Inner Space Cavern

Andrew was kind enough to stay home from work one day so I could go on a field trip with Leah's class... there's nothing quite like riding on an un-air-conditioned school bus with forty 3rd graders!

We went to Inner Space Caverns, one of the best preserved caverns in Texas.

Here is Leah, hoping for a cave kiss (it is supposed to be good luck when the stalactites drip on you).

We also were lucky enough to see a bat - usually they stay way back in the caverns, out of the way of the tours.

Toward the end of the tour you can see "cave paintings" of some of the different animals they have found remains for in the cave, as well as the fossilized remains - pretty cool!

 But of course, the best part is the rock candy you eat on the way home.

Family Fun and Fitness

 It's that time again - Fitness Day!  This year Leah and Lincoln had two different days for their fun.

We went to Leah's Fitness Day a couple of weeks ago.  Her class made team shirts to show their spirit - I think it helped them win the tug of war...

Here's Leah teaching the boys how to use the ski-walkers - it's harder than it looks!

Can you believe we were all wearing jackets in the beginning of May in Texas?!?

Pena's Panthers!

Today we went up to school again for Lincoln's turn at Fitness Day.

We helped with the tug of war...

counted his jumps,

and cheered when he made it to the top of the rope!

Peter even took a turn on the rock wall, 

but when we were outside, other projects proved more interesting than the sports activities.

Like climbing the pecan tree and making a sculpture from the pollen.

We definitely had a great time and will be back for more next year!

Music Memory

Leah competed in our school district's Music Memory competition this morning and she was awesome!  The kids are tested on their ability to recognize selections of great music - Leah got them all right!  I'm not too surprised, since she seems to have inherited Andrew's ability to "name that song", usually within the first few bars.

Way to go, Leah!

Crowe's Nest Farm

It's been a few years, so we decided it was time for another visit to Crowe's Nest Farm.

A bunch of families from our church playgroup got together and walked the gardens and saw the animals.

 We saw ostriches

 A miniature mule (apparently they are very rare - the offspring of a miniature horse and a miniature donkey!)

 This handsome fellow - the majestic turkey...

And our favorite - a baby ostrich!