Poetry from the Boys

Pandas

by Eli

Pandas are fluffy

And very, very big

Nibbling on bamboo

Dreaming in the sun too

Amazing pandas

Wildfire

by Peter

Wildfire

hot, huge

burning, destroying, killing

A wildfire leaves whole forests charred and black.

Blaze

Zeppelin

by Lincoln

Have you ever been in a zeppelin?

If you have you'll know it's fun.

If you haven't, come on in!

We'll soar up high with the sun.

We'll zip and zoom high in the air.

The height we'll get to is way

higher than the wheels at the fair!

I hope that you can stay.

If you can't stay,

it's a bummer.

But there's a way:

you can do it this summer!

Until you come back, I say goodbye,

I really want to pilot you, but I'll let it slide.

Please come back, because I'm a nice guy, 

and all I want to do is give you a ride.

Beach Day

Between trips for work and obligations at church, we weren't able to squeeze in a proper family vacation this year.  So last night, we had a family council and decided that we had earned a beach day.  

We quickly loaded up the body boards and beach gear and headed down to Corpus Christi for the day.

We ended up at Mustang Island and it turned out to be a beautiful day!  The surf was just right for the kids (not too big!)

And we pretty much had the beach to ourselves, with just a couple of other families farther down the island.

Everyone gave the body boards a try - with a little help from Andrew to make sure they caught the wave.

We perfected our summer tans...

And when the surf started to die down, we settled in to make a few sandcastles before heading home.

Lovely!

Pioneer Day Breakfast

Our ward had an activity this morning to commemorate Pioneer Day.

It's always a great excuse to hang out with friends

Eat yummy food

Climb some trees

and play a few games

We also got to hear some great stories about how members of the Church played a big role in 

establishing and strengthening settlements here in the hill country of Texas.

A great way to spend the morning!

Wildflower Center

One of our Summer Checklist items was the LadyBird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Most of the popular wildflowers have already faded by this time of summer, but there are still lots of them around... especially the butterfly favorites.

The Center has added a new section since the last time we came - the Family Garden.

It has a wandering stream that ends in a waterfall and a cave.

Exercise equipment that my kids seemed to think was playground equipment

Tree stumps to climb on and build forts around

And huge bird's nests - with giant wooden eggs!

We spent a lot of time playing in this area, but made sure to leave some time for our favorite...

the tree swings!

Superhero Training Camp

 Our city library system always comes up with fun summer programs for the kids.

The favorite this year was the Superhero Training Camp.

Since my kids are really into superheroes right now, they loved getting to make up their own alter-egos!

Batman

Invisible Man

Not so strong Man

Cat woman

Independence Day

We usually watch the fireworks over the river from the top of a hill in our neighborhood, but this year they are renovating the shore of the river, so they moved the fireworks way out east.

We decided we didn't want to drive out there, so we celebrated in the backyard with sparklers and glow sticks...

Happy 4th of July!

Dino Pit

One of our favorite places to hang out is the Nature Science Center.  However, since the older kids are in school, they don't get to go very often.

After checking out the animals, we headed for the Dino Pit... because who doesn't like to dig in the dirt?

State Capitol

Our next adventure took us to the State Capitol.

We just spent a day here about a month ago, but my kids had been asking to come back.

Since our last visit was spent exploring the inside of the building, we decided to do a tour of the grounds today - esp. since the day was overcast and cool and it felt great to be outside.

So we walked around learning about all of the monuments (there are more than 20!)

And were entertained by the local wildlife.

And managed to get caught in a typical Texas downpour!

Once the rain ended, we headed over to Mueller Park to dry off...

And rest a bit.

Another fulfilling adventure!

Summer Fun

We recently discovered the Austin Summer Fun checklist, so we've been cruising around town finding new things to do and rediscovering old favorites.

 We started by spending a rainy afternoon playing hide and seek at Cabela's

 The tree blind was especially popular. 

I sat and relaxed in a chair across the walkway and watched people's faces as they passed the "talking" tree :)

And of course, we had to take our picture with the Texas Ranger out in front.
We also enjoyed strolling through the aquarium and animal displays, but I don't seem to have gotten any pictures of those.

All in all, a fun way to spend an otherwise dreary day!

Cub Scout Day Camp

This week was Cub Scout Day Camp for Lincoln. 

Our den signed up for the Gizmos, Gadgets, and Goo science camp out at Emma Long Park.

Unfortunately, this is the only picture I have of Lincoln from the week - shooting off his paper air rocket.

I volunteered during a couple of the days and signed the other kids up for the sibling camp on those days.  I was really impressed, they were able to do all the things the scouts were doing!

And I was able to get more pictures since these were the groups I was helping with...

Fishing - Leah caught a minnow :)

Canoeing - this was frustrating for Peter because his partner kept forgetting to paddle.

If you've ever paddled a canoe, you know that if you're in the back, you're just steering - not propelling - so they just kept going in circles.

BB guns - Leah and Peter did this at the same time

Archery

Eli even got in on the fun!

Swimming in the river and building volcanoes

 And shooting off air rockets - his went really far!

It was a super fun week and we were worn out by the end!

Basketball Camp

Lincoln spent this week at Basketball Camp with his good friend JD.

They've been going to this camp together since 1st grade and always have a lot of fun.

This year Lincoln was working on being more aggressive on the court.  He struggled a little at the beginning of the week, but by the end was doing much better.  He and his dad have decided to start playing together in the morning once or twice a week to keep up his skills.

JD and his mom also took Lincoln to Gattitown one day as a belated birthday present.  It is sometimes amazing to me how well these two boys get along.  They've known each other since they were babies and always look forward to the time they're able to spend together.