Barton Springs, Deep Eddy and Stacy pool are open now. Splash pads and a few pools open May 19th and all pools will be open for summer fun starting in early June.

Punch cards and passes are available for purchase at all municipal pools and Barton Springs. For Summer passes, a wallet size photo of each pass holder must be provided at the time of purchase. This would make a great “school’s out!” present for your kids (and as an added bonus you’ll have a use for the school pictures with blue backgrounds you bought in September and never cut apart).

Violet Crown Spring Festival
Saturday, May 5th, from 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Brentwood Park @6710 Arroyo Seco, 78757
Art booths, music, history, food, kids’ activities, welcome tent.
Bike races (slowest rider wins) and performance of “Super Cinderella”.
Admission is FREE.

Battle of Puebla Reenactment
Saturday @2 p.m. and Sunday @1 p.m.
Camp Mabry @2210 West 35th Street, 78703
Watch the Mexican army reign victorious over French forces on May 5, 1862.
Admission is FREE. Photo ID needed to enter Camp Mabry

Austin Lemonade Day
Sunday, May 6th.
13,000+ kids will be participating in Lemonade Day.
Mayor Lee Leffingwell has waved the requirement for a temporary food permit on this day. “The foremost objective of Lemonade Day is to empower youth to take ownership of their lives and become productive members of society.”

Third Annual Bike in Book Swap
Saturday, May 5, from Noon-3 p.m.
Twin Oaks Branch Library
Free bike tune-ups, kid’s kup bike rodeo, bike themed crafts, BMX demo, book swap.

1. Gus Fruh. From Barton Spring Road, turn at the light by Zilker Park onto Robert E. Lee. Take the first right and follow Barton Hills Drive about 2 miles until you see the trail head on the right. (It’s on a street lined with houses). There is a sign and a fence to mark the trail head. The trail is wide and groomed. With easy access and a seasonal swimming hole, this a great spot for the day.
2. Barton Creek West. Find a friend who lives in Barton Creek West because the access points are owned by the neighborhood. Park in the West Ridge Middle School parking lot by the marquis. Walk West and you’ll see the trail head (not marked) at the entrance to the parking lot. Stay on the neighborhood side of the old barbed-wire fence. It’s a rocky, stumpy trail but stay on it until you get to the wide part of the creek. Beautiful spot where kids can catch frogs and get wet. Long hike.
3. Lost Creek. From MoPac/Loop 1: turn at the light onto Lost Creek Drive. Follow the road through the 4-way stop and look for the entrance to Lost Creek Country Club. There is a little road on the right by the dam, just before the LCCC entrance. Walk across the street and start hiking. It’s a service road so the kids can run. If the water is not moving too fast, you can walk through it to the other side and follow the trail to Sculpture Falls.
4. Woods of Westlake. South on Loop 360 Right on Scottish Woods Road (Westbank Drive and Westlake High School are on the left). Drive to the end of Scottish Woods and park. Do not park on Camp Craft, you will be towed. The trail head has a sign and is to your right on Camp Craft. You begin this hike on the “Hill of Life” and it’s the rough. Once you make it down you can go left or right to explore Barton Creek. Twin Falls is to the left. If you turn left, it’s 7.5 miles to Zilker Park. That’s a 15 mile loop if you need a break from walking/running on the road!
5. Spyglass Access. Take Barton Skyway off of MoPac. Park across from Taco Deli.

REMEMBER, don’t leave anything in your car!
ALSO, water levels are constantly changing. Stream flow information can be found at www.lcra.org. Water in the greenbelt is seasonal, but there is never any drinking water or restrooms.

• Austin Earth Day Festival. Sunday, April 22nd, 2012 noon-6pm Mueller.
• Austin Reggae Festival. April 20-22nd. Auditorium Shores.
• Muster Day. April 21-22. Free open house at Camp Mabry. Air show, living history camps, weapons display, helicopter demos, K9 Search and Rescue demo, vehicle displays. 7am-2pm.
• Insecta Fiesta. April 21, 2012. 11am-5pm. Insect petting zoo,cockroach races and music. Lake Austin Center, 3001 Lake Austin Boulevard.-Brackenridge Field Lab
• High School Soccer Playoffs. Final Championship games in 5A and 4A Girls and Boys Soccer on Saturday, April 21st. Birkelbach Field in Georgetown.
• 14th Annual Butterfly Festival. April 21st 10am-4pm. Over 3000 butterflies will be released during the opening ceremony. Located at the EmilyAnn Theatre & Gardens, Wimberley.

AISD Recommendation on Recess Time for Elementary Children

The events on Saturday at the Mike Myers Track and Field at UT should be nothing less than stellar. The stadium will be packed with 20,00 loud fans and the athletes will be fired-up. For the sprint races, they have heats running simultaneously on each half of the track. It’s loud and electrifying.

These are the runners you will see in the London Olympics (olympic tickets are sold-out and $$). The high school runners are thrilled to be racing at this big meet with the big dogs. Can’t think of another sport where the young kids get to perform on the same day in the same meet as the athletes they admire.

Expect the stadium to be filled with 20,000 people making lots of noise. Really young kids might not like it but older kids will be amazed by what they see. The Texas Relays are special–it’s worth the effort if you can get yourself there this Saturday.

Saturday, March 31, 2012 (Afternoon Session)
Field Events (Prelims and Finals)

Running Events (Finals)

Inadequate muscle support or decreased muscle flexibility leads to excessive stress not only on the foot and ankle, but also subsequently up the kinetic chain. Imbalances can result in obvious deformities, such as bunions and hammer toes, but additionally in a sundry of mechanically based injuries, like plantar fasciitis, shin splints, patellofemoral pain and iliotibial band tendonitis.

Did you also know that the shape of the heel itself could be a predisposing factor to injury? Ideally, the calcaneus is round in shape during normal weight bearing on the heel and forefoot. A quadratic heel is square-shaped and indicates that the individual’s center of mass is directed posteriorly, resulting in excessive stress on the heel during gait. This results in a decrease in shock absorption during heel strike, transferring forces up the kinetic chain toward the knee, hip and spine. Conversely, a pointed heel may result in forces that direct the center of mass anteriorly, overstressing the forefoot during the gait cycle.1

Proper footwear is one piece of the puzzle for exercise and everyday life in reducing the occurrence of injury. It is important that trained professionals are part of the plan. Correct fitting of footwear is of the upmost importance and should be performed by specialists who can select the appropriate device for your individualized situation. Although not necessary for everyone, a biomechanical assessment by a qualified healthcare practitioner can identify imbalances in your kinetic chain that could predispose you to injury.

Footwear specific to your individual needs can help keep you moving in a pain-free direction.

This article is written by Angela Rich, ATC, PT, ScD. Angela is a General Partner of Elite Physical Therapy, LP and EliteFit, LLC. She has been in practice for over twenty years and specializes in the evaluation and treatment of orthopedic and sports injuries.

1 Page, P, Frank, C, and Lardner, R. 2010. Assessment and Treatment of Muscle Imbalance. The Janda Approach. Chicago: Human Kinetics.

Sunday, April 1st. 10am-3pm

Redbud Center/3601 Lake Austin Blvd. (Just down the road from our central 1379 Family Sports Shop.) Free parking! Free demonstrations, fishing, crafts, science stations, entertainment and more outdoor fun! Bring your picnic lunch & spend the day learning about the Colorado River and the Lakes of Austin.

Huffington Post Article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kara-gebhart-uhl/mom-judgments_b_1319775.html

Parking is $10 and a ticket to watch ProRodeo events (bull riding, etc.) is $25 and includes the concert immediately following.

If your child is between the ages of 5 and 7, and weighs less than 55 pounds, enter on-line for the Mutton Bustin’ Competition. Always a thrill to watch kids hang onto a running sheep (helmets provided).