That sun is bright!

This little guy had on lots of covering -- I guess he is sensitive to all that sun!

The hostess checks her phone

We went to a spectacular Boxing Day party at a friend's house the other night and her granddaughter was checking her phone. This child is going to be a great success someday soon.

Biking is fun, but maybe a kayak?

This little guy was speeding up and down the Butler Hike and Bike trail on Lady Bird Lake but paused to check out some kayakers.

Please say cheese!

This youngster was squirming while his photo was being snapped.

Does Your Dog Bite?

Part of the Mancini schtick at the Austin Jazz Workshop school show involved sax player Michael Melinger dressing up like Inspector Clouseau and doing a comedy routine with the singer. 

Jazz in the Gym

No, it's not a sock hop!  Six of Austin's best jazz musicians played an instructional concert at a local elementary school yesterday morning.  Michael Melinger, the tenor sax player, is the president of Austin Jazz Workshop, which reaches out to kids in grades 3-5 with music and talk about the various instruments.  The hope is that the kids will be inspired to take up playing an instrument themselves. This year's featured composer is Henry Mancini.  They played songs like Moon River, Theme from Peter Gunn, Baby Elephant Walk, Charade, and Dear Heart. The kids were in awe and I heard one of the teachers telling a colleague afterwards, "That was world class!" Thanks to tireless work from Michael and support from the AISD and some loyal donors, they play in virtually all of the local schools each year.

Growing up With Tattoos

One thing that is different than when I grew up is how many adults have tattoos. Have you ever wondered how kids will feel about tattoos when they've grown up in the arms of parents, nannies, babysitters who have them. Will they see them as a sign of adulthood to be quickly embraced? Or as something to rebel against by, I don't know, doing something else?

Refresh Yourself

In Pease Park, this splash pad provides some refreshing fun for the little ones. Tempting to all of us on a hot day.

Faces of Creativity

I interviewed a local art teacher for my newspaper column the other day. Two of her students showed me these clever portraits of half their faces.

Kites, kites and more kites

Here is another photo from last Sunday's Kite Festival. Linda got this nice shot of kite flyers with the Austin skyline in the background. The second tall building from the left is our home, by the way.

Hang on Tight!

As part of the fun at the Kite Festival on Sunday, there was a climbing area where, as you can see, children were allowed to show their prowess at getting up the side of some artificial trees. These four seemed to be having a lot of fun as their parents cheered them on.

Youngsters Against Hate

Linda and I participated in an anti-hate parade in our downtown neighborhood Saturday afternoon. The event was spurred by a savage attack on two gay men walking to the City Hall parking garage from a bar after a softball celebration. Over 1500 of us marched from the bar on 4th Street to the City Hall Plaza where we heard speeches from City Council members and the two victims, among others. This cute little girl, her brother and their dog were part of the march. One rumor going around town: surveillance tapes showed that a woman, heading home from Carnaval in heels and a feathered costume, jumped into the fray and helped defend the guys who were being beaten.

Art on Burnet

On Burnet, a bit north of 45th Street this old stone house has turned into the Art Pad. A place to send the kids for projects this summer? Or a spot to get your inner creative mojo going?