Carrizo

The kids had a Fall Break a few weekends ago and Matt was so excited to take us down to South Texas. I left the littles with my mom and talked Matt into spending one night in San Antonio (in a real hotel!) The big kids were beyond thrilled to go on an adventure.

Carrizo is . . . primitive. The "container" is a modified shipping container with running water, a bathroom and a few beds. The hardest part for me is the filth - sheets not washed, rat poop and poison strewn about. The land itself is really pretty and we had a blast watching Daddy bow hunt (we saw some awesome turkeys), riding around in "The Mule" (we saw a huge rattlesnake and roadrunner fighting), and roasting marshmallows and playing cards. My Dad has owned this land for about 7 years and this was my first time down there! It is about 3 1/2 hours away.

This kid LOVES nature

Roasting marshmallows

Checking the feeders

The "container"

The kids and I went up in this stand to watch Matt bow hunt in the distance. They were actually pretty good and lasted about 90 minutes with the aid of electronics.

Filling the feeders

Bridge to Brownies

Our Girl Scout troop has been so much more fun that I thought it would be. The main part of that is because our leader, Anaise, is just so great. She knows just the right amount of activities for us to do and has great rapport with the girls. On this day the girls were "bridging to Brownies." In these first pictures they have their Daisy vests on, but after a short ceremony and walking over a bridge, they became Brownies!

Our leader, Anaise, talking about the Brownie vest

Will loved hanging out with all the girls!

About to walk over the bridge

Officially a Brownie!

Brownie Troop 1512

Bull Creek on a beautiful October day

I was supposed to go to a Cardiology Conference today, but last night I realized I have been missing the kids so much and decided to skip it. On a whim we decided to head out to Bull Creek nearby to enjoy the beautiful Fall weather. Luke Mezger and the Mezger kids joined us. Mimi also came to join us for a picnic lunch. Bull Creek is so pretty this time of year and after all the rain we have had recently it was running swiftly with beautiful clear water.

We walked to a beautiful cave area with ferns and moss

Matthew loved just walking along the riverbank

Mimi showed up and brought a cute craft for the kids to do

Picnic lunch with the Mezgers and Mimi

Mimi brought orange frosting and decorations to put on rice cakes - so cute!

John's creation

Will's creation

Alivia caught a minnow in her cup!

Matthew is now 20 months old - his hair is really starting to come in

Our Fellowship Community

We have been meeting with 5 other families in Balcones Woods for a few years now. We were getting together once or twice a month to share a meal and share life with one another, but these last few weeks we have been meeting more often as we go over some curriculum called "This Matters" from our church. It has sparked some rich conversations. The Davis, Underwoods, Dugans, Mezgers and now the Knoxes are in our group. There are eighteen kids and two more on the way! In order for us to have any sort of meaningful conversation, we have sitters come for one hour to take the kids over to the Knoxes house. This past week was extra special because a man that works for Matt has a cotton candy and popcorn machine and came by to treat the kids. They were loving it! (Adults, too!)

Bailey waiting patiently for her cotton candy!

Matt and Cano with his machine. It was legit!

Some of the group - so sad this is such a poor quality pic - I think I want a real camera!

Katherine Dugan and Alivia loving their cc!

Sweet Berry Farm Fall 2013

I headed out to SB Farms this year with Alivia and Will. We had organized a Girl Scout trip and most of the girls came with various members of their family. It was SO HOT. But otherwise a ton of fun. It was TX-OU weekend so I think that kept some of the crowds away that Saturday. It's always favorite with my kids and we get our pumpkins there every year. Will and Alivia both say sand art is their top activity.