Driving Through Texas

Putting suitcases on the roof

Today's post is called, "Driving Through Texas," because that's pretty much what we did today.  We drove, and drove and drove....  From Fredericksburg to Canyon.  We made it right at 8 hours with a short fast food stop for lunch and a couple of bathroom/gas stops.  

The morning started off great.  A couple in the breakfast room at the motel complimented my mom and I on how well behaved our group of five was at breakfast.  That was really nice, cause you usually only get the evil eye when one is acting up.  We made sure to tell the kids how proud we were of their behavior to start the day.  

Last night, Dad made a run over to Wal-Mart and purchased a luggage bag thing to move a couple suitcases on top of the car to free up a little space inside the car.  We barely struggled at all getting the two largest bags up there and secured.  But let me say a word about giving your son the camera to grab a few shots of our efforts.  7 year old boys don't think too much about what they are taking a picture of exactly, especially as it pertains to women.  Let's just say, I ended up with 10-15 shots of my rear end as I stood on the car's bumper helping my dad.  Daniel and I had a nice conversation about not taking pictures of Mommy's bottom.  

The next eight hours are kinda a blur.  The kids were relatively good in the car.  Just the usual for five kids in a car for eight hours; really nothing terrible.  

Even though I've lived in Texas for more than 30 years of my life, I don't think I've even been to the panhandle, including Abilene and Lubbock.  Huh.  They were really uneventful and flat.  We barely saw the buildings of Texas Tech over the trees and other buildings as we sped by on the freeway.  

We were amazed at the number of windmill farms along the highway out here.  It was the same the last two years in West Texas on that road trip.  Hundreds and hundreds of windmills producing electricity for the power grid.  They are absolutely huge!

We arrived in Canyon (south of Amarillo) in time to head over to Palo Duro Canyon State Park for dinner and a musical theater performance of the play, Texas!   On our way into the state park at 6 p.m. I tried to get a picture of the temperature gauge at the ranger station showing a whopping 108 degrees, but Dad wouldn't slow down enough for all my picture taking.  Did I mention that this theater production is outside?  Yee Haw, it was hot!

Driving into the canyon

Palo Duro Canyon is the second largest canyon in North America (second of course to the Grand Canyon).  It is 120 miles long, 20 miles wide and over 800 feet deep.  Basically, it is a deep gorge of green and orange sitting in the middle of flat prairie desert land.  (It might be desert because of the drought, I'm not sure).  We will explore it more tomorrow, but I got a few pictures as we came down into the canyon tonight.  

For the last 46 years, there has been a musical stage production of the play, "Texas" produced at the bottom of Palo Duro Canyon in the summers.  Even though it was really hot, it was a great show. Completely worth attending if you are in the panhandle region.  It was big and showy and about early Texans settling the panhandle.  Lots of big Texas pride on display in that outdoor theater.  With the canyon walls as a backdrop they told a story of stubborn, hard-working, singing and dancing Texans filled with love for the Lone Star State.  The kids had a great time, even staying awake until the big finale at 10:45 p.m.   There were lots of special effects in the show, even artificial lightening coming down and striking a tree splitting it in half.  Awesome!  They kept us all on our toes into between the singing and dancing numbers.  

Going into the Texas show!

Because it is not actually today anymore, but tomorrow, I'll just leave you with some of our favorite pictures from "today".  In the morning, we tour the canyon some more and maybe visit a couple of museum here and in Amarillo before trekking on into Colorado for the night.

In the show, lightening came from the ridge down and split this tree in half
The kids jumped out of their seats!

Before dinner, we took the behind the scene tour.
It was an impressive theater seating over 1600.

It's a bit blurry, but I love Ashley's smile in this picture

Cameron & Papa

Birdie, Daniel, Brenna and Ashley

Kids spent a good deal of time dancing to the live band after dinner

Yee Haw!  Ride em Cowboy!

Colorado, Here We Come!

Dad trying to make it all fit

The kids and I left today for my Henley family vacation. Since Brian is leaving for his dream fishing trip to Alaska later this week, he couldn't come with us. Its a bit sad not having him here, but completely understand!

Rather than fly up to Colorado with my brother and his family, we chose to ride with my parents and nieces on their drive to CO.  Little did I realize when I made that fateful decision how tight eight people fit in a vehicle that seats eight!  We crammed my three kids, myself, my parents and my two nieces into a brand new expedition with LOTS of luggage and things to do.  

These are the crazy cousins in the car!  My seat is the empty seat on the right.
You're jealous, I know.

Our first day had us leaving Missouri City and driving almost 5 hours to Fredericksburg for the night.  Since we were not in a hurry, we stopped for a leisurely lunch at Schobel's restaurant in Columbus before arriving in Fredericksburg about 5 p.m.  

The kids were a little excited and loud being together in the car, so Mom and I took them for a little swimming before dinner to get a little energy out.  I think it worked.  They had a ball swimming together and Dad took a nap.

Cousin Swim!

For dinner, we decided it wasn't right to come to Fredericksburg and not eat at a German restaurant. We settled on Altdorf Restaurant and Biergarten.  

A picture for Shelly & Bryan of their girls

My kids and I

The kids were mostly adventurous in trying German food for the first time.  Dad ordered a sausage taster platter for an appetizer and each link was a huge hit with the kids.  Daniel chose a German hot dog for dinner, which proved to be a BIG bite.  

Wiener Schnitzel

Mom and I ordered classic Wiener Schnitzel with sweet and sour potatoes, sauerkraut, and "spicy" noodles. While the noodles were not spicy, everything was very tasty.  

Ashley and Cameron split a Zweibel Schnitzel and cleaned their plates.  It was like liver and onions with bacon, but without the liver.  Brian must learn to make it!  Speaking of Brian, I felt terrible taking the kids for their first German food when I know he LOVES German food.  He can rest easy know his kids liked it as much as he does.  

It was a good first day on the trip.  Tomorrow we are leaving early for Canyon, TX, 430 miles north of  Fredericksburg.  If we make it on time, we hope to see a TEXAS sized musical theater production in Palo Duro Canyon.

Good Night.  Sleep Well.

New Shark and New Swim Season

We have a new Shark and a new color this year.  Laurie joined her big sister and brother on the Sharks swim team as a 4 year old.  We are thrilled to have all 3 kids swimming together.  Course, all 3 swimming meant I was at swim practice after school for about 3 hours a day, but we survived those practices fairly well.

Another new thing this year was our color.  After being red sharks for 3 years, we are now Blue Sharks!  Good thing my kids look awesome in Blue!! 

We had our first swim meet last night in which all the races were relays.  It was a good first opportunity for the kids to get in the big pool with a crowd.  Laurie was thrilled to swim as a big kid.  While I was working the tent, Brian took mNY videos of the munchkins.  

He interviewed Birdie before her first swim.

Wasn't she adorable?

Check out her first Freestyle Relay...

Don't you love the way she knew exactly when to jump in?  And got to swimming so quickly?  LOVE IT!!!  Laurie's other race was a back stroke relay.  She did great.

Daniel was scheduled for a medley relay, but when he realized he was scheduled to swim the Butterfly leg, he wouldn't swim.  The coaches and other parents tried to convince him to get in and try, or even just do freestyle, but he wouldn't. He got up on the block, crying and stressed, and wouldn't jump in.  That was not a great start to his swim season.  A little while later, he got a second chance and swam an excellent backstroke relay.

Could you see him concentrating on getting his hands to hit the water just right?  He is very proud to get it right.

Ashley swam in a Breaststroke relay and a freestyle relay.  Ashley loves to swim the breaststroke but always get disqualified, and last night was no exception.  Her feet caused a splash out of the water.  She and I reviewed the video today of her race to help her.  The "good" news - all four Breaststroke relay teams in her heat were disqualified.  Go Figure....  Here is her telling her Dad about her upcoming race.

Did you notice her new missing tooth. The tooth fairy has been extremely busy at our house lately.

Her last race was a freestyle relay and it was AWESOME!  We were so very impressed with how she looked.  I wish we had taken video of that race or timed her individual portion because I believe she beat her personal best for free. I can't wait to see her do an individual free in a meet this year.

After swimming breaststroke and free last night, she is not scheduled to swim either at the meet tomorrow. Ashley is listed to do an 100 Individual Medley, 25 Butterfly and 25 Backstroke.  Daniel is scheduled to swim 25 Freestyle, 25 Backstroke and 50 Freestyle.  Birdie is 25 Free and 25 Back.  

We'll see you at the pool in the morning at 6:45!

Last Day of School!

Don't they look extremely happy school is out for Summer!

Are Birdie & Mommy Look A-likes?

With my hair straight today, Birdie decided that we finally looked just alike (without bangs).  And then she came down dressed all in green, just like me.  It was a picture worthy day.

Milestone for Birdie

Birdie lost her first tooth!!!

She didn't even realize it was loose or that it had fallen out.  While lying in bed at GrandMommy & GrandDaddy's, she reached up to take something out of her mouth.  Only then did she realize it was a tooth!  

We were all shocked.  She won't be five until August!  Boy, is she happy and proud!!!  

Since we were surprised with Laurie losing a tooth at 4, she didn't have a tooth pillow to use for the Tooth Fairy.  Laurie borrowed my tooth pillow made for me as a child by my Godmother.  We will go pick out fabric soon to make her very own tooth pillow, just as I made Ashley & Daniel's a few years ago.  

Birdie was excited to find 8 quarters in the pillow and the tooth the next morning.  Evidently the Tooth Fairy forgot to take the tooth.  Birdie left it again the next night and the tooth fairy returned and took the tooth.  

You can already see her new tooth coming in and a second tooth is loose!!!  

Check Up with Immunologist Leads to More Antibiotics

5 days after our ENT told me to expose Birdie to more germs, she came down with her first cold in several months.  2 days laster, we were at the allergist/immunologist for a check up.  Dr. T reviewed Birdie's history, we filled her in on Birdie's fluid in the lungs during December and she examined her.  Let's just say that Dr. T was not at all happy with how Birdie presented at the appointment.  Her nose, chest and sinus cavities were congested.  There was even green mucus coming out of her eyes.  So sad.  

Dr. T put Laurie on a 14 day course of antibiotics rather than waiting to see if Laurie could fight the cold on her own.  She explained that with a low IGa, her body needed the extra help faster than a normal child.  We couldn't wait because the odds are she would get worse without the help.  

Thankfully, Birdie is a trooper with meds.  That appointment was a Friday and by Tuesday Laurie spiked a fever with her cold.  I kept her home for 2 days with me to rest.  

One good thing that came out of this cold - we introduced Birdie to the sinus wash.  It had been recommended to us for a while, but I'd been hesitant because of my own experience.  But, she and I bit the bullet and did it (on both of us) while she was home with the fever.  She did great.  But when the green yuck finally poured out of her nose, it freaked her out a little.

After we got it all out, she was congestion free for days after. And it seemed to really be a turning point for her cold.  By the end of the week, she was her normal old self.  No trace of fever or cold.  I'm hopeful that our continued usage will make a huge difference for her health.  

Good Friday at the Zoo

Whenever the kids have a day off of school, we try to do something fun.  What is more fun than a day at the Zoo?  Everyone knows that a zoo visit is one of my absolute favorite things to do with the kids.  It's a good thing the kids love it too!  

This being Good Friday and most Houstonians out of school, it seemed like the entire city had the same idea.  Wow, was Hermann Park and the Zoo crowded.  To top it off, it was a beautiful April day.  My plan had been to get down there when the zoo opened, but me being me, we ran a bit late.  I had a few things I had to get done before we could get the busy weekend started.  Oh well, I was determined not to stress out on our day of fun.  It's a really good thing that was my frame of mind because it took us almost 45 minutes to find a parking space (that cost $10 vs. the normal free parking) and discovered huge lines at the gate.  Thankfully, I'm not one to stand around and quickly proceeded to the front to discover that with my membership card, we didn't need to stand in line.  Woo Hoo!!

Once inside the Houston Zoo, we had a great time.  We got really lucky and for the first time saw a trainer feed a lion.  While walking by, we spotted the trainer take off a section of glass and set down his stuff.  After a few minutes he began to call "Jonathan" the male lion to come over.  Shockingly, Jonathan got up and came right over to the trainer.  It was explained that Jonathan needed some medicine or vitamins, so he put them inside raw ground beef and then placed it on a stick.  Jonathan sat there and ate several helpings of meat and licked his chops.  We were standing right next to the trainer.  It was amazing.

 

Since we had last been to the Houston Zoo, they opened a brand new African Forest exhibit.  We weren't planning on staying at the zoo for a long time so we spent most of our time seeing the new African exhibit.

My kids, especially Daniel, love to look at the Houston Zoo website and YouTube channel of the animals.  When he found out there were Rhinos now at the Zoo in the African exhibit, he was just dying to see them.  The last Rhino, who had been there since I was a child, died when Daniel was just a small fry.  He had no memory of ever seeing a rhino, even though we have pictures of the old rhino.  Daniel got his wish.  We saw Rhinos!!

Kids with tribal maskas

A new experience at the zoo in the African Forest is feeding the giraffes.  The kids were thrilled to have the opportunity.  Especially to get that close to the giraffes.  

Laurie was too timid to feed the giraffe, so she ended up giving Daniel her lettuce.

Can you see Daniel's face?  He couldn't believe the giraffe's tongue reached out and grabbed it.

Ashley was very calm and steady holding her lettuce for the giraffe.

SMILE!!

After the African Forest, I gave them the choice to see one more exhibit at the zoo before leaving.  We had one vote for monkeys (Laurie) and two votes for Reptiles.  Laurie conceded and we were off to the Reptiles.  I love, love, love to take pictures of the animals.  For years we have kept a photo album of all the animals we've seen and taken pictures of at the zoo.  So, I could bore you with the 75 pictures I took at the zoo today or the 13 I took with the reptiles, but I won't.  I'll just leave you with a great picture of Daniel with the Komodo Dragon.  He is one of our favorites.

Staring contest with a Komodo Dragon

 Just so you know that I have a big heart for my little Birdie, we did a swing by the primates to see if we could get a sneak peek at the orangutan baby named Aurora.  She wasn't out in the yard, but we did spend some time watching a few of the others play before heading for the exit.

A great day at the Zoo deserves sno cones!

Flying Kites

Sunday was such a beautiful day and Brian's first day off in 5 weeks that we just had to spend it outside together.  After Daniel's soccer practice, we stayed at the fields to fly kites.  It was so windy it wasn't difficult to get them off the ground, just really difficult to control them.

Ashley & Brian

Flying their Kite

We have always loved flying kites.  As I was looking through these pictures I took Sunday, I was reminded of other pictures also taken on April 17th - seven years ago.

Ashley & Brian flying their kite

Daddy & Daughter

Can you believe those were taken on the same date, but 7 years apart?  Look how big Ashley is now - and how small she was at age 2 (ok, she was never a small 2 year old, but still..) 

I didn't even realize the pictures were all taken on April 17th until I started typing it here.  Amazing!  No wonder I felt inspired to take the pictures of her and Brian together on Sunday.  I hope to have another set of pictures taken of them flying a kite together in 7 more years.

Houston Swim Club

Starting earlier this year, the kids are back in the pool with Houston Swim Club brushing up on their swimming skills.  After an observation swim, Daniel & Ashley were placed in different classes, with Ashley testing higher than Daniel for the first time.  She was thrilled.  Laurie tested into the same class she was in last year, Swordfish.  

Despite her usual insistence that she doesn't enjoy swimming & swim team, Ashley told me she really enjoyed her swim lessons.  Brian and I were thinking of continuing her swim lessons in the Fall since Ashley doesn't play a sport.  She likes the idea.

With class 2x a week for a couple of months the kids' stroke skills as well as their confidence in the water improved greatly.  Laurie is getting better at her "big arms" and side breathing.  Daniel focuses on freestyle and backstroke at HSC while beginning breast stroke with his instructor.  He and Ashley will need to know all four strokes for swim team this summer.

Ashley is perfecting her freestyle, backstroke and breast stroke while slowly working on butterfly.  Ashley does have some knowledge of breast and fly from swim team, but has never completed the strokes in a meet without being disqualified. 

 While checking out the HSC website last month, I noticed a slide show and took a glance at the pictures.  Imagine my surprise when I saw pictures of the girls.  One of Ashley's came out really great.

Our swim lessons at HSC are coming to an end because it is time for Sharks season.  Laurie is excited to be on swim team for her first time and Ashley & Daniel are returning for their 4th.  

24 Hours at SBR

On a whim, I headed to the ranch with the kids for 24 hours this weekend.  Brian has been working crazy on a work project, so I thought it would be nice to get away.  After getting to SBR, Dad took us on a tour of the next door property he is considering buying.  The beauty of this property is a creek with actual water and fish in it.  The kids named it Cousin's Creek and watched the bass swimming around.  

Of course, the fish weren't all moving fast enough for my offspring, so they started throwing rocks in the water to "help" the fish move faster.  It was actually kinda funny.  My mom was trying to stop them or at least warn them to check the rocks they were picking up for scorpions, etc or trying to hold Birdie's hand for fear she would fall in.  

You know the kids, nothing would deter them.  Birdie would just look for the largest rock she could pick up and throw.  I will assume the fish were all smart enough to get out of the way of falling rocks.

 The weather was really nice.  About 87 degrees but with a great breeze.  I love Spring!  Now, if only we could get it to rain a bit.  Usually everything is really green at the ranch this time of year.  But not this year.  We are already headed for a drought year after a really dry winter.  Where is a good tropical storm dumping rain on your area when you need one.  Oops, I should probably be careful what I'm wishing for.  It's almost Hurricane season.

Cousin's Creek

Love Birdie in the Sunshine

Dad hanging out with the mules

 After leaving Cousin's Creek, Dad let Daniel drive the mule for a while.  He had the best time, beaming from ear to ear.  Ashley asked Uncle Jack if she could drive him in their mule.  After arriving back to the house, Uncle Jack confessed he wasn't scared even a little by her driving.  Hmmm...

Ashley driving Uncle Jack back to the house

While the kids were outside playing, suddenly they came back inside, noisily expressing their upset with being sent inside.  As it turns out, Dad and Uncle Jack had a very good reason for sending them inside. They saw a snake outside by the cars.  Dad had to move his car to get a good look, and when they did, Uncle Jack took the machete to the snake.  There is debate over the type of snake - some think it a copperhead and others believe it to be a rat snake.  Let's just say, we didn't want to wait for a kid to get bit to find out.

The dead snake

 Since it was just the kids and I headed to the ranch for 24 hours, we didn't have much to bring.  So, we finally brought some of the old toys sitting on the side of the house.  The red coupe car in this picture will now reside at SBR, as will our sand and water table.  The kids had a ball playing with the sand and water table; only it was not water or sand, but all dirt.  

What kid doesn't love playing in dirt?  Mine certainly do!