A ride to remember

First thing on my agenda for the morning since sleep was out of the question.... :)  was a canoe ride on the lake.

So we rented a canoe, suited everyone up in life jackets and headed towards Devils' waterhole.

Right along side the famous jumping rocks.

We got an up close view of the rocks I had admired from across the way.

And found a tiny little cove around the corner with some beautiful and colorful rock outcroppings.

While I alternated snapping and paddling Sharon figured out the right way to do it turning the paddle over to Caden and letting him paddle while she snapped pictures.  :)

At one point she decided she just couldn't wait for our promised hike in this general area and decided she would hop out and take some more pictures before we headed back.

Despite warnings from both Kevin and I over how slippery the rocks were and what a bad idea trying to get out was she stood up, and stepped out towards the rocks.

Needless to say, she should have headed our warnings.  :) 

As she stepped out her movement pushed the boat out away from the rocks, and no sooner had her first foot landed before she discovered just how slippery the rocks were as she zipped off the rocks, plopping into the water and under the boat to come out on the other side, shocked and sputtering.

After a moment of slight panic as she frantically latched on to the side of the boat - shocked at the cold, deep water, and the fact that she found herself unexpectedly in the water as she doesn't know how to swim and was only afloat thanks to the life jacket - she left out a laugh.  Reassured that she was okay we joined in and had a good laugh as well.

We moved our boat safely out of the way and enjoyed the show as she attempted to make it up onto the rocks several times before finally giving up and listening to our recommendations to find shallower water on the other side.  However, not being able to swim she refused to let go of the boat and insisted her husband paddle her across to other side.  :)

They eventually did make it across the way and she was able to walk out of the water.

To the cheers of some passersby enjoying an early morning hike in the area.

Thankfully the water while a little chilly when you first got in turned out to not be bad at all after a few seconds and other than a soggy cell phone, and little scrape on one elbow everyone and everything escaped unscathed.

In search of sunrise

Thanks to daylight savings time and Ryan's absolute refusal to EVER let me sleep late I found myself wide awake at 5:30am.

Well in advance of the sunrise.  :)

And like his father - Ryan only has one mode - loud. 

So to avoid waking the entire campground up before the crack of dawn I went ahead and got up and took Ryan to do a little exploring by flashlight well away from civilization. 

Needless to say the flashlight was by far his favorite part.  :)

We ended up over by the boat launch and docks again watching the fog roll across the water.

And a few ducks out for an early morning swim.

Thanks to the flashlight and a couple of toys we managed to keep Ryan entertained for almost an hour and a half.

Though with 5-10 minutes before the tip of the sun actually peeked out over the hills in the distance Ryan decided he just couldn't take one more minute of being separated from the cars and trucks (or more likely envisioning someone ELSE playing with them) so he insisted we go back to our campsite

We took the longest, slowest detour I could manage and enjoyed the rocky shore, and play of colors across the sky and reflections off the water on our way back.

Thankfully, by the time we finally made it back there were signs of life just about everywhere so Ryan was able to grab one of the cars and run wild around the site again.  :)

Inks Lake - Day 1

A few weeks ago one of our friends bought a new tent and was eager to go camping and take it out for a spin.  He lucked into a highly coveted reservation at Inks Lake State Park and invited us along.  So Saturday after our soccer game we made the drive up to Inks Lake State Park (near Austin.)

And as luck would have it - we ended up in a great spot under a giant old oak tree, just across the street from the water, and a hop and a skip away from the restroom, the park store, the playground, and the on-site restaurant with plenty of room for the kids to run and play.

In no time I had our little tent up and ready to go despite the fact that I hadn't put it together in years.  And other than the fact that the tent bag was missing a stake and I didn't remember to grab a hammer it was pretty uneventful.  :)

Before long our friends arrived and while they worked on getting their tent setup the kids pulled out cars and construction trucks and ran them all over our site.

I finally convinced Ryan to take a break long enough to make a trip to the restroom and a detour back by the boat shed & launch just before sunset.

The views were absolutely spectacular as the sun went down.  Kevin and I both snapped a few (dozen) pictures of the sunset.  :)


Other than a little accident after I left to run to the store for some smores that left Connor looking absolutely pitiful with a giant fat lip and skinned chin from where he ventured out the of the lighted area and ran face first into one the big boulders lining the road it was a picture perfect day.

Election 2012

I now reserve the right to complain if the other side wins.  :)

Election 2012

Did You?

The Polar Bear Club

See the kid in blue climbing around on the tall slippery rocks?  And those two little specs in the water?  I think the boys officially joined the Polar Bear Club this weekend as they plopped into the lake (with a slight gasp) for a swim and some cliff diving.  In November.

Seriously - best.parents.ever.  :)

For the record they weren't alone.  We were there first, but before we headed out there were some 20 other campers scaling the rocks and taking the plunge (see all those little specs all over the rocks???).  And the temps were somewhere in the mid 80's.  Truth be told - after our little hike I was ready to jump in clothes and all.  :)  I hear that there was an initial shock to the system, and the best way in was all at once, but that once you were in that it was actually really nice.  The boys certainly enjoyed it and were ready to do it all over again.

Cars Halloween

For Halloween this year the boys went as cars from the Cars movies - Ryan went as Lightning McQueen.

And Connor was his favorite car - Holley Shiftwell.

Though after this trial run we realized that we needed a little more work on our suspender system.  I ended up switching to a much wider, and softer ribbon and doing a criss cross that rested on their shoulders and backs instead of on their necks.  :)

When we finally went trick-er-treating the boys got lots of compliments on their costumes and enjoyed showing their cars off.   :) 

There were tons of people out trick-er-treating in our neighborhood.  And several of the houses really went all out in their decorating.

Ryan was all business when it came to candy - nothing and no one was going to deter him.  :)  Connor on the other hand kept a close eye on the decorations and had to be encouraged to approach some of the scarier houses initially.

Halloween Shirts

The boys made special shirts at school to wear to their Fall Festival last Friday.  Ryan's class made a variety of hand print crititers, from ghosts and cats to bats.  Connor's class made mummies.

Ryan was particuarly proud of his "Sparkly" bat.  :)  And I could not get over just how cute Connor's mummy turned out!  I thought they were adorable. 



The Magic Pumpkin Patch

If you pick just the right pumpkin, from just the right pumpkin patch, and look carefully - oh, so carefully - you just might find those 5 amazingly special magic pumpkin seeds.  And if you know just what to do, just how to plant them, just what to wish for you might, just might, find the secret to the magic pumpkin patch.

For those 5 magical little seeds planted with love and care have been known to sprout baby pumpkins overnight.

For two special little boys, who believed with all their hearts.  :)

And were ecstatic to find that the seeds they so carefully planted turned into baby pumpkins thanks to the magic of All Hallows Eve.  :)



Carving Pumpkins

Twas the night before Halloween and all through the hood not a child was still stirring, except of course at our house.  :)

For there were three eyed monsters and dracula's too - swimming around in the boys' imaginations.

So with no time left to spare - we all got to work.

Kevin and Ryan made a dracula.

While Connor and I worked on a 3 eyed monster, with one giant tooth.

And of course there's not one single picture of the actual carving process - because these two hooligans were wielding the knives.

Thankfully when all was said and done there were still 40 fingers, and 40 toes.  :)

Needless to say - the boys had a blast.  :)