An Overnight Adventure: Camping at Huntsville State Park

We missed our last Cub Scout campout due to a busy work and school schedule, so we promised the boys a camping trip over spring break. We had reservations at Huntsville State Park (one of our favorite state parks) on Sunday night and we sure lucked out with fantastic weather. It was sunny with highs in the low 70s and a nighttime low around 50 degrees.

We snagged the exact same campsite (shelter #7) that we had last time we camped in Huntsville and it is the perfect spot for us. We had lovely views of Raven Lake, a shelter to stash our stuff and, best of all, a big thicket behind the tent for exploration.

Our first order of was setting up the tent.

We have had fantastic fun at all the state parks we've visited, but Huntsville is one of our favorites. It is just a lovely park, full of stately loblolly pines, a calm lake and more birds that we could count. Within ten minutes at the park, we saw a pileated woodpecker! Huntsville is also a favorite because of the many activities it offers. From hiking and horseback riding to paddle boating, canoeing and swimming, this is one fun park! 

Once our tent was set up, we rented a canoe for an hour and paddled around Raven Lake, We didn't get any pictures as we didn't trust ourselves to take our phones out on the water, but we all enjoyed it. Next time, we'll try paddle boating! 

By the time we finished canoeing, it was dinner time. 

After dinner, the boys explored the big thicket behind the tent.  

Will took the next four pictures with his camera in the thicket.

While the boys explored, Gene and I sat by the fire, listening to the birds and enjoying the peace of nature. There's just nothing like being outside on a beautiful day.

We walked to the lake at sunset. 

We all slept well and the boys were up well before the birds! They were awake before 6 so Gene lit the fire and we sat quietly waiting for the sun to come up. The birds' songs at sunrise were loud and beautiful and just the perfect way to start the morning (along with a piping hot cup of coffee, of course!).

After breakfast, we hiked the Dogwood Trail. The boys were still in their PJs, which we didn't realize until we were already on the trail!

Map readers!

One of the many, many cottaintail rabbits we saw at the park.

We also saw so many birds, including three types of woodpeckers, like this yellow-bellied sapsucker.

Before we left the park to head back to the hustle and bustle of Houston, Henry took us through the thicket to see all the sites they'd named (Clearings 1-5, the Poop Log, the Fort, the Prickly Vine Trail, the Log Trail, the Mighty Oak, the Clear Path, the Fence and more). Will even drew this map! We'll have to use it on our next visit.

Henry in Clearing 1.

Henry on the throne in Clearing 1.  

None of us wanted to leave, and the boys are already looking forward to future adventures at Huntsville State Park!

A Saturday Adventure: Pi Day and the George Ranch

Saturday was Super Pi Day (3.14.15), which only happens once a century! How did you celebrate? We started the day at the Houston Museum of Natural Science in Sugar Land for their Pi Day activities. 

We made Pi puzzles

and recited as many digits of Pi as we could (Will got to 14 digits in his first try, but got up to 28 digits over the weekend and has now memorized 49 digits!).

 Of course, eating pie was a highlight of Pi Day!

We did a penny toss and won Pi pencils.

We ended the morning with some ball tossing and touring the museum's exhibits.

Since it was a beautiful sunny day (the first in over a week!), we headed down to the George Ranch Historical Park for a visit. Gene and Henry had never been before and it was surprisingly uncrowded for a sunny Saturday during spring break. 

We started our visit at the 1830s Jones Stock Farm, a simple dogtrot cabin.

The boys followed two chickens around the yard and we learned about pioneer life in Texas.

We enjoyed a chuck wagon lunch of chili, cornbread and peach cobbler before watching a cattle demonstration. 

Will took this picture of the huge longhorn, Big Tex.

Our final stop of the day was the 1860s Ryon Prairie Homesite. We toured the home and milked a pretend cow outside.

We didn't see everything at George Ranch, but we had a lot of fun and now have a reason to go back for another visit. We ended the day with some rock candy and a little sketching.

My explorers -- always up for an adventure! 

After so much dismal, dreary weather, we were thrilled to get outside, explore and enjoy the beginning of spring break!

Safari Party

Every year, the first graders spend weeks and weeks preparing for the Safari Party program. Henry was a kangaroo this year and sang and hopped his way through the program.

Henry's grand entrance -- looking for us! 

He waved as soon as he found us.

An on stage shot.

The Safari Party is so much work for all the kids and teachers, but they did a fantastic job and we were so excited to watch Henry's performance. It's the last one they do at WUES!

A Saturday Adventure: The Houston Symphony and Craft Center Houston

We were glad to have a break from the rain last Saturday, as we were out and about, exploring in Houston!

Our first stop of the morning was the Star Wars and Beyond concert at the Houston Symphony. As always, the musicians played beautifully and my Star Wars fans especially enjoyed the show.

Doughnuts before the concert, always.  

And Henry wanted to meet some storm troopers afterwards.

After lunch at Natachee's, we headed to the Museum District for Hands On Houston at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft.

We made origami cups,

sampled six flavors of tea, and toured the Dining and Discourse exhibit. 

The rest of the weekend was spent dodging rain showers and doing plenty of our own dining (with discourse) at home! 

Lately: Exploring, Art, and School

Lately, we have been exploring Houston in the cold and rain and wishing for sunny days and blue skies! Here's a bit of what we've been up to in the past couple of weeks:

Will turned 8 1/2 and we celebrated his half birthday with Crave cupcakes. It's a fun family tradition. Who doesn't enjoy a sweet treat midweek?

Will spent much of one weekend working on his Neptune project (note three small moons on the side before we attached them!). I purchased Styrofoam balls, a stand and lots of wooden dowels, and Will carefully painted them all and made a ring. Along with his visual and five interesting facts, he also wrote a report and is scheduled to give a class presentation this week!

We ventured into downtown one evening for dinner at Phoenicia and a visit to Discovery Green to see Bruce Munro's Field of Light installation. It was spectacular!

Jorge Marin's Wings of the City bronze sculptures fascinated the boys. 

One of Will's after-school activities this year has been the Name That Book club. It's a regular book club with a twist. The kids read thirty books (the 20 Bluebonnet nominees plus 10 others) and meet weekly to discuss them. Back in December, the club members tried out for the Name That Book team by identifying quotes from different books. Will was one of the six students to make the team! I have been helping with the club this year, and I am so impressed with all the kids and their dedication to reading. They have read and reread these books and have been so fun to work with.  It's not easy to identify books from a one-sentence quote, but these kids did a great job!

The Name That Book contest is run through HISD's Library Services department and the preliminary rounds were last week. Our team did a fantastic job, correctly identifying 20 of 25 quotes, but unfortunately, one team was even stronger and beat West U by one point. Still, these kids worked so hard and I hope they're very proud of all that they accomplished.

Here's Will with our very favorite librarian and Name That Book coach.

Henry is my farmers market sidekick and last week we came home with a couple baby lettuce plants. They have joined the herbs and kale in our container garden in the backyard.

Last weekend, we visited the MFAH with our Cub Scout friends. We toured the Cullen Sculpture Garden as well as several galleries inside. 

Despite the dreary gray days, we're keeping busy during the week and enjoying our family time together on the weekends!