Outside Fun, Part 1

Looking through photos from the past couple of months, it's clear that our family loves being outside. Here are a few things we've done recently in the beautiful weather.

We went to lots of playgrounds. The merry-go-round seems to usually be the kids' favorite.

We hunted for fossils in the creek.

We visited historic cabooses and courthouses.

We found an old-school, dangerously fun slide.

We pretended to be a dead bug.

And of course, we swung.

Backyard Camping

A couple of weeks ago, we all decided to enjoy the great weather outside by going camping. Since this was the first campout for the kids, we elected to stay in the backyard. We had a great time! We cooked steaks, made s'mores, and listened to the wind in the trees as we slept. Now that we've had some practice sleeping in the tent, we'll go to a state park later this summer.

Walker wore his hardhat to help build the tent.

We cooked steaks over a (charcoal) campfire.

We roasted marshmallows.

The s'mores were a bit messy.

Maybe it was good that we did this in the backyard this time... it made it a lot easier to clean up the sticky messes!

More Swinging

If Findley had her way, she would spend almost every waking hour in the swing. She loves the big swing, but she still likes to get in the baby swing because she can relax. Mama got this great photo of her recently.

Transit of Venus

A couple of weeks ago, we met up with our friend Larry to watch the Transit of Venus. Larry has a great telescope with a solar filter, so we got a great view of this historic event. Dad was more interested than the kids, so luckily there was a playground nearby where they could go play.

Reading

Walker loves to read books. Here he is showing his cousin Hernán Davíd one of his favorites.

Watching the Rain

Because it's rained so rarely in the past year, every storm is a big event for us. Here's a shot Mama took of the kids intently watching the rain a couple of weeks ago.

Hats

Findley loves hats. Anytime she sees someone wearing one, she points at the person, pats her head with the other hand and says, "Hat! Hat!" She also has a couple of cute ones that she likes to wear. Here she is with her train engineer's hat.

Fish at the Garden

A couple of weeks ago, we went to the Botanic Gardens. They have a huge aquarium there, and the kids were excited to see fish that look like Nemo.

Catching Up - Walker's Birthday Party

It's been a long time since we posted photos, so we have lots to share over the next few days. We'll start with some shots from Walker's birthday party.

Walker's Haircut

Just before his 3rd birthday party, we finally got Walker's hair cut.  It had been about six months since we last cut it, and it was looking shaggy.  At least Dad thought it looked shaggy.  Mama still thought it looked cute, but Walker asked to have it cut (we think some of his friends at school got theirs cut a few days before).

We went to an old-timey barber shop where Dad gets his hair cut.  We've tried one of those kid haircut places, and they're just too overwhelming with bright colors, TV's, and kids running amok.  The old timey barber shop is quiet, calm, and is a much better environment for cutting a kid's hair, in our opinion.

When Walker first sat in the chair, he was very solemn.  He didn't respond to me, and he didn't dare smile.  He was very serious about the whole thing for a while.

Finally, near the end of the haircut, I was able to make him laugh. This was fun, but suddenly he got really wiggly and it made it difficult for the barber to finish.

When his haircut was done, he looked like a different kid!

Birthday Boy

Happy birthday, Walker boy! You are such an amazing kid, and we love watching you grow up. Here's our favorite recent photo of you, taken at the Trinity Park train on the morning of your birthday.

We love you!

Hide and Seek

Found him!

Curly

We took lots of photos this weekend, and this one is our favorite. Findley's hair is getting so curly.

Bluebonnet Photos

It's a beautiful day today, so we tried to take some bluebonnet photos. Unfortunately, it's a little too beautiful, because the sun was either in their eyes or making terrible shadows. But we still had fun seeing the beautiful flowers.

Pledge of Allegiance

We love how he places his hand on his stomach.

Findley's Faces

We love these two photos of Findley.

Hairstylin'

Walker's hair has gotten so long that we can make it stand up when we wash it. Lately, he wants us to make it stick up and take photos.

And of course, Findley has to do anything that her brother does.

Musical Kids

Mama made Walker an awesome drum from an old plastic tub and a belt. He likes to march around the house with it.

Findley loves to play the piano on Mama's Kindle.

And of course a post about our musical kids wouldn't be complete without a photo of Walker's impression of Matthew McConaughey.

Backyard Fun

It was a beautiful day yesterday, and we spent all of our time between work/school and dinnertime in the backyard. And of course whenever we're in the backyard, we swing.

More Drumming

As we've said before, Walker loves to drum. And he's getting pretty good at it. Here he is playing on his cousin Zoe's trap set.