Elk Ranch

Cutest little cowpokes you ever did see!

One of my favorite places to spend some time when we visit Texas is Elk Ranch. This is some property owned by Allen's brother, Troy, and his family. It is like a little piece of heaven on earth because there is something for everyone. If you want to sit back and watch a movie or read a book, you can hang out in the ranch house. If you want to get outside and play, there is ziplining, fishing, canoeing, and plenty of exploring to be done.

Chow time!


Where the ranch gets its name - this impressive herd of elk roam the grounds.


Uncle Troy and Baby X


One of the cousins shows them how the zipline is done


Ready for a canoe ride


Coolister and Little O


Ziplining over the pond


Bighorn sheep


Allen and Coolister


All-a-boy loved the zipline


These cuties loved going for rides on the Polaris


Allen decided to cool off with All-a-Boy


Coolister became the non-official guy in charge of canoe rides


Did I mention that All-a-Boy loved the zipline?

Stewart Beach

One of the days on our Texas trip we drove to Galveston for a fun day at the beach. The cool thing about this beach is that you can walk out into the water forever and still touch the bottom. Another major difference between the ocean in Texas and the one I'm used to in southern California is that the water is warm here so you can just walk right in without any hesitation (or goosebumps).

I didn't think to pull out my camera until we had already been there for quite awhile. I mention this in case you think I have some sort of bias against my older girls. There are no pictures of them because they were too far out in the water or searching for seashells along the shoreline somewhere.

I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

Astros Game

When Allen was a kid he was on a little league team called The Astros and they have been one of his favorite baseball teams ever since.

When we were in the Houston area visiting two of Allen's brothers and their families we all went to an Astros game together. Let me just say that I am not one of those fun moms who likes to take her kids places. I tend to just go crazy counting to ten every 5 minutes to make sure everyone is accounted for when we're in a public place - so I prefer to just stay home where I'm in my element and everyone is confined. I say depriving kids gives them character. Right?


Well, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and join my family out at the ballgame. And you know what? I'm glad I did. If you ignore the repeated trips up and down the stairs to get to the bathroom with the youngest couple of kids in the bunch, it was actually a pretty fun time.


We got to visit and the kids had fun cheering and trying their hardest to be noticed by the camera operators who made people feel famous up on the huge video board. (No luck there, but it was sure fun trying.)


Oh, and I'm pretty sure some of the guys actually watched the game, too.


Go Astros!

Everything's Bigger In Texas

The first stop on our Texas trip was San Antonio to visit our good friend Mike and his cute family. We met up for dinner and ordered one pizza to share amongst the 15 of us.


One 42" pizza. Holy mackerel... THAT is a pizza!

After eating our fill we drove downtown and enjoyed the evening breeze along the river walk. Our trip to San Antonio would not be complete without remembering the Alamo, so we walked over to it for the standard touristy photos.


On the way back to the van I got my first glimpse of a Texas cockroach skittering out of a sewer grate. It had two cockroach companions that came running out as well - sufficiently giving me the heebie-jeebies. Those suckers are big.

I guess it's true what they say - everything's bigger in Texas! Well, except for hotel rooms. Those were pretty much the same size wherever we went. Oh, and oranges. Oranges in Texas are actually very small.

But, hey! How about that pizza?

The Real Me

I don't have a lot of pictures of myself. This, of course, is because I am usually the one taking the pictures.

When we were in Texas the first week of June we headed to the beach for a day. I was snapping pictures of everyone and my sister-in-law Stephenie said, "Let me get a picture of you. You look really good."

I smiled and let her take a picture with the thought that I could always delete it later. Why? Because I was almost positive that I didn't look anything close to really good. I had spent half of the day out in the ocean. I was tired and my hair was damp and salty. I had no make-up on and I was wearing a swimsuit. None of that sounded really good to me. But then I saw the picture and was surprised that I liked it. I mean, I really liked it.

I think this picture captures the essence of me at heart. In real life, whenever I'm all made up with my hair curled in place - like I am when we have our family photos taken - that's not the me I'm most familiar with. I like the person I see in this picture because I'm tired and happy from a well-spent day with family. I'm vulnerable (meaning: in a swimsuit for the first time in years) because I'm with people I trust and love. I'm reminded of the girl who practically grew up on the beaches in southern California and reveled in the warm sand between her toes and the sounds of the ocean.

An added bonus of this picture is my handsome Baby X on my lap, exposing all of his chubby goodness. I am totally in my element. To me, this picture exudes my blissful life.

You're right, Steph. This picture is really good. Thanks for taking it.

Signage

I see this sign every morning that I make it to the gym. It's duct taped to the front window of a building which used to house a restaurant.

The other day, as I popped a piece of gum into my mouth, I decided to take a closer look at the sign...
I have so many questions. First of all, what does survalince mean? And what's a camara? Is it like a Camaro, only the female version? (Maybe it comes in pink?) And if a CAMARA SURVALINCE is not for trash, what is it for?

The part of the sign that I did understand was that there is a $500 fine for littering so I threw my gum wrapper in the trash can before making my way in to the gym.

The Big One-Eight

Tonight, on 6/28 at 6:28 p.m., eighteen years will have passed since the day I first became a mother.


Has the age for a child to become an adult changed? Because I swear this 6'3" kid is still my baby boy. (Yeah, moms see things in a warped reality sometimes.)


Happy 18th birthday to my oldest child, my biggest little boy. I can't wait to see what adventures the next 18 years have in store, Coolister. I am so proud of who you are.

(All photos taken by Jason of Backroads Photography)

Three Graduations

The last week of May we had three of our boys graduate.

Hubba graduated from kindergarten and entertained us with some cute, silly songs about j-e-l-l-o and moving up to 1st grade. He was so happy to have "the right color of hat" but sad to be leaving his class that he loves so much.


All-a-boy graduated from the 6th grade and was chosen to receive the Hope of America award (along with 3 others from his graduating class). The whole 6th grade got to spend an overcast day at the local water park in celebration of this accomplishment. I think his favorite part of graduation was the refreshments at the end.


Coolister graduated from high school with honors. Each graduate handed the principal a jellybean when they went up to receive their diploma in the hopes of filling his pockets. When they were officially graduated the seniors all threw a rainbow of colored bouncy balls instead of their hats - it was quite a sight! That night he had fun with his friends at the senior all-night party which was held at a local restaurant until 4:00 in the morning.

Nice job, boys. Keep making us proud.

Show And Tell

Near the end of the school year I found Hubba trying to get Little O to fit into his backpack.

This was our conversation:

"Ummm...Hubba, what are you doing?"


"Bringing Little O to school for show and tell."


"And you thought he'd fit into your backpack?!"


"He will fit. He just isn't in all the way yet."


"No way, Hubba. You are NOT bringing Little O to school in your backpack."

"You ruin EVERYthing."

Just Because

I was downstairs doing the laundry yesterday and when I came upstairs I found these:

And this:
And this:
And these:
And this:
Because my husband is awesome. That's why.