mckinney falls

We discovered a really nice state park, not too far frome home. It's located practically within the suburbs of southeast Austin, but it feels totally remote once you're there. There was flowing water, nice hiking, and great weather. A little too chilly to get in the water, but there was plenty else to keep us busy.

Because this park actually backs up to the TPWD HQ, they offer a lot of activities that we haven't seen at other parks - guided hikes, nature talks, arts & crafts, history lessons, etc. I took the girls to an after-dark class on spider sniffing at the amphitheatre. I'd heard about this phenomenon before, but never been successful at it myself.

We were also able to spend a few hours with Shayne's brother and family. Blake, Sarah, and baby Greyson live on the north side of Austin, and drove down to hang out for awhile. The girls loved playing with their cousin, but I think he was probably a bit overwhelmed by their attention.

By the way, I forgot to mention in my last post, I am camera-less. I dropped my digital in the parking lot at the bike rodeo, and now it doesn't work. I am now relying on my camera phone (temporarily), which is not that great. Thank goodness most of our activites occur when friends are around. I'll have to get copies from anybody who has pictures of my kids. :)

bike rodeo

Every year, the elementary school holds a bike rodeo. They have an police officer come talk to them about bicycle safety, and if they choose to bring their bikes, they can participate in a 'test course'. There are a series of lines painted on the blacktop behind the school. Katie was familiar with the course, so she did her best to re-create it in our driveway for practice. First, you have to ride slowly between two lines. Second, you have to ride on one line without wobbling off. Third, you have to weave in and out of a line of cones. Fourth, you have to do 2 loops around a large figure eight. There were also pre-requisites that earned you extra point - all the proper bike gear: reflectors, headlight, bell or horn, helmet, etc.

Katie has participated every year, but this was Anna's first. Both of the girls had recently upgraded bike sizes. Anna dropped her training wheels and took over Katie's bike. Katie was given a more grown-up looking bike, a hand-me-down from one of our babysitters.

Anna was one of the few kindergarteners that was without training wheels, and she definitely had on of the biggest bikes. She was very excited, but nervous. She was doing great until she lost control of her steering going through the cones, and therefore lost her confidence. She was ready to give up, but with encouragement from the crowds, she finished the course. She was quite upset at the end, I think more from embarrassment than anything. As much as Shayne and I both enjoyed being there, she probably would have been able to hold herself together emotionally if we hadn't been hovering.

Katie was very comfortable wth the course, but was still a little wobbly on the big bike. She did great, as usual. When she was done, she asked me how Anna had done. When I told her how upset she got, she said "well I told her she would mess up and get embarassed if she didn't practice more." I said, "you said WHAT? to a 6 year old?" It certainly helped explain some of Anna's emotional drama. I know it's just big sis trying to help little sis, but let's re-think the wording next time!!!

The biggest surprise was yet to come. We pulled the girls out of school a little early that afternoon because we were leaving town. We missed the announcements at the end of the day stating who had placed in each grade level. When Anna got to her class Monday morning, she had a 3rd place trophy waiting for her! Hooray!

interesting trip to the zoo

It seems that the last few times we've tried to visit the zoo, the weather has not cooperated. Well today was no acception. Katie and Anna had an early release day, so I thought it would be fun to take a little field trip. When I saw the forecast yesterday, I thought to my self, "seriously?". We choked through a foggy, misty morning, and drove through random spurts of light showers, but we went anyway. And were glad we did. The sun came out, and it actually got quite warm (which equals extreme humdity!).

We had a few unique things happen while we were at the zoo. After greeting the flamingos, we came upon Mister Grizzly Bear. He didn't look too intimidating, based on his size, but he was pacing eagerly along the front edge of his habitat. When he saw that a small crowd had gathered, I think he actually stopped and posed for us. And smiled at us. Do grizzlies smile? Of course I didn't have my camera in my hand, so I missed it, but here is a good shot of the girls (very typical of Bethany these days.)

Next stop - Komodo Dragons - both were out, but not moving much. We proceeded into the indoor reptilian area, on the heels of some of the zoo staff. Ooh! Are we gonna get to see something cool? The Reticulated Python, whom I'm guessing was at least ft. long, was shedding, and they were going in to clean things up. One guy walked around with large tongs picking up all the previously shedded scraps. The other gal hooked up the rubber hose and proceeded to hose the python down. Full blast. In the face. Oh my! Are you serious? I guess because it's so big, it doesn't move that fast? And she was trying to agitate it so it would move around and loosen up more of it's skin? I don't know. That's just my guess. Anyway, we stood and watched for about minutes. Anna was the first to say she was ready to go.

The very next exhibit we came upon were the Gibbons. There were a few of them close to the front and very active. Right before our eyes, one of the smaller ones (we assumed it was a baby) squeezed RIGHT THROUGH THE CHAIN LINK FENCE! I'm glad it was just a little monkey, but I still made the girls get back. Plenty back. I was surprised there wasn't more scurrying about. It actually took a minute or two for a zoo employee to show up. And do you know what she did? She started calling it be name and telling him to get back in there. The same way I would talk to one of my children. I think it must not of wanted to stray to far from it's parents, which was good. But after a minute of so of positive discipline, it went right back in the way it came out. Amazing! I wish my kids were that obedient. :)

The next little while was normal zoo stuff. Cats. Birds. Rhinos. Giraffes. Zebras. More birds. Our zoo sure has a lot of birds. I suppose we were fortunate that it wasn't until we were on our way out that we were showered with a white spray from above. Way above. When Katie Anna and I looked at each other, it was all over our hair and arms. Just a light spray, but still enough to TOTALLY GROSS YOU OUT! Once we cleared the bullseye area, I looked up and saw a crane, way up high. As I said, this happened on the way out. Thank goodness we had antibacterial wipes in the car. Yuck! (I'd like to dedicate this last paragraph to my friend Deborah.)

love this song

Remember Hootie and the Blowfish? They were big in the 90's. I think I even saw them once when I lived in Dallas. Well Hootie, a.k.a. Darius Rucker, is now leaving his mark on country music. I get goose bumps every time I hear this song...

the force was with me

Katie has recently become particularly interested in the Star Wars movies. She watched the entire IV-V-VI trilogy this weekend. I haven't kept up with all the new stuff, but I remember when all the hoopla began. I pulled out these pics to show the kids...

Me & Stacy, with our dog Tootsie. Notice my nightgown...

Mom, Stacy and me, prior to our train trip to Dallas for Easter. Check out the drawing at the top left of the bulletin board...

putt putt for the fun of it

Well, that's what we used to sing when we were kids. It was a frequent family activity then, but we rarely go now. The kids spent the evening with some friends, and Shayne and I actually had a date! It was a beautiful evening, and I was surprised the place wasn't more crowded. I've never been a particularly good miniature golfer, but I held my own. Shayne, on the other hand, was all thumbs. I still think he was fumbling on purpose, but regardless, I beat him pretty bad. It was kinda fun! Before we hit the green, we had a quick bite to eat. I reached outside of my tastebud box and went for the Tuscan burger - provolone, grilled asparagus, sun-dried tomato pesto on a sourdough bun. Yum-O! After the game, I made him buy me an ice cream treat at Sonic. It was a fun evening for all. We're doing a swap in 2 weeks with the family our girls spent the afternoon with. Free babysitting! Sorry, no pics on this one either. Although, you might have been amused seeing Shayne jog out into the middle of the street (Henderson Pass) to retrieve a lost ball.

virtual fitness

Katie and Anna were invited to a birthday party last night at NexGym. It has a bunch of virtual exercise video games, a treadwall for rock climbing, and a mini-gym where they play kid-friendly dodgeball. The girls had a blast, and I know they got some exercise because they were all sweaty when we left. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures, but you can click on the website and see some of their featured activities. Lots of fun!

Happy Birthday Bryant and Bryce!

did we find the maples?

We spent a chilly, damp, muddy weekend at Lost Maples State Park. The kids had a blast riding bikes, building forts, and hiking. Most of the hiking included low trails, but I took a few of the kids up one of the big hills. It was steep and rocky, but the view was incredible.




We even had a birthday party with one of our little friends.
















The most exciting thing for our family was that Anna learned how to ride her bike without training wheels. She'd been practicing all week at home along the curb. She was off and on all weekend, but once she reached a certain comfort level, she just took off.

"stay"-cation

We had no big travel plans for Spring Break this year, so I decided to plan a few fun things around town to do. Top of the list - using our Season Passes (I'm a bargain shopper).

Tuesday: Six Flags Fiesta Texas
We went with some friends, so we were able to do a little bit of 'divide and conquer'. Katie got to do some of the big loop-di-loos that she loves while Anna and Bethany and I stuck to the easy stuff. We LOVED the new Wiggles World kids section.


















Wednesday: Magik Theatre
We went to see "If You Give a Mouse A Cookie". We have the book at home (of course) and enjoyed reading it several times before we went, especially so Bethany would get the storyline. The theatre does such a cute job of translating children's books to stage productions. Unfortunately, my prediction of a small crowd was way off. There were a ton of daycare-type groups in attendance, so it was packed and we did not have very good seats. It was still fun, and we shared the outing with more friends! After the show, we went to lunch at one of Shayne's favorite dives - The Lord's Kitchen (what a name). Not a place I would go on my own, but it was definitely a good burger. Since we were downtown, we also dropped off a trunkload of Girl Scout cookies at the USO that the girls' troops had collected money for.

Thusday: San Antonio Zoo
Well that didn't happen. The rains came in and the temperature dropped. We had an easy day at home instead. Kinda nice when it's unexpected.

showcase

Katie and Anna were both selected from the grade levels to participate in this year's P.E. Showcase. Shayne and I were bery proud!!!

The Kindergarteners did an aerobic dance routine to "I'm A Believer". (Anna is to the right and center in a gray shirt.)











The Fourth Graders did a fitness routine to "Push It". (Katie is the middle of the back row of her section, wearing a navy shirt layered with a white tank underneath.)




We ordered the DVD this time, so hopefully there will be some good action shots of both girls.

I was also particularly proud to see 7 of my 12 Daisy Girl Scouts in the show!

out with the gray, in with the blue

We've been driving our wonderful Ford Econoline van for more than 7 years now. We knew the time was getting near that we would have to say goodbye. As exciting as it is to get something new (or used), it was a sad farewell. We drove the van off the lot back in December 2001. Coincidentally, it was the same day I found out I was pregnant with Anna. Shayne pointed out that both Anna and Bethany rode home from the hospital in the van. They've never known anything else. It has 111K+ miles on it now, and has taken us on many family trips, not to mention the amount of time we spent in it just getting around town.

Shayne drove it to work last Friday so I could take his truck to get the oil changed. It is very ironic that the problems arose with him behind the wheel. (He thinks I sabotaged it.) We took it in for a 'diagnosis'. The first problem they found had something to do with intake valves and spacers - something to do with $900+! Holy cow! That didn't even include all the other items that needed to be fixed. Fortunately, we had been discussing some 'vehicular' changes, so we were ready to go ahead and look at some of the used vehicles on the lot.

We wanted something that had enough power to easily pull the camper. I also wanted something that was slightly more compact, but could still accomodate our family (& sometimes friends) comfortably. We've always had terrific service at Jordan Ford, so we knew we at least wanted to start our shopping there. We knew what we wanted and they had a few choices on the lot. They not only gave us a good price on the Expedition, but also offered a whole lot more than we were expecting on the van. The deal was too good to pass up.