Rewind back to last summer 2013..... Part 3

Bow Fishing

My brother-in-law took the kids bow fishing one night.  Bow fishing includes catching (spearing) Alligator Gar with a barbed arrow.  See photos below to see what these (ugly) creatures are.  The kids had a wonderful time.  

Jessie & Ison bowed the same Gar

Jessie's (small) catch

A bigger Catch

The LARGEST Gar was bowed by Melanee

It was so BIG that they had it weighed and measured to see if it was the largest catch in Texas. 

It wasn't the largest but it was a close second!  

So Awesome!!

Games

Bill found one of their family's childhood games called "Skittles" created by Carrom.  He got it all cleaned up so that we can start playing it.   After doing some research on it recently I learned this is a game created in the 1920's. It is played with spinning tops, and 12 hardwood pins.  You try to knock down as many pins as you can with the spinning top.  Points are scored depending on which tops are knocked down.  It's a blast and was a BIG HIT with everyone.  Thanks babe for finding this game for us.  

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You can find this game on Amazon or Ebay if you are interested in getting one of these for your family.

Father's Day

I was so blessed this year to get to spend Father's Day with my Dad.  It's been a few years since that has happened.  It also happened to be the last day my parents and nieces were going to be here in Texas, so we had everyone over for dinner, games and fun times spent with each other.  

Valerie, my Dad and my FIL in the background. 

I don't know what mom was doing but I just love her tongue hanging out!  LOL

She does this often when she is concentrating on something.  It's cute isn't it?  

(She'll probably kill me for posting this) 

Just finishing up dinner and dessert.  MIL in the background.

Valerie created a photo album for dad for Father's Day.  

It was awesome! 

Filled with so many memories. 

 Pretty sure my dad loves it!  

Having my parents and my nieces here with us for a couple weeks really made my summer extremely wonderful. It was really hard for my dad to be here with having to have dialysis every other day, scheduled at a center he was not familiar with. He struggled a few times and did not feel well often.  I am just so grateful that he came anyway, to visit and see our new home and our little FARMily.   I don't know if he will be able to ever make it out here again so I just feel really happy and blessed to have him here with us. 

RODEO 

After my parents and nieces left for home, we still had another week or so with Jessie before he had to go home.  We made some great memories that I will forever cherish. 

Rodeo time!  Jessie couldn't miss this opportunity since he himself is a rodeo boy back home, 

bull riding of all things! So dear hubby, Jessie and I went to our local rodeo. 

We had a wonderful time.  I was very impressed with how rodeo's are done here in Texas.  

They take the rodeo just as seriously as High School Football.  

If you have ever been to Texas you will know exactly what I mean by that.  

The rodeo grounds

Rodeo Royalty bringing the colors in.  

We had a really good time and will definitely make this a tradition.

Jessie all studded out with cowboy hat and new T-shirt!  

Pretty funny shirt if you ask me LOL!!

Jessie talked me into getting myself a cowboy hat.  

It's a comfy fit!  I like it!  

Wonderful memories were also made at Joe's Crab Shack.

Love this kid of mine!  So handsome!

And we couldn't miss out on stopping by Cabela's of Fort Worth

This is my new favorite photo.  He wanted a photo so he can show off this new hat.  

I just love the photo because it shows off my boy!  

Having my parents, nieces and Jessie visit really made my summer special.  I miss having these people around living close-by like we used to, so the times we do get to spend together seem that much more important, more special.  So thankful for Memories that will last a life time!!  

A Canoe and a Refuge plus a Car and a Geo-cache equals BIG Adventures

A while back DH and I enjoyed a weekend filled with our kind of adventures.  We loaded up the Rav4 with our canoe, the dogs, the GPS and the Geo-caching bag and escaped the monotony of every day life for a few hours.  First stop was the Waffle House for breakfast, followed by a trip to the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge where we hopped in the canoe for a trip around the river.

Here are a few  bunch of photos of our trip....

These are Buzzards

They are BIG

I have never seen buzzards (live) before I moved to Texas

It was a very pretty day

The gorgeous views along the river

The water was like glass... a mirror

This little guy was on a branch that was hanging way out over the river

Thank goodness he didn't fall in!

Peaceful

Tranquil

Relaxing

 

More buzzards

Ah... it's almost like I am there again

We saw all kinds of birds and animals in the wild 

It is a refuge after all!

What a great way to spend the first half of the day.  

Did I mention how relaxing and peaceful it was?  

The next part of the day included a road trip about an hour or so west of Fort Worth out near Mineral Wells, Texas; where we included Geo-caching into seeing some new places. 

We searched and found several Geo-caches, more than I have photos of.  

One of the Geo-caches took us to Mineral Wells Fossil Park

We had no idea this place existed so we weren't prepared for digging. We will be going back sometime though!

Another Geo-cache took us to a really nice, old, cemetery where the bluebonnet's were in full bloom

Daisy enjoying the view

Every Geo-cache we go on  takes us to places we would not have known about otherwise, usually with history or interesting artifacts.  We have been on so many fun adventures since we have taken up Geo-caching as our fun hobby.  You have to try it sometime.  

Go here for more information

I should tell you about my getting lost adventure now.  Yes... we did get lost for a time!  One of our Geo-caches we wanted to find included a short hike through a wooded area that gained an elevation of about 900 ft.  With Geo-caching you need a GPS to find the coordinates, and you learn that it is often a very good idea to mark on your GPS where your car is located before venturing out so that you can find your way back.  

Well..... I had my handy GPS, and knowing how important it is to mark where we park, somehow it slipped my mind to do so on this one.  So we venture off into the woods.  We enjoy our hike and find the cache and start heading back before I realize nothing looks familiar and we are beginning to follow a path that is taking us in the wrong direction.  We start back tracking a bit but still end up taking another wrong path.  DH suggests I pull up the coordinates where our car is parked and I have to tell him I didn't mark it.  That didn't go over so well! 

Now it is a pretty hot and humid day and we had set out on this adventure during the hottest part of the day and didn't bring a lot of water with us knowing it wouldn't take us very long.   So.. after quite sometime of seemingly walking in circles and becoming hotter and thirstier (water was gone at this point), DH suggests we go back to the Geo-cache find which is plugged into the GPS, and start all over again.  I was becoming frightened we would never get out this wooded hillside!  We located the cache and started out again only paying more attention to our surroundings and what looked familiar and what didn't, when we realized we had earlier missed a path that we had come in on which lead us finally in the right direction toward the right path that lead us to our car.  Whew!  Lesson learned!  We would have been OK even if we hadn't been able to get out of there because we did have the GPS and could have told rescuers our coordinates... However, ALWAYS mark your car's location!  I probably won't ever make that mistake again! 

I look forward to the next time we can get out and enjoy all the fun adventures just waiting for us.  

Bluebonnet Tour

Me and my sister, Valerie, went on a road trip today to Ennis, Texas to see all the Bluebonnet's in full bloom.  Thousands of acres of rolling hills covered in Bluebonnets and Indian paintbrush.  Such beauty and so fragrant.  So fun!

The Bluebonnet is the State Flower of Texas.  Ennis is the "Official Bluebonnet City of Texas" as well as home to the "Official Texas Bluebonnet Trail".   And here are the photos of our day.... (There are a bunch of them)

Splendid Beauty

Amazing

Cute Donkey

Love the contrast of colors

I want!

Yep these also

So adorable!

Nice blend of bluebonnet's and paintbrush

I am in awe!

Good Ole' Texas Longhorns

Before moving to Texas I had no idea how beautiful and lush this place is... Tree's and green everywhere.  I really do love my new home!    

If you get the chance to come to Texas during April, the Texas Bluebonnet's are in bloom and are a must see!  They really are everywhere, but Ennis has a huge conglomeration of them.  It was well worth the drive and I look forward to next year!