A Little Texas History

On Wednesday of Spring Break, we journeyed back in time at George Ranch Historical Park, a 23,000 acre working ranch.  The ranch was passed down through four generations, strangely enough through the women of the family.  We got to tour 4 different houses:  from a log cabin, to a prairie home, to a Victorian mansion, to the final 1930s home.  We went with two of my friends and their kids and had a great time.  I think the kids really enjoyed the toys from the late 1800s!  It was so nice to see them all running around playing outside and not thinking about video games!

Welcome to George Ranch!

Learning about life in the 1830s:  This guy put those kids to work!

 

Hay ride to the next location

In the prairie house, the lady explained how they would have to check their mattresses for bed bugs

Yes, we did see several alligators!

Spence learning how to play with toys from a simpler time

My friends got some better pictures so I'll try to add some more later.  It's been exciting to do all this fun stuff over Spring Break, but I'm exhausted and need a break from it!

Strawberry Picking

About 30 minutes from our house is a farm where you can pick strawberries.  I'd heard of people going for the past few years, but we never got around to it.  I decided that we would not just sit at home all Spring Break, so we headed out to pick berries today!  Coleman was convinced it would be a waste of time, but even he ended up having a good time (which he reluctantly admitted on the ride home).  Of course, we were not the only ones with this idea.  Once we got to the farm, we sat in a line of cars for almost 40 minutes to get into the parking lot and get a spot!  Who cares though when you've got nowhere to be and a beautiful day to enjoy!

She liked carrying the buckets, until they were filled with over 4 lbs of strawberries!

Oh no, he might be having fun!

This one will probably eat most of the strawberries we bring home

This was only a small section of the strawberry field, and in the back you can see the line of cars waiting for parking spots

She would ask me if a strawberry was a good one before she picked it

Say "strawberry!"

Hmmm.  I might have to spend all afternoon on Pinterest looking for strawberry recipes

Eating his first one

I didn't get a picture of the strawberry and cream fried pie I bought as we were leaving.  Oh my word was it goooooooood.  Thankfully we had already left or I might have bought more! 

Yesterday was a veg-out day and today was strawberry picking.  Tomorrow we're going to George Ranch, a historical ranch not far from our house.  Then Thursday we're packing lunches at Lunches of Love.  Fun week!

Design Star

Some days I never know what I'll find when I walk into a room.  Yesterday I was in the kitchen and heard Allie say, "I'm almost done Mommy!"  This is what I found when I entered the dining room.

 

 And that's why I keep the permanent markers and scissors out of reach.

That's Tired

How tired do you have to be to fall asleep in the car while eating a popsicle?

 

 I think Allie has been suffering from allergies and it is wearing her out!  She doesn't nap anymore, but she's been falling asleep in the car lately.  I couldn't get over her falling asleep mid-popsicle!

While I was uploading that photo, I noticed several more that I haven't shared.  I think I've been a bad blogger lately.  Last Friday we met Candice and Judson at a Chick-fil-a.  Since the older boys are in school, we don't have time for trips to each others' houses on school days, so if we don't feel like going to the zoo or museum, we just hang out at CFA for a few hours!  It was a lovely day until a little girl barfed in the play area.  Poor thing.

 This next picture is so very Allie.  Nana got her those precious leggings (they're kind of like leg warmers), so we decided to make a colorful outfit.  I wish I had taken a picture when I picked her up from school.  She had the leggings pushed down around her ankles, so they looked like 80s slouch socks with big ruffles on the bottom!

 

One day at the park with her friend Gianna

 A few weeks ago I decided to try my hand at gardening.  Except I was going to do a few raised beds.  Then I scaled it down to a some containers and old flower pots.  I figured I didn't want to invest too much money until I figured out if I could keep a few tomatoes alive!  I planted tomatoes, onions, lettuce, strawberries, and basil.  It's been almost a week now and they are still making it!  I've also started composting.  That's pretty fun actually!  I just keep a little bucket in the kitchen to put all my compostable food into and then dump it into my homemade compost bin at the end of the day.  I drilled holes on all surfaces of a plastic storage container to make my compost bin.  Oh the ideas you can find on Pinterest!