Relaxing at the Hideaway Ranch

Last Sunday evening after church, we drove down southwest of Dallas to a little ranch in Bluff Dale. It's mostly a couples retreat and they host weddings, business events, etc. but they have two family sized cabins. We stayed there for two nights.

Unfortunately, it rained. The fields and paths were just sticky mud. We did take a walk and do the scavenger hunt.

The ranch dog Rosco followed us around and the kids really liked him. We were going to do archery, play on the playground, play horseshoes, and ride ponies but the weather was just too wet. So we stayed indoors and played games, read books, took naps, and had a relaxing Monday!

Late in the afternoon, we took a drive into Glen Rose and visited Big Rocks Park. It's just that - big rocks to climb on!

Then we stopped at a playground and climbed on some fun equipment.

We drove home Tuesday morning, stopping in Cleburne for lunch. It was still wet and rainy, but we sure have needed the rain! We hope to go back some time when it's not so wet.





State Fair of Texas

This was our seventh year of attending the great State Fair of Texas! It doesn't seem like it's been that many but I went through our photos and sure enough, it's true.

The brand new big Tex! "Howdy folks!"


Gorgeous potted flowers!

We always have to check out the auto show - and drive a few.

Jacob enjoying the annual bird show.

Esther and Nathan wanted to ride the ferris wheel again this year, but when we got there the line was super long. So they chose bumper cars instead.

We got home really late and the kids were all having meltdowns and saying it was the worst day ever. But by the next morning, they realized how much fun they'd really had!

Family Photos 2013

Thank you to Melissa at Melissa Fullmer Photography for more amazing family pictures. Here are a few of my favorites.

Fall Is Here...Sort of

I just realized it's been some time since I've posted anything. Jacob and I attended playgroup today at the Dallas Arboretum. We try to get there at least once a year and it's usually during the fall when all the pumpkins are out. Sure, it was close to 90F when we finally left and we were in shorts, but you get what you can get here.

All the paths are lined with big pumpkins. The Arboretum is not a small place. They must have thousands of pumpkins!

The annual pumpkin houses. This was my favorite with all the different kinds of gourds and squashes.

The Hubbard squash represent the water under the footbridge while the green gourds are the swans. Very clever.

All these pumpkins were really getting someone excited!

This picture turned out fuzzy but he was having a blast drumming on these big ol' pumpkins.

And testing his strength.

Oh, mother. Do I have to sit still?

I love this face. This is Jacob's "I'm trying to look grumpy face but it's only for show" face.

I love this kid....







First Day of School!

I can't believe it's time to start school already! It seems like summer just began. Probably because the temperatures finally started getting into the 100s daily. Yuck.

And because our school is a charter school, for some reason they think they should give the kids only two months off for summer. We love the school so we try not to complain too much about the early start.

Here they are in the uniformed glory! My little kindergartner and big second grader. Nathan is pretty much the same height as his big sister. He may surpass her pretty soon and she is not going to like it.

They changed the uniforms again. The uniform suppliers the last two years were an absolute pain to work with so now they are going through Land's End. I am very pleased as I've always had good experiences with their clothes. And their return policy is great - especially with uniforms. I hope they keep these for a long time. Nathan will have a tie but they were on backorder. He is such a nerd. He loves having his shirt tucked in and his top button done up. He is loving this uniform thing. Esther has the option of pants this year but so far has told me that she isn't interested.

The backpacks of choice this year. I tried to talk Esther out of the zebra print, thinking she'd tire of it quickly. But nothing I could say would dissuade her. I told her she'll have it for at least two years. Her last one was pretty gross after K & 1. Nathan is sporting his future alma mater on his. He is nearly as big of a BYU fan as his Daddy!

All of us drove to the school together. Esther jumped out of the car and only turned around when I called her. She didn't even remember that Nathan was behind her.

He looked only slightly nervous...

I was just fine until we pulled away from the school. Then I cried. I miss my little kids. We had such a nice summer together. Granted they often drive me nuts, but when they are gone, I miss them so much. Especially my little helper bud. I know he's having a great time, though. And Esther is being Miss Social Butterfly. And I mean that in the nicest possible way!

A quick look back on Esther's first days of school!