Cooling off in the new backyard

We got moved into the new house but the pool was not open that day. The kids were tired and it was so hot outside, they found a way to cool off under the trampoline.

Brett, Ryan and Jared in the little pool, under the trampoline doing such serious swimming that they needed their goggles? Or googles as Ryan calls them.

Just having fun and trying to stay cool in Houston!

Brazos Bend State Park II

Continued from the previous post ...

This is me demonstrating the art of tree climbing. The picture does not provide the proper perspective of how high in the tree I am, but the kids were impressed. It is nice to have kids that are still young enough to impress.

Jared, Brett and Ryan under a dead tree branch. I have to be in the picture again to hold Ryan so he does not fall off the log. Right before the picture was taken Ryan fell down and hurt himself while we were walking and we did not want him to fall again.

Due to the wind and cold weather, the alligator sightings were rare. We did see a couple swimming, but none were sunning themselves on the bank where we could get a good look at them. Following our hike, we went to the Visitors Center and the place was packed. They were having an Earth Day Celebration and there were booths and activities for the kids to do. Even though we did not get to see very many alligators, we had the chance to pet a baby alligator. This is Brett and Jared doing just that.

In addition to petting the baby alligator, we had the chance to pet a corn snake. I really do not like snakes very much.

In addition to the snakes and the alligators, the kids had a chance to hold a turtle.

This is Jared putting the turtle back.


They had a rock climbing wall set-up so the kids had the chance to try it out. This is Jared and Ryan getting ready to do some climbing.

This is an action shot of the kids climbing the wall. I am mostly pushing Ryan up the wall, but he was having fun.

Brazos Bend State Park I

Several weeks ago (April 14th to be exact) we made a trip to Brazos Bend State Park to go on a hike. The weather was cool and windy and I have to admit that standing in the wind it even got cold. We have adjusted to the warmer climate so it may be that we just get cold easier now than we used to, but it was quite chilly that Saturday. The kids were driving us crazy so we decided to go on a hike to get some of their energy out and to take some pictures. We packed a lunch so Brett could pass-off a Cub Scout requirement and headed out. Below are some of the pictures we took on that trip.

Brett, Ryan and Jared on a tree stump on the trail. The tree stump is not visible in this picture but it is in the picture below.

Brett, Jared and Ryan on a tree stump.

A picture of us on a low tree branch. I had to be in the picture to hold the kids on the branch so nobody would fall off. Jared is struggling to stay on even though I am holding him.

I was able to wrestle the camera out of Lori's hands and get a picture of her with the kids. This is a rare one these days. It is great that Lori takes so many pictures but the downside is I am in so many of them.

Jared alone on the tree limb.

George Historical Ranch

Today we went to visit the George Ranch Historical Park. Unfortunately, we were unable to see it all but we did have a great time. You can click on the link above to find out more about the ranch.

We had a great time. Below are some of the pictures we took. Lori took some good ones and so I got a little bit crazy with the postings so forgive me that I have minimized my comments on each picture. It is late and I am getting tired but I wanted to get these posted.

We could not go to the cowboy ranch without our cowboy hats. We had to buy one there for Ryan as well as the George Ranch bandannas. I love the shorts and sandals/tennis shoe look with the cowboy hats and bandannas.

Here we have the cowboys waiting for the roping demonstration to begin.

Ryan at the roping demonstration.

Jared with his serious cowboy look. You cannot let the cows get the best of you!

The boys were fascinated with the roping.

Brett holding a Texas Long Horn.

Brett in the tree house.

Brett, Ryan and Jared in the tree house.

Another picture of Brett, Jared and Ryan in the tree house.

Jared, Brett and Ryan on the tree that holds the tree house.

Brett, Jared and Ryan sitting with the Georges.

Jared somewhere at the ranch.

Brett and Jared riding the tram (a wagon pulled by a tractor).

Ryan at the ranch.

Share croppers out in front of their house.

Brett with the sharecropper pig.

Brett out by the Texas Longhorns

Ryan Brett and Jared out by the field with the big Texas Longhorn cows. You can barely see them in the background.

Ryan looking at the Texas Longhorns.

Playing on the Trampoline

We had to spend a Saturday and get our yard into shape for the summer so we spent the morning doing yard work. This was our yard in Texas (the rented yard). We have to go back to Illinois and get that yard in shape for summer too. We worked on cutting all the dead leaves from the banana tree, which was a nasty job. Once we finished with the yard, we took the afternoon off and the kids jumped on the trampoline with the sprinkler on. They had a ball.

This is Jared showing how it is done.

Ryan, Brett and Jared cooling off after a hard day's work in the yard.