west texas vacay

  

June 2011- Sum-Sum-Summertime!  With a long hard spring season of work behind him, Casey was ready for some family fun and relaxation.  We decided to rent a travel trailer and head west to the refreshing Balmorhea State Park with its natural spring fed 2-acre pool.  And we had promised our Pecos that we would take him to the annual rodeo in Pecos, TX.

It was 110°F or more each day.  The poor A/C unit in our little travel trailer ran non-stop all day just to keep it bearable.  So glad we decided to stay at a place with a refreshing pool.  The park itself doesn't have a whole lot to offer but the pool makes up for it.  The campsites are minimal with not much shade but beautiful views.

fun exploring the state park

san solomon spring, providing a refreshing 72 degree pool

view from our campsite

making s'mores

The pool has probably one of the last outdoor high dive boards anywhere.  Casey did his best to show us his Olympic diving skills.  

cannon ball!

can opener...not sure they have that in the Olympics

Have you ever seen it so hot it could curl up a Croc?  We left these outside of the travel trailer one day and they curled up like a Frito.  We never could get them to straighten back out!

Pecos spent 3 days "swimming" on the steps

With all these signs to point the way we didn't get lost.  At one point Pecos said "Can you believe it?  My name is on everything around here!"

Did I mention how HOT it was?  It was so hot the pavement in Pecos was melting.

Howdy- from Pecos in Pecos!

I tried to talk Casey and Pecos into shaping their hats this way.

classic rodeo entertainment

brazos got a little hot waiting for the rodeo to begin

Pecos wanted to see a cave (but was a bit worried it would have bears in it).  On our way through Sonora we stopped at Caverns of Sonora.  Unfortunately they don't have any self-guided tours and the only group tour they offer is 2 1/2 hours long and we had just missed it.  Don't think that length of a tour would have worked out for us having to hold Brazos.  So we opted to take a drive one day to Carlsbad, NM to visit Carlsbad Caverns.  It was well worth the trip even though we kind of rushed through the self-guided tour...Pecos was cold and Brazos was un-interested after the first 5 minutes.  Plus we didn't dress warm enough for the cool 55°F temperature of the cave. I highly recommend a trip to the Caverns if you are in the area...and even if you are not in the area, you should make a detour for it.

A fire had burned a large portion of the park about 2 weeks before we were there.  On the drive up to the visitor center we could see where fire retardant had been dropped from helicopters.  This photo was taken at the entrance to the visitor center.

matching smiles!

all that cave exploration wiped him out and made for a peaceful ride back to the campground

pecos was allowed to pick 2 things at the gift shop.  this is one of them.

His other gift shop selection- a dinosaur fossil excavation kit, which kept him very busy back at the campground.

It took 2 days to pack and load the travel trailer, but only 20 minutes to unload this mess!

circus clowns

June 2011- The circus came to town and I thought they might need a couple more clowns.  Turns out they didn't.  But it just so happens that our sweet friend, Julie, works for Feld Entertainment, the company that produces the Ringling Brothers and Barnum  & Bailey circus.  And Julie offered tickets for us to see such "world class entertainment as only Feld Entertainment can provide".  We were happy to oblige.

It has been a long time since I've been to a circus performance.  The last one I saw was the low-budget type that rolled through town and set up at the fairgrounds where the performers also served as ticket takers and concession stand workers.  I was thoroughly impressed with this version of a circus.  It was like going to a Broadway show- with animals!

If there is one thing this company can do- other than put on a fantastic show- it is market their product.  There was plenty of opportunity to own a piece of the show.  Pecos selected this pirate sword from the souvenir stand.

Brazos selected this light up necklace and it kept him thoroughly entertained.  But sadly, it didn't make it home...not sure where it ended up by the time we left the Alamodome.

We were fortunate to have a row of empty seats next to us which gave Brazos plenty of room to run around, as he was on sensory overload from the lights, sounds and spectacle.

There was lemonade, sno cones, cotton candy, popcorn and I'm sure at least three other concession offerings paraded around the seating area.  All of which Pecos wanted but he chose the popcorn.

Since I never got the chance to add it to the blog, I thought I'd do it here.  Back in April, Feld Entertainment- via Julie- gave us tickets to see another show they produce- Disney on Ice.  The show was Toy Story 3 and was very cute, especially the Ken & Barbie scene.  And although I wasn't able to get a good picture of the performance it was nice of Feld Entertainment to allow photography during the show.

Once again, the marketing department was in full force.  This alien hat was attached to the cotton candy bags that made their way through the seating area more than once.

brazos did not want to wear the alien hat

pecos selected these binoculars from the souvenir stand

we went to the afternoon show and couldn't bring snacks into the building so popcorn was our snack

you have to have lemonade to wash down the popcorn and cotton candy!

Both shows were great and we're glad we got to see them.  We love you Julie!  But not just because you can get us tickets to see great shows :)

mutton BUSTed

June 17, 2011- Peach Jamboree time again and you know what that means...mutton bustin!

Here's the condensed version:

Bad draw.  Bad let out.  Early dismount.  No tears.  Pecos had fun.

Now, read on if you want the more detailed version and photos.

Last year was Pecos' inaugural mutton bustin'.  And he hasn't done it since.  He seems to think that is the only place he can- or should- do it.  We've been to several other rodeos over the past year with the opportunity to take another go at it and he always says no because he is going to wait until Peach Jamboree.

while scouting out the stock he came across the clown barrel

suited up and ready to go...he really wanted to wear his Aggie football helmet but  wasn't allowed to

checking out the competition

ready to ride

Here's why he says it was a bad let out: they put him too far back on the sheep.  Last year Casey got in the chute with him and helped him get set.  This year the directors did it and Pecos says they didn't do it right!

pecos says the sheep jumped like a deer

on his way to an early dismount

sliding off the back but still holding on

early dismount

and a roll in the dirt just to make the experience authentic

analyzing his ride on the video camera

brazos was captain of the cheering section

So there you have it, the 2011 edition of mutton bustin' at the Peach Jamboree.  Pecos learned you can't win 'em all; sometimes you draw a bad one and someone else is the winner.  A much cheaper outcome for us this year since we didn't have to buy him a buckle.  

He says it is the rankest sheep he has ever rode!

Next week we are going to the Pecos Rodeo, something we promised Pecos we would do since last year.  He wants to know if there will be mutton bustin' there because he might want to try it again.

survey says...

June 2011- Casey has been hard at work on the landscaping around the house.  Still much to do but the first phase was taking a few measurements so everything is perfectly aligned.  Pecos served as the survey assistant.

memorial day at the lake

May 29-30, 2011- We were so excited to kick off our summer by spending part of Memorial Day weekend at the lake.  College friends, Laree & Ryon, invited us for the weekend along with a few other families to a lake house that Laree's family has in Kingsland on Lake LBJ .  Eight kids ranging in age from 11 months to 5 years old...and only one girl!  The kids all had a blast and it was fun for us too.

We brought our boat, which hasn't been out since before Brazos was born.  Casey spent at least a week getting it all tuned up and running great.  And it was all worth it to see everyone enjoy their time on the water. On our first outing we took Brazos along but the uncomfortable bulk of the life jacket plus the fact he was overdue for a nap made it not too enjoyable for him (or me!).  So I stayed ashore with him after that.  Maybe later this summer when he is a bit more stable on his feet we'll see if he's got his sea legs.

Pecos ready for Water Gun War; his strategy: not to seek out combat; rather just park himself in the kiddie pool, wait for the others to come and fill up their gun, then blast them.  It worked out quite well for him.

big haul of the day...actually, an overnight catch

boat captain and first mate preparing the boat for another outing

ready for a boat ride and tubing- can you imagine what it will be like on the lake with this crew in about  10 years?

Pecos and Calob had so much fun tubing...the highlight of their weekend for sure

when you have that many boys and a great lakefront yard you must play a game of t-ball

casey and brazos did their own swinging and observed t-ball from the sidelines

Did I mention how much fun we had?  Can't wait to do it again sometime!

one year old!

May 25, 2011- Well, we made it through the first year no worse for the wear!  But let's be real, the months of colic and reflux were tough.  Brazos has brought so much joy and laughter to our family with his high energy and boisterous personality.  He's rough and rowdy and headstrong and slightly (ok, abundantly) mischievous.  Despite that, he has made this family whole and we couldn't be happier about that.  The Lord has blessed us beyond measure.

Here's the stats; gonna be long and lean if he continues on this path!

Length: 31.75 inches (96%tile)

Weight: 21.5 pounds (49%tile)

Head Circumference: 18.11 inches (44%tile)

Shoe size: 4...I think; he doesn't really wear shoes except for Crocs

Hair color: barely there, blonde-ish but certainly with a red tint to it

Eye color: deep blue

Favorite food: ice cream

 

This is his favorite place, other than the dishwasher, to play in the kitchen.  Always grabs the rolling pin first and yanks it out.  Genius child there with the plastic bowls on his head.  Cabinet locks have now been installed- the heavy duty kind- and Brazos was furious when they thwarted his attempt to bring mayhem to my kitchen.  But rest assured, we left one drawer all for him and he daily empties out every plastic container and lid that I own.