A Saturday Adventure: Kleb Woods Nature Preserve

Saturday was a mild, sunny day so we decided to get outside and explore a new-to-us park in northwest Houston. Kleb Woods Nature Preserve is a beautiful wooded park that was once a farm. The last owner, Elmer Kleb, wasn't interested in farming or paying taxes, but he loved nature and planted many trees, and fortunately for us, the preserve is now open to visitors!

Gramma and Grampa joined us for the adventure. We loved seeing the roadrunner signs along the path into the park.

We visited the nature center and then set off for a hike.

We found mulberry trees all over, which was fun because Gramma and Grampa used to have a mulberry tree at their B&B! We couldn't stop long, though, as the mosquitoes were out in droves.

Will guided us through the woods to the little farmhouse, built in the 1890s.

The garden plot out back reminded me of my grandpa's garden. Henry especially loved identifying all the plants.

Note that Will is studying the map on my phone in this picture. He is a good map-reader and loves to plan which trails we'll take.

We found blackberries on the Wetland Trail!

Myrtle's Pool

Can you see the windmill in this picture? The forest has completely reclaimed it.

We saw lots of caterpillars hanging from the trees.

All done hiking!

We saw many birds, bunnies, and frogs along the way.

We explored the barn and some old farm equipment.

Bluebonnets

After our hike, we found our way to the picnic pavilion for lunch and Henry and Gramma found many more caterpillars!

We know summer is fast approaching so we were all glad to spend a beautiful Saturday outside. Kleb Woods was definitely worth the visit! 

Lately: Hermann Park and Lunch Lady Day

The boys had an early release day last Wednesday and it was a picture perfect spring day. Will had a playdate with two of his best friends, so Henry and I enjoyed lunch together (at Corner Bakery, his new favorite spot) and then spent an hour walking around the McGovern Centennial Gardens in Hermann Park.

This boy is always so happy to be outside exploring!

We found apples growing in the Family Garden. It is a common misconception that apples don't grow in Texas, but they do (if you have the right variety!).

Selfie with my favorite seven-year-old.

We walked up the Mount and all around the garden, ending in the Rose Garden, where we had to stop and smell the roses, of course!

Henry and I had so much fun together! 

Friday was Lunch Lady Day, which was a time to honor our hard-working cafeteria staff. Our librarian coordinated the efforts as it was based on the popular Lunch Lady graphic novel series. Students wore yellow and black (the color of the book covers) and wrote letters to the cafeteria staff. 

And finally, I'll leave you with a picture of Henry in his Blue Bell hat from last summer. He and Will had a "night party" in his room Saturday evening (it consisted of all sorts of games and activities and went on until precisely 9:04 pm).  Will wore the Blue Bell hat to the party and Henry picked it up on Sunday morning.  

I wonder if I'll be invited to the next night party?

Lately: Food, Celebrations, and a Cub Scout Campout

We are in countdown mode to summer, but the kids are still working hard at school and playing hard on the weekends.  Here's a peek into what we've been up to lately:

Gene traveled to Arizona for work recently and came home with scorpion lollipops for the boys! Those are real scorpions inside an apple-flavored lollipop. Crunchy!

After strawberry picking last weekend, Henry and I made a big jar of jam. We found a low-sugar recipe that used apple and lemon juice instead of store-bought pectin. It turned out delicious!

We also made our first pickles of the season with pickling cucumbers (and a few carrot pieces!) from one of our favorite farmers at the Saturday market.

Last week after STAAR testing, Will's class got to go to "Camp Read-a-Lot" in the classroom. We sent in letters and care packages. This is Will's care package, complete with deconstructed s'mores.

On Thursday, Gene got home early from yet another trip and since no one had any homework, we decided a celebration night was in order. STAAR testing and Henry's big school project were a lot of work!

We took the boys to the library,

and then went next door to the Black Labrador for dinner. It's a fun place and the big chess set on the patio is an added bonus.

On Friday, we celebrated yet again with Crave cupcakes.

On Saturday, we headed up north to the Sam Houston National Forest for the last Cub Scout campout of the scouting year. It was quite warm but we felt lucky to avoid the rains that came through southeast Texas on both Friday and Sunday nights.

I didn't take many pictures, but the boys had a blast running, playing, exploring and getting very dirty with their Scout friends. We have the best families in our dens and the adults enjoyed chatting and cooking together. 

The Bears are in charge of the flag ceremony, which means only a couple more for Will because he'll be a Webelo next year!

Less that five weeks til summer break!

History Makers' Living Museum: Henry the Navigator

For the past month or so, Henry has been working on the big first grade project: the History Makers' Living Museum! The kids pick a history maker, do research and take notes, write and memorize a report, draw a portrait, create a tripanel, and then do a presentation for the class and another for parents and grandparents. It is quite a big project for first grade, but Henry did a fantastic job.

He chose to research Henry the Navigator, the Portuguese prince who started the Age of Exploration. It was surprising how many people did not know about Henry the Navigator! Good thing Henry had a plethora of facts to share.

Henry as Henry the Navigator:

Henry's tripanel

All ready for the big day!

At the Living Museum, visitors pressed a red button on the history makers' hand to make him come to life. 

Henry was so happy that Gramma and Grampa were able to come this year.

We were so proud of Henry

 and all his hard work!

A Sunday Adventure: Strawberry Picking at Wood Duck Farm

After a lazy Saturday (albeit our lazy day included over two hours of bike riding and playing at neighborhood parks plus pizza making on the grill), we woke up Sunday morning to a gloriously cool, sunny day. We decided it was the perfect opportunity to get outside, enjoy nature and visit a farm!

We have been buying produce from Wood Duck Farm through CSAs and the farmers market for over five years and on Sunday, we finally took our first visit to the farm! Wood Duck Farm is located north of Houston in Cleveland, Texas and the owner, Van, is offering pick-your-own strawberries for the first time this year.

We arrived at the farm at 11am, ready to get out in the fields and pick buckets and buckets of strawberries.

Note the kids' tablets: they were taking video of their adventure!

Strawberries.

There were so many red, ripe strawberries and the picking was easy.

Strawberry fields forever!

10 1/2 pounds later...

After picking strawberries, Van pulled out a table and chairs so we could enjoy our picnic lunch and the kids played and played on the farm's playground. There was another family there with two boys and the four boys became fast friends.

After lunch, Van brought out a box of little chicks for the kids to see. 

Henry's new buddy.

We walked over to see the calves. 

The boys found spiders and a big juicy worm in the mud.

After getting our fill of the farm animals, we loaded up in the cart to see the rest of the farm,

including the pigs!

We ventured out in the fields and Van let us pick some kale.

Pick-your-own kale!

Flowering broccoli.

We all agreed that Sunday was one of our best adventures yet. The farm was quiet and peaceful and just the perfect place for our city boys to get out and explore and experience a real working farm and see where much of our fresh produce is grown. Van is so welcoming and we cannot wait to go back again soon! Next up, Henry and I are going to try making some strawberry jam with some of our berries.