Monday, March 26, 2012

Just the 3 of us!

This weekend was gorgeous so we took off to the ranch on Friday afternoon for some family fun outdoors!  It was perfect the moment we stepped out of the truck, warm temps, beautiful blooms, green grass and a lot of land to run and play on!  Here's what we did...

 It was dinner time when we arrived so I quickly made home made pizza and we ate around the fire pit!

 Next it was time to swing from the tree.

 There was a beautiful sunset that evening.

 Parker was rockin' the boots and shorts look!  ;)

 Time to burn some trash.  Parker got a kick out of this.

 A tennis game bright and early Saturday morning.  In fact, as we ate breakfast, Parker was bringing in his boots and jeans and asking to go outside.  We couldn't eat fast enough!  ;)

 Waco had fun too, she had an early morning swim!

 Next we took off on the four wheelers to check out all the standing water everywhere, the ranch has had quite a bit of RAIN!!  Praise the Lord!

 Over the winter some beavers were busy building a dam creating this little water fall!

 Only I would have an appreciation for these...owl pellets.  Back in my science teaching days we would dissect these and find all kinds of bones from what the owls had eaten.  So cool!  And yes, I dissected one with a stick, I couldn't resist! (fyi, owl pellets are from what the owls regurgitate, not poop, these pellets are created in their stomachs and then come back up...now you've just had a little science lesson here!)  ;)

 This kid could spend hours throwing sticks into a pond.  Even sticks bigger than him.


 We did a little hiking as well.

 The lake was nice and full!

 Such a welcome sight...wildflowers!!  Last summer during the severe drought, there was not a wild flower to be found, much less some green grass!

 Love these boys!

   I could just eat him up!!

 The apple tree was in full bloom!

Posing with his beloved dump truck!

 We stopped by the stables to pet the horses.

 The sky was such an awesome clear blue.

 There were blooms everywhere and it smelled wonderful!

 Lunch outside!

 A PB & J smile!

 We ended the fun afternoon with four wheeler rides!

The 80 degree weather felt fantastic!  Bring on summer!

Monday, March 19, 2012

Spring break fun!!!

Parker and I went down to Dallas for our third annual Spring break week and as always, it was so much FUN!!!  Everything was in full bloom and green and warm, pure bliss!  Mom and dad made sure we had a great time...we shopped, visited the arboretum, went to the zoo, ate out, visited grand parents, coffee with a precious friend, and the list goes on!  The weather could not have been more  perfect, I love me some humidity!!  When you don't live in it, you miss it, it's like a vacation for the skin.  :)
Thanks mom and dad for another awesome week of fun during Spring break!  We love you!!  WARNING:  Picture overload!


Let's start this picture fest off with some major cuteness!!

These make me happy!  A true sign of Spring and just absolutely gorgeous at the Dallas Arboretum!  Definitely one of the biggest highlights of going to the Big D in spring time!


 Parker and Leah ready to see some flowers!

 "Mells good mommy"!

 Me and my boy

 Sisters!

 Framing this one!!
The azaleas were fantastic!

 Snack time!

 Isn't this lovely?  Green!!!!

 A failed attempt at a grandkid/grandparent pic.

 Cousin love!

 Baby Ty didn't feel well that day, such a sweet boy.

 Watchin' the water.  Parker is seriously planning in his head how fast he could run through that water without us catching him!  I know him.

 Grandad and P

 Grandad was a great tour guide!
The next day we hit up the Dallas Zoo!  Parker was just a little tike the last time we went to a zoo, so he loved seeing all the animals!

 Petting the goats!

 "Big fish"!


 This was my favorite, petting the giraffes!  Brought back a great memory of petting them in Kenya, Africa!
Rewind to 2006...never thought in this pic that I would pet one with my little boy one day!  ;)

 Cheese!

 We had lots of outdoor play time at Neesie and Grandad's house!

Crazy driver.


Time with Dede!
I didn't get a pic, but we visited Mema and Papa too...at home!  Paps is out of the hospital!!  Hooray!

We went out to dinner Friday night and this kid had his first taste of onion rings, he loved them!

One of my favorites of the week was going to coffee with this dear friend!  Love you Ash, thanks for taking time out for me!  :)

Saturday we drove over to Ryan's (my brother) fire station and got a grand tour.  I'm so proud of my fireman/paramedic brother!  It was a treat to get an inside look at what he does!

 Inside the ambulance
First and hopefully last time in one, kind of eerie.


 Showing us how the valves and gauges work.

Parker even got to spray a fire hose!

 Ryan to the rescue!



 This may be my next calling...ruling the road in one of these babies!  Ha!

 We got a peak in every nook and cranny of a fire truck, so interesting!

"Put me in the car".
 P was a little freaked out at the lights and sounds.

I leave you with a pic of this fearless man, go get 'em Ryan!