a visit to a new park

this past weekend michael was sick with a stomach bug and the hubby was nursing two broken ribs. the weather was really nice - bright, sunny and temperatures in the 60s, so blake and i decided to leave the sickies at home and head out for some fresh air. a new park opened late last summer near our house and i'd been wanting to check it out...so off we went.

the land on which the park sits used to be a working farm in the 1940s and a cattle pasture in the 1990s. today the park consists of some restored farm buildings, a grove of hugh pecan trees, a pond, plenty of open meadows, 3 miles of walking trails and a beautiful stone ribbon wall.

first we checked out the pond...



and then the grove of pecan trees. look how big they are...



and i love the stone wall...



but all blake wanted to do was look for a stick to shoot imaginary bad guys with...



he found one he was really excited about...



and headed straight to the stone wall for cover.



here he is explaining to me that if i put him in the tree he can see more bad guys...



so up he went to "save us".



he was having so much fun - 100% boy and all imagination...





and then when he got shot himself i decided it might be time to go. he agreed only after i told him yes, he could bring the "stick-gun" home too...



it was a really great park and is now definitely on my list of favorites. i bet it is gorgeous in the spring and summer with everything in full bloom...definitely a be-back!!

a day at the fair

we spent last friday at the state fair. grandpa and uncle brian came up for the "adventure". now if you are a parent you know that anytime you take a two year old and a five year old anywhere you only have a slight chance that the outing will be a success. you've got melt downs to worry about, whining (my personal favorite), pouting, sickness, the list goes on....

so we are three days post our visit to the state fair and i'm still undecided as to whether i should call this outing a success or not. if you ask the boys they had a blast and would go back in a heart beat - and i guess that is really all that matters. but if you ask mom (me), grandpa and uncle brian i don't think you'd get the same answer. and if you look at the pictures you'd think we had a perfect, norman rockwell day at the fair....but looks can be somewhat deceiving.....

the day started with lots of excitement and the rides were the biggest hit of all. blake’s favorite was the helicopter ride and michael’s favorite was the log ride even though he complained about getting wet both times he rode it.....

me: michael what did you expect – it’s a water ride? don’t you see all that water splashing around?
michael: well it’s just all your fault. you shouldn’t have let me go on that thing in the first place.
me: ok. you're right. let's go then.
michael: no, no – wait! i definitely want to ride it again.

and the animals were a big hit too, but of course there was complaining about the smell....

michael: i can’t go in there! it stinks and i’m allergic to cows.
me: you are not allergic to cows. you just milked one in the other building.

it wasn't log after that that the whining started.....there was whining because we used all the ride tickets....there was whining when the no fair toys rule was implemented....and then there was whining because we were walking so much and feet were hurting. and then mr-it's-not-fair showed up....you know him....it's not fair that we don't get a toy....it's not fair that we can't ride more rides. i love mr-it's-not-fair almost as much as whining....

it was about this time that our adventure to the fair came to an end. the ride home was all about learning to be thankful for the things that you do get to do and all the rides that you did get to ride. i even used the phrase "just think about all the boys and girls who never get to go to the fair and who don't get to ride any rides".....to which michael replied "well they didn't get a fair toy either then"....the joys of parenthood....