sunconnor in Austin Adventures, Food Allergies

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5 year olds, adventure, Austin Families with Food Allergies, boys, children, food allergies, high energy, kids, Killeen, Peaceable Kingdom, Retreat, Texas, Zip line, zipline

Earlier this month we attended the annual Food Allergy Retreat at Peaceable Kingdom hosted every year by the Austin Families with Food Allergies.   It’s always a treat to connect with other families with food allergies within the community.   Every year our son has enjoyed the kiddie obstacle courses, theater, archery, arcade room and other amenities. This year was different.

Instead of our usual routine of connecting with the 5 and under crowd – the kid asked if he could join the “BIG BOY” group.  Initially, I was a little hesitant…but, realized my bravehearted son has always been FEARLESS.  So, I asked a staff member if we could give it a try and the rest, shall we say, is history!

Looking up at the rock wall before climbing, FOCUSED!

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The kid climbing the 40 foot rock wall to get to the 175 foot zip line.

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Video of of the kid zip lining. He had a a blast! 🙂

 

Reasons to volunteer with Little Helping Hands…

05 Wednesday Feb 2014

Posted by sunconnor in Austin Adventures, Coolin' and Homeschoolin' the kid!, Volunteerism

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activities, Austin, Austin Texas, children, helping others, kids, little helping hands, Marissa Vogel, volunteer

Little Helping Hands

Hmmmm…the little guy in the batman shirt looks VERY familiar!!!

The kids are the future building blocks of our society and that is why it is very important for us to offer life lessons and fond memories which will be beneficial for them throughout their lives. We should teach and show them  things that will help them be responsible and caring citizens of the world.

The question is how can that be done?

Well, there are various ways of doing so and one of the ways is to indulge a kid in the aspect of volunteerism. This way they will learn the need to help others.  Most of the time, through hard work it’s nice to see the look on a child’s face when they begin to understand the benefits of assisting someone in need.

It takes the attention off of “ME-ME-ME!” and their little minds go into overdrive with curiosity on every detail of the task at hand.  They feel good about helping someone else.  That’s why my family’s so grateful for all Marissa Vogel and staff at Little Helping Hands have continuously provided for the Austin community.  Little Helping Hands is a great way to get the entire family involved.

Interested?
Learn more here: http://littlehelpinghands.org/volunteer/

Video

The fun filled kung-fu class through my kid’s eye!

23 Thursday Jan 2014

Posted by sunconnor in Austin Adventures, Coolin' and Homeschoolin' the kid!

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activity, american, americanninjawarrior, Austin Texas, children, concentration, focus, food free activity, foodallergy, gohring, kid, kungfu, martial arts, martialarts, master, master gohring, ninja, self-defense, warrior

Last summer, the kid began kung-fu sessions with Master Gohring. I was a little skeptical about whether he’d like it or not…if he’d cooperate.  But, I was surprised when he came out bustling with joy.  Later that week, he declared himself a “Lil’ Dragon” as he hung from a tree at Green Gate Farm.  I appreciate that although there were so many kids of similar age, Master Gohring and Instructor Hunter’s ability to give equal attention to all of them. The best part is despite the fact that the directions were sometimes hard to understand (or follow for a then 4 year old ENERGIZER BUNNY)… the master and instructor would reiterate the rules in such a manner that made it fun, and doable.

The art of Kung Fu helps with focus and concentration in your kid.  My little lovejoy has expressed to me that they were taught about focusing with their eyes, mind and body. They were tough to speak in a way which shows utmost respect for the teacher. Not only that but, also two of the major techniques were taught to the kids. The techniques are that of paying attention and bowing.

My kid even loved it more because now he pretends to be a Ninja which I find helps tremendously.  He sits quietly sometimes at home which initially shocked me – but, he later announced that he’s “being a Ninja!”

Kung-Fu is not only good for the aspect of self defense. It also helps to enhance the factor of confidence in young kids.

Last but, not least – it’s a FOOD FREE ACTIVITY!!!  (Anyone who knows me KNOWS most of his extra-curricular activities are.)

Our “Noon” AND New Year’s Eve Celebrations

14 Tuesday Jan 2014

Posted by sunconnor in Austin Adventures

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Austin, bonfire, boondocks, fireworks, kids, marshmellows, new year's eve, noon year's eve, pinballz, pinballz arcade

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We started the day with a “Noon Year’s Eve” party at Pinballz Arcade.  It was our first time, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.  It was empty when we arrived, but quickly filled with kids 12 and under.  There were crafting tables and other projects to decorate.  It was nostalgic for me to see all of the games I used to play as a kid like Pac Man and Centipede!  Those brought back fond memories.  After an hour or so, there was the “balloon” drop at noon!  Really cute, the kids loved it!

Later that day, we ended the night at one of the kid’s FAV places.  Our church member’s ranch.  There’s a horse, chickens, a little lake for kayaking and a veggie garden with lots of space to run!
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The kid experienced his first bonfire, which was really nice… and roasted marshmallows.
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Our hostess with the mostest also provided fireworks!
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HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!!!!!

Our first visit to The Thinkery!

19 Thursday Dec 2013

Posted by sunconnor in Austin Adventures

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Austin, Austin Children's Museum, Austin Texas, Children's museum, climber, color shadows, kitchen lab, Museum, spark shop, Sun Connor, sun in austin, Thinkery

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There is a famous saying that all work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy. Not sure about your kids, but our kiddo needs LOTS of play time. Now when it comes to that, we sometimes have trouble deciding where to take him. I mean…he loves bouncy houses, but there are so many children’s venues here in Austin.  We try to introduce him to a wide variety of places – indoor and outdoor.  Over the summer, I read about the children’s museum, The Thinkery re-opening near Mueller Park.  Last week, after much anticipation, my son finally explored their backyard.  He’s been eyeing the climber for weeks now!
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The Thinkery is a great place, possibly the best place where a kiddo can surely have a lot of fun and use their imaginations. The Thinkery provides lots of indoor activities like the light lab, spark shop, and kitchen lab to name a few.  Kids always love to learn new things and The Thinkery is the perfect place for it!
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Related articles
  • The Thinkery opens Dec. 7 in Mueller (kxan.com)
  • Thinkery Grand Opening (txwclp.org)
  • Slideshow: Get a sneak peak at this weekend’s Thinkery debut (urlinkedup.wordpress.com)
  • New children’s museum opens (kxan.com)
  • New Austin children’s museum, The Thinkery, debuts (usatoday.com)

Austin Toros first game of the season!

13 Friday Dec 2013

Posted by sunconnor in Austin Adventures

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Austin Texas, Austin Toros, Basketball, New Orleans, San Antonio Spurs, sun in austin, YMCA

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Did I ever mention my LOVE for anything basketball?!??!  Well, I do.  It’s one of my fav sports besides volleyball.  Since moving to Austin, I’ve only had the opportunity to see an actual game when visiting family and friends in New Orleans.
I’m embarrassed to admit this, but – I was unaware of the Austin Toros basketball team.  Not sure how that got past me, but anytime basketball was brought up here, I’d immediately think ‘San Antonio Spurs’.  D’oh!
Nevertheless, we received several tickets to attend Austin Toros’ first game of the season.  I was excited!  Not to mention, this was the kid’s first REAL basketball game.  He’s “played” with other children at YMCA, but at that age their just learning the concept.
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He loved it!  I think his favorite moments were the slam dunks and the Capital City dancer performances!  Hilarious!

Related articles
  • Pelicans vs Spurs: 5 Things to Know (mysanantonio.com)
  • 5 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the NBA D-League (madantsintern2013.wordpress.com)
  • Austin Toros first game of the season! (suninaustin.com)

Hot Lava obstacle course!

09 Monday Dec 2013

Posted by sunconnor in Austin Adventures

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americanninjawarrior, Austin, Hot Lava, Lava, Obstacle course, Parkour, places to take kids in austin, Sun Connor, sunconnor, suninaustin, TX, www.hotlavaobstaclecourse.com

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I’ve been so tangled up in work that I love to spend my free time with my kiddo. We recently decided to go out on a day trip around Austin and ended up in the Hot Lava obstacle course/ training ground.  A colleague of mine recently mentioned we should take the kid because of his recent American Ninja warrior aspirations. And, wow! It was the most fun day we’d had all week.

I have never been to a parkour gym and so no wonder I was quite skeptic about it but I am glad that we made the decision to try it out. It was entertaining, challenging and most importantly it was full of fun.
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The gym was all about pushing your limits to take up the challenge and win it. We had to involved in jumping, running, crawling, and climbing to get pass the obstacles. Yes, it was indeed very tiring but it was also simply awesome. Unlike, the usual children’s bouncy houses we frequent – Hot Lava’s all about creating a strategy and way to get over the obstacles and reach the destined place.

When in Hot Lava it felt like being in a playground again only that the size of the playground was now giant. It is a limitless exploration of the surrounding environment which is bound by stimulated excitements and it did bring out that little child in me which I thought was long gone.

I felt that Hot Lava was great exercise for the kid except the difference is that  he enjoyed doing it. And, we are definitely going back again; it is a perfect way to channel energy to a fun activity.
Note: Children under 8 are only allowed between 10am and 2pm.

Related articles

Parkour: The art of movement (kdvr.com)
Missoula community embraces teens’ parkour gym (missoulian.com)
Athletics – Recipe For Good results (urclbpfb.wordpress.com)

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