Camping with Grammy & Gramps

We spent Friday night at Lake Altus / Quartz Mountain with Grammy & Gramps in their new camper. The boys had a great time!

Canoeing was hilarious fun for the whole family! Grammy, Braden, & I were in one canoe and then Gramps, Dustin, & Seth were in another. Grammy & I got the whole oaring thing down and were speeding down the lake in no time. The boys on the other hand had a little trouble. After ten minutes of Gramps trying to get Dustin to coordinate oaring with him, Gramps gave up and switched spots to let Seth give it try. It took them another ten minutes before they started making progress. We all had fun splashing each other with the oars, but Braden didn't enjoy us rocking the canoe too much!

That evening we hiked up a mountain of sand (Seriously, the sand was knee deep and it was a steep climb!) to get to the beachy part of the lake. The kids enjoyed playing in the water for about a half hour, until I decided the unsupervised little boy was casting his fishing line entirely too close to my kids' heads! Time to go!

The next day we hiked the New Horizons Trail with Grammy. It was more of a rock climbing trail than hiking like we hoped. We climbed a ways up the rocks and turned back. It was super hot and the boys know that serious hiking and climbing has to be Dad supervised. (This is so I am not held responsible for any major injuries that may occur!)

We then stopped at a water slide for an hour before driving home. It was a small family owned place with two tube slides that dumped into a 3 ft pool. We climbed the 65 stairs up to the top and slid down over and over again for an hour. We definitely got in our cardio for that day! The kids were linking up their tubes and having a blast! It was all good until I lost my tube completely and had to go down the concrete slide on my belly! I have a few bruises in odd places from that one!

In conclusion, Lake Altus / Quartz Mountain State Park is a great weekend get away! There is plenty to do and beautiful scenery. The kids are already asking when we are going to go back with Dad and climb the big rocks! Thanks for a great weekend, Grammy & Gramps!

Injury Roster

My boys are the most accident prone kids I know! I know all boys play rough and get hurt, but my boys seem to take the cake. They get hurt when they aren't even doing anything. The summer is only just beginning and we have already got a good list going...

Seth has a busted lip from being hit in the mouth with a tennis ball.
Seth also smashed his pinkie finger between two drawers (actually Dustin did it for him).
Braden's leg was punctured by a cactus while hiking, which left a good bruise with a hole in the middle.
Braden ran his shoulder into the wall while racing Seth to the back door and has a good three inch bruise that he has nursed all evening.
Seth also has a big bruise on his thigh from Dustin pelting him with a tennis ball. (I assume the reason we use tennis balls instead of baseballs is obvious at this point.)
Braden has two knots on his head from wrestling and hitting the ground too hard.
Seth also has a big open yucky spot where he popped a blister on his knee. (Why he had a blister that size on his kneecap, I have no answer for that!)

It seems Dustin is behind in injuries at this point, which is good for him seeing that he has been to the doctor, dentist, and is seeing an oral surgeon tomorrow. He has plenty going on without any additional hurts!

Picnics, Parks, and Discovery Center

My sanity relies on keeping these kids busy. You can only hear "What are we doing today?" so many times before you just give in and hunt up something that is hopefully entertaining for the kids.

When Derik was off, we took the kids hiking in the canyon. We hiked a trail for a little while and then up to the top of a cave. We've been in the mouth of the cave several times, but this time I led the boys up to the top of the cave and in through the hole up there. We enjoyed the cool cave air very briefly as there was a 12 foot drop off directly in front of us and it made Derik a little nervous. It was a great hiking trip, if you leave out the hike back down where I got all light-headed and weak in the knees. Probably should have eaten lunch before going hiking in the heat of a summer day! Thankfully my wonderful husband hiked back to the car and drove to where I was under strict orders not to move. I think he was expecting to find me laid out in the dirt when he got back. I was about to say we made it out unscathed, but I almost forgot Braden's leg was attacked by a cactus. He pulled the cactus poker thing out of his leg and then freaked because it started bleeding. He and I put an end to our hiking, so we headed for ice cream in the air conditioned comfort of Braum's. Nice day!

Yesterday, after we drove across town to find the zoo closed on Mondays, we found a new playground behind the buffalo enclosure of the zoo. Great playground, but I wouldn't suggest it for a picnic. Between the faint smell of buffalo in the air and the odoriffic trash filled pond nearby, it really didn't create a picnic atmosphere. We soldiered through the smells and ate our lunch anyway. I got some great pics of the boys and they enjoyed playing, even if they were holding their noses half the time!

Today, we checked out the recently renovated Discovery Center. The boys loved the Birds Prey exhibit, which was complete with stuffed prey being torn apart by various large birds. There was also a mountain of 1200 field mice! The coolest part, in boy opinion, was the body exhibits. They loved the sneezing machine that would simulate a panda, baby, dog, or man sneezing on you. Sitting on inflated tires that create great extremely loud farting sounds were also a big hit with the boys. Their favorite was the outline of the body with different buttons activated various sounds, everything from chewing to burping to diarrhea, which naturally Seth pushed repeatedly until a Grandma nearby looked like she was going to be sick. They also played with all sorts of science based toys and built a roller-coaster. We skipped the space theater due to time restraints, not because of my tendency to get motion sick and throw up when I am in there!

I think I would suggest the Discovery Center as and inexpensive ($22 for all three of us) and fun way to spend an afternoon. It is way better than last year when we had written it off as a waste of time and money.

Thumbs up for Discover Center!

Thumbs down for the odoriffic new playground behind the zoo!

Back Home With Boys

Last weekend, we drove to Houston to visit Derik's family and pick up our boys. My step-sons, Dustin(12) and Seth(10), were ready to come to Amarillo for a fun summer. I hope I can deliver!

While in Houston, we got to spend some quality time with Derik's brothers, sister-in-law, various nieces and nephews, and his parents. It was a good time, but I am glad to be home. There's no place like home!

Yesterday was our first swimming adventure of the summer. We joined the WT Activity Center, which means at least a month of indoor swimming, complete with big water slide, lazy river, and whirlpool. I love not having to worry about sunscreen and the kids love the pool!

Today, we have Braden's best bud from next door with us. His parents both work full time so he is going to hang with us one day a week to give his grandma a break and give the boys a chance to play. We've been to the park, McDonald's (with the big playland), and library. Now they are playing guns and swords all over the house, while I relax in my bed.

Surprisingly we have had very little fighting so far. A few summers ago, that is all they did all summer long. I felt like a referee at a hockey game! It's been getting better every time they are together. Now, aside from some arguments over who gets the Wii vs. Gamecube, we are pretty peaceful. I hope it stays this way all summer!