7 days in austin with kids

Oh well, hello there! It’s been a while since I’ve been on here, 10 months to be exact, whoops! I did a website revamp and then the year got busy, in a good way, that I fell off from here! I’m attempting to carve out time and keep this place updated with a place for people to land when I share specific places we went to, things I bought and love or random thoughts and ideas. So we’re taking a step back and starting with our trip we took to Austin back in May 2023. My brother and sister in law live in Austin and were getting married. I was also the officiant and marrying them so we decided we would make a nice long week out of the festivities!

I wrote a while back about our first trip to Austin with the boys here (in September 2019). This time visiting we were staying in a different area to be closer to my brother and the wedding venue. We stayed in this cute Airbnb in the south Austin area. My mom and step dad also stayed with us and we had family that came around on different days as well. The pool was what we looked for when we shopping for places to stay, the kids were in it non stop.

DAY 1

We had an early and direct flight into the Austin airport, grabbed our rental car and headed to the Airbnb. We dropped our bags off and then headed to the grocery store to stock up for the week. We grabbed dinner and stayed in to relax for the night.

DAY 2

We ventured out to a local coffee place called Madrone Coffee that has a little playground for the kids to run around at while we enjoyed our coffees and the shade. It was already getting pretty hot so we headed back to the house for the kids to swim and relax while my mom and I got ready to meet my sister in law and her bridesmaids for a nail appointment.

We got our nails done at Arbor Nail bar, a cute place that did a great job on my nails (they ended up lasting almost a month!) We then met my brother and the rest of the family at Waterloo Ice House for dinner. I love how so many restaurants in Austin have these spaces for kids to run around and just be kids while the parents can talk and eat. I noticed many, if not all, have shade canopies, which is a major plus! We ended the night by going back to my brother and sister in laws to see their place. I did a reel on IG sharing some of my favorite spaces in their house here. It’s so fun and colorful, I love it!

DAY 3

We woke up and relaxed, and then went for a walk with Jude to a local coffee truck while the boys slept in with my mom and stepdad. We walked back home and the kids swam while we got ready to go out for the day. We went to a place called Cidercade which was a really fun arcade and cider brewery. Later that night we had rehearsal run through for the wedding at a local park then went to Easy Tiger for dinner.

DAY 4

Today was the wedding so it was a busy day. My cousin and his fiance flew in from Colorado so they came over for a quick swim & drinks along with my aunt and uncle before we all had to get ready.

The wedding was at the Camino Real Ranch and I was actually ordained so I could marry them, so it was a very special day! My mom and I headed to the venue early to get set up and the rest of the family arrived later. The day was incredible and the location was beautiful. There were too many photos to go through so I picked some faves. I think we were all yelling at Jerek and Jude to get in the photo on the group one :)

DAY 5

The next morning my aunt, uncle and grandparents all came over for lunch to relax before they headed back to Michigan. We went back home and swam and got ready to go meet my other side of the family out at Zilker Park and then we headed to Meanwhile Brewing to watch a soccer game and unwind. It was an incredible location for the kids! Food trucks, a huge playground, shade and a mini pitch for the kids to play soccer on! The food was great, vibe was chill and there was so much seating no reservations were needed.

DAY 6

We took it slow and enjoyed coffee by the pool, swam more, took naps and then ventured out for dinner with my mom and step dad to Bouldin Acres where we played bags and watched people play pickleball. They also had a great little playground but since we came later into the evening it was in a forested area and the mosquitos were AWFUL so no one wanted to play on it, I don’t blame them!

DAY 7

Another slow morning were we had breakfast and relaxed and then headed out to Barton Springs to swim and have lunch. We packed a ton of food only to find out there was no outside food allowed in the swimming area. We swam for a bit then came out to eat and go back in. However, it started to thunder and lightning so they closed the springs down and we decided to head home and change. We went back out and met my brother and sister in law at a great Italian restaurant called Mandola’s Italian Kitchen. After dinner we said our goodbyes and headed back to our Airbnb to pack up as we had an early flight back to Detroit in the morning.

When we travel anywhere with the kids we always try and look for family places and not just kid places; meaning there is a mix of things for both us and the kids to enjoy. If there is a great restaurant we want to eat at but know the kids won’t eat there we normally have them eat prior and then get them dessert there. Sometimes we will also bring them food to eat there too if needed. We have found that a lot of Breweries (all over the US & abroad) have things for kids to do like board games, cards or playgrounds, so we love those places the most! I hope this encourages you to plan a trip to Austin, with or without kids! There is SO much more on my list of places and restaurants to visit in Austin, I can’t wait to go back and see my brother and explore more!