The Weekend

After five solid days of a high fever, Henry's fever finally broke last Friday, so we were looking at a weekend with everyone being healthy! So what did I do? I left town! My good friend Heather's bachelorette weekend was on the calendar, so once Gene convinced me that he could handle everything at home and actually had a fun boys' weekend planned, I got the heck out of Houston and headed west to New Braunfels.

Before I left, this sweet boy brought me flowers from the backyard. Henry wasn't sure he could fall asleep without hugs and kisses from Mommy, but we discovered that he actually can!

And this is where I spent my weekend, on the banks of the Comal River. It could not have been a more beautiful or peaceful weekend and it was exactly what I needed after a month of sick kiddos.

Plus I got to hang out with a couple of my favorite gals!

We had dinner Friday night at the Faust Brewing Company. Everyone signed this pint glass for Heather.

Saturday consisted of an early morning walk (I saw lots of deer, cardinals, and even bats!) followed by lounging by the river or on the porch and then a long afternoon nap. Perfection! Saturday night was the big bachelorette bash. Here's the bride-to-be all decked out for her fun night out.

We went to Gruene for dinner at the Gristmill, but had a long wait for our table, so we killed time by heading to the general store. 

Dinner started with this Texas sized platter of onion rings -- just the right size for 12 girls!

We all got challenge cards for the evening. Mine was not too challenging for me!

Back home, Daddy was busy cooking up a mess of sliders for the boys.

The boys were busy with soccer, a birthday party, and running errands. When the huge storms came through Saturday night, they stayed in, watching movies, eating popcorn and ordering Pink's Pizza. They all loved their special boys' weekend.

In fact, I think I need to plan girls' getaways more often!

History Makers' Living Museum: Harry Houdini

On Friday, Will's class presented the History Makers' Living Museum.  

The first graders had been working on this project for five weeks. They researched their history maker, took notes, wrote rough and final drafts of the speech, created a timeline, drew a portrait, memorized the speech, dressed in costume and presented it all to family and friends. It is amazing what these first graders can do!

Will was Harry Houdini and he did a fantastic job. 

Each child had a "button" on his hand. Visitors to the museum pressed the button and the history maker came alive and told us all about his life!

Nana and Pop came to the museum too.

The whole class!

This project was intense but kids learned so much and all did an amazing job. 

We were so proud of our little Harry Houdini!

Lately: Some Magic, Soccer and a Sick Boy

This April has been all about being sick! We are on our third illness so far and have spent so much time cooped up inside. Henry caught Will's virus which is characterized by a long-lasting, high fever (102-105). It is a doozy! Henry spends much of the day on the sofa watching shows, like this.

Last week, when Will was sick, Henry got to go on a field trip to the Butterfly Center at the science museum. I was so disappointed I couldn't help chaperone but I know Henry had a great time with his friends!

Last week, we had a good 3 1/2 days when everyone was healthy (we went camping!). We also tried out Will's new handcuffs and chains.

Will is Harry Houdini for his Living Museum project. 

Cutest magician!

And so talented! Look how fast he got out of those chains!

Henry was supposed to be the student of the day on Monday, so we worked on this poster last week to showcase all of his favorite things: family and friends, cooking, hiking and camping, zoos and museums, and playing soccer. We had it all ready to go but he missed his "Me Monday." He'll get his special day next week, for sure!

We also made it to soccer on Saturday morning. Here is Henry's team with Daddy as coach.

Run, Henry, run!

And back to this week. Henry mostly feels crummy until his medicine kicks in, and then he feels pretty normal. He asked to work on Hooked on Phonics one day and was so excited to finish Kindergarten Level 2.

So proud of my good little reader. He's ready for First Grade Level 1!

And we are ready to have everyone in our house healthy again! 

An Overnight Adventure: Camping at Stephen F. Austin State Park

With everyone healthy and a gorgeous April weekend ahead, we decided to take the boys camping! We grabbed the last camping spot available at Stephen F. Austin State Park and headed out west after lunch on Saturday.  

Gene and Henry always set up the tent right away.  

Our campsite! We had a shelter again, only because that's what was available. It's actually really nice to have a place to stash all the stuff.

We spent some time just relaxing and soaking up the beautiful April day. It was a high of only 72 degrees.  If that doesn't get you outside, I don't know what will.

I have never seen so many cardinals in my life as I have at this state park. At one point, there were six males at the campsite next to us, pecking at the ground. My favorite bird...

We went hiking, of course. 

The last time we visited Stephen F. Austin State Park was in January. What a difference a couple of months makes. Everything was so green.   

We hiked about 3 miles (the boys have so much endurance now!) and found lots of spots overlooking the Brazos River.  

Have you heard of nature deficit disorder? I don't think my boys suffer from it!

We found a trail leading down to a little beach on the Brazos.

This little creek fed into the river.

This tree was amazing. It looks like the camera is angled up, right? But really, the tree had fallen over and was growing parallel to the ground. 

Besides lots of cardinals, vultures, hawks and other birds, we saw this beautiful butterfly,

a fuzzy caterpillar,

and an armadillo crossing our path!

Armadillos have very bad eyesight so this little guy didn't even see us. We think he was too busy looking for bugs to eat to worry about a few enamored humans.  

By the time we returned from our hike, it was nearly 6 o'clock and time to get the campfire going!

Camp dinner:  hot dogs, chili, veggies, and chips.

Followed by s'mores, of course!

I love these little boys!

Despite the fact that I completely forgot to pack pillows, we all slept fairly well and woke up to a chilly morning (low of 49!). Gene always gets my coffee going first thing.  

Camp breakfast: pumpkin muffins, apples, toast with peanut butter, coffee and milk.  

Our campsite was a quarter-mile from the restrooms so it was quite a journey there and back.  

Gene took the boys for one bathroom break and let me soak up the beauty of the morning with my coffee. There's nothing quite like sitting around a campfire, listening to the cardinals sing and enjoying the peace and quiet. I even saw a woodpecker on the tree next to our tent. What a way to start the day! 

After breakfast, the boys found roly-polies while Gene and I packed up.  

And then we hiked another couple of miles.

The park isn't huge and I think we've been on nearly every trail there now. 

We saw lots of critters like this caterpillar,

lots of snails,

and even leafcutter ants.

 It is a beautiful place.

 I'm so lucky to have spent an amazing weekend outdoors

 with my three favorite people!