worrell wanderings

sick of summer

August 16, 2011- I'm sick of summer this year. That's right, I'm waving my surrender flag, giving up, throwing in the towel, tappin' out. Whatever you want to call it, I'm DONE. This hot dry weather is depressing and unbearable. Don't be surprised if we re-locate next year to the mountains. Or the coast. Wherever there are cool breezes and not a 60-day string of 100+ degree days.

Another reason I'm sick of summer: summer has made us sick. We started the first week of summer with a round of strep throat for the boys. And we ended it this past month with another round of strep, stomach bug and pink eye. To top it all off I've got a staph infection on my leg. I don't understand how any micro-organism can survive in this dry hot environment long enough to infect anyone, but I didn't go to med school so what do I know. Isn't that why all the retirees flock to Arizona- to live germ free in the hot arid desert?

So there. I'm declaring an end to summer. Bring on a cold front!

sonsurf beach bash

July 22, 2011- St. Anthony Catholic Church hosted another fun and successful Vacation Bible School. The theme this year was SonSurf Beach Bash. After skipping out last year for maternity leave I returned to organize crafts for the 80+ kids in grades Pre-K to 5th. Thanks to all the prayers- and some awesome help- I'm able to make it happen.

me and my two beach bums

the pre-k & kindergarten group practicing their song

pecos decorating his clay cross

finished and ready for it to dry

brazos spent his time in child care munching Fruit Loops

On the last day we had a beach bash party. I had a sand art craft and beach balls for the kids to decorate. It takes a while to inflate 80+ beach balls, even with an air compressor. And where do you put that many beach balls? Thankfully we live in Texas where there is no shortage of trucks.

so many beach balls we had to put some inside the cab of the truck

brazos thought we had all those beach balls in the truck just for his enjoyment

pecos is such the ladies man...he came to decorate his beach ball at the exact moment there were about 10 girls at the table.

final performance

here's your sign

July 12, 2011- Brazos woke up this morning with a diaper saturated with diarrhea (sorry if that is too much information) which of course meant an equally horrible diaper rash. I brought him outside for a little fresh air therapy. Pecos was adamant that Brazos wearing nothing but his birthday suit would not be welcome on the trampoline.

So he made this sign:

I'm not sure what is funnier, the sign or the fact that he thinks Brazos can read it. At least he remembered his manners!

TANK you to our troops

July 4, 2011- America is another year older and to celebrate our boys had another fun entry for the Fredericksburg Fourth of July Children's Parade. The ladies auxiliary for the VFW hosts the parade each year. It is fun to see all the kids decked out in patriotic gear. This year the boys won awards for Most Patriotic, Best Decorated Vehicle and Most Humorous. While we are appreciative of the hosts and their hard work to organize such chaos, there are so many participants it would almost be better if there weren't awards or prizes given out. All of the kids are so cute I'm sure it is hard to choose a winner no matter what the category. To be fair, Pecos gave two of his flag prizes to other participants that didn't win one.

Casey is compelled each year to create a show-stopper of an entry. We had the rocket horse two years ago. Last year was the covered wagon. This year was military. I had a different idea in mind but we couldn't quite figure out how Brazos would ride along with it. Casey thought if he built an army tank over the battery-powered jeep then Brazos couldn't get out and it would be a great entry for both of them. He was right, but you almost couldn't even see Brazos in it!

You are probably thinking that we are a bit too intense, obsessed and over-achievers. After all, it is just a children's parade. You're kinda right, but let me set the record straight- we are not super competitive parents out to smash the competition at a children's parade; we are out to make memories for our boys. Casey has the talent to build such fun parade floats and Pecos really loves the parade and is so proud when everyone takes his picture and tells him how much they like his entry. That is what it is all about for us. {Plus, Casey has this thing where he won't let himself be outdone and has to do something bigger and better each year.}

barefoot and waving a flag...it doesn't get much more American than that!

MiMi & Paw Paw were here for the weekend to visit and to see what the fuss over this parade was all about. They had no idea how huge- and fun- it is.

Scenes from the parade route:

After the children's parade wrapped up it was time for the big parade. Pecos was having so much fun he wanted to drive his tank in the big parade. Oma & Opa offered to walk along just in case he got lost....or lost battery power. By the time it was all said and done he might have been the most photographed participant in the parade.

fly-over before the parade

This is one of the many reasons I love Fredericksburg. Flags and people lining the parade route. No left-wing liberal is gonna tell us we can't wave a flag or take One Nation Under God out of our pledge!

We missed out on fireworks this year...none in Fredericksburg due to the drought. After two parades and a long, hot day and we were too tired to drive anywhere else to see them. Maybe next year. Happy Birthday, America!

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.