Rock 'n' River

We earned our free passes to Rockn' River through our Round the Rock challenge.  We have had so much fun this summer discovering new places around our hometown and earning free stuff is fun too.  Daddy took the day off and we spent most of the day at the park.  HR was very reluctant to try the slides, but he finally gave in.
Part of our challenge was to take a selfie under the big bucket, CHECK.  We are winding down our summer list and most things left are pretty pricey so not sure we will hit the 40 mark which was our goal.  We knew we didn't want to do all 50 because there were a few we were absolutely not going to do.  LE plans to create a fall bucket list for us.  I'm in.

family day

This past weekend, the rain subsided for a few hours so we could enjoy family day with our church at a local park.  We took bikes and a picnic lunch and braved the rain chances for the day.  The rain held off until park day was supposed to end at 2.  The girls and I were on a bike ride when the heavens opened up and we headed back to the pavillion to gather our things and head home.  The day's events included Ultimate frisbee game, fun on the playground, splashing in puddles, nature walks, a picnic, bike rides, fun with friends and lots of mud.

zoo members again

We visited our favorite zoo this past weekend and decided to renew our zoo membership again this year.  The kids love the day out and by the time we visit twice in a year, our membership pays for itself.  We were glad to see the vultures had moved on from the black bears, they are now in the flamingo exhibit.
Less than two months away and Daddy will be on our way to see the real deal, hoping we can make it to one of the many safaris in Kenya.

Great Wolf Lodge

The week before our big trip I noticed a groupon for Great Wolf Lodge.  We probably would never considered going here without the groupon, it is really pricey for a family of six.  It still was pretty pricey for us, but decided we needed to do something for our get away.  It is a beautiful facility, and we were right next to the airport so it was like two birds b/c HR loved the constant flow of airplanes outside our window.  The kids had their own special area in our room with a set of bunk beds and a daybed.
We played MagiQuest, thanks to my friend Morgan for loaning us a set of wands so we could play.  However, I wish we hadn't, not my favorite part of the trip (but I guess it was some form of exercise climbing up and down eight flights of stairs). And of course we took advantage of the indoor water park.  It was pretty cool b/c only the indoor water park is open after Labor Day.  The kids loved it and it was a great memory for them.  

field day 2014

This past week was our annual field day with our homeschool friends.  The kids were divided up into teams, and LE made it on the black team, while Boo was on the white team.  The boys were with the preschoolers on the green team.  Games included the three legged race, an obstacle course, scavenger hunt, water balloon fight, and water-gun target shooting.  Both girls won the team spirit award for their teams and won fun prizes for scoring points on the games.  Afterwards we had a picnic lunch and enjoyed time at the splash pad.

Austin Steam Train Field Trip

My friend, Zelia was able to coordinate a field trip for some fellow homeschooling families over the weekend. After our train failure in Arizona we were sure to not miss this opportunity.
The train is run completely by volunteers.  We were in an open-aired car (no a.c.) and we were connected to the snack car.   The chairs turn around so you can face each other (2x2 -4 in a group) or face forward and two in a seat.  You can bring your own food and walk freely among the train (with an adult).
It is supposed to be a 3 hour round trip to downtown Austin and back to the station in Cedar Park.  About 20 minutes into the ride we had to stop and we sat on the tracks for forty minutes b/c a freight train farther up the line was having mechanical failure.  So, we rode backwards to Cedar Park and farther up the line to Leander, where we then proceeded forwards again.  It was not nearly the failure that we had in AZ, b/c we at least got to ride the train this time.  They gave us vouchers to ride again in November, but I think this time Mimi and PawPaw can get the steam train experience and we will keep HR home.  The kids really enjoyed themselves, thank you Miss Z for thinking of us.

6 weeks break

This past week, we take off the week of home school.  It was the end of our first six weeks of the semester.  The girls have been working so hard and finishing their assignments at a record pace.  We have decided to take a week off after each six weeks instead of one big summer break this year.  The week may come at the end of a six weeks period but it may come at another time as needed (when neighbor kids are out for spring break, or vacation bible school etc).  It was needed for me as well as for them b/c I have had the winter blues and this past week the weather was gorgeous.  We were able to schedule several play dates with friends, Daddy took the day off and we went to the zoo and Mama Teacher got to plan the next six weeks of school including gathering all of our supplies and making needed copies.  Here's to the next six weeks of school!

Beginning of the Birthday Season

This past weekend marked the beginning of RFS birthday season.  HR is first, then Landry, Mommy and Daddy's birthdays all fall in less than a 5 week period.  We started celebrating early by taking the girls to Fiesta Texas on Saturday, cashing in our Read To Succeed tickets, the girls and I earned this past school year.  A friend gave me an extra ticket and we thought we were off for a cheap family weekend.  Umm, no.  $18 to park your car, $15 for a locker (to hold our clothes while we "enjoyed" the "free" water park), $15+ a person for lunch in the park (b/c you cannot take in food or drinks to the park).
Oh, it was so hot, so crowded and not worth the price of parking.  We of course traumatized (unintentionally) the girls by taking them on the log ride, the one with a 40ft drop as our first ride.  Every ride after that, including the train that takes you from one side of the park to the other was met with trepidation.  I think we scarred them for life, but its all good b/c now we can mark that off our list and never, ever have to do Fiesta TX again.  In all seriousness, the girls said they enjoyed themselves, but I guess we are now theme park snobs b/c nothing can possibly compare to the mouse.

first zoo trip 2013

We recently took our first zoo trip of the year to our favorite zoo.  The day was full of some great memories.  Boo and R2 were checking out the spider monkeys, while two ROUS' were getting a little too frisky in the pond. Boo says look "they are like Mommy and Daddy on a date."  What??!?!!?  "Yeah, those two monkeys are cuddling like you and Daddy."  Oh, thank God.
While we were checking out the elephants, he decided to raise his tail and pass gas in our direction, yeah, that was funny.  Especially since R2's new word is "bo-bo toot". While we were visiting the lions, he decided to stand his ground at Boo and began to ruff and roar while staring her down.  Yeah, that was cool.  I thought I was recording it, but turns out my phone memory was full, that won't happen again.  

new park in the area

Have you been to the Play for All-Abilities Park in RR?  I heart this park.  It is clean, it is huge, clean bathrooms, has something for everyone, completely fenced in, and lots of shade.  We have been several times with the home school group and this last family day we went after church and had a family picnic.
There is sand to dig in, a music station, more sand to dig in, LARGE playscape, a mini replica of RR buildings for the kids to zip through on scooters and bikes (but I think bikes should  be left at home unless they are little kids).
We have been attending a new church and the parental units really, really like it, but the girls prefer the last church we visited.  I will admit the kid's ministry was amazing at the last church, but it was not a good fit for the entire family.  We challenged the kids whoever met the most people at church that morning could pick the lunch for our picnic.  They also had to remember their names.  score:  Daddy - 1, Mama - 2, LE - 2, Boo-7!  She walked out of her class so proudly and started popping of new friends' names.  Her input for lunch - cheetos, thanks Granny.

wordless Wednesday

Cedar Creek Dinosaur Park

This past weekend, we cashed in another groupon find at the Cedar Creek Dinosaur Park.  There were several life-sized dinosaur exhibits and I had hoped there would be some dinosaur tracks or fossils, but they were also replicas.  I had heard about the park through homeschool field trip ideas and things to do around Austin.  I am glad we did not pay full price b/c it was only a nature walk with dinosaur facts and large replicas.  There was a scavenger hunt with 15 clues.  At the end of the trail there was a place to dig up dinosaur bones and a playscape.  It was a deal for the price we payed, but I think next time we will venture to Glen Rose to see the fossils.  If you have a dinosaur hunter in your family or are doing a study on dinosaurs it could be worth the full cost of admission.

day at the museum - girl's version

The girls were able to do a wider variety of things at the museum this year.  There are several rooms devoted to science and things made a lot more sense this go-round.  I was most excited there was a room devoted to written languages.  We have been learning about hieroglyphs and cuneiform from ancient Egypt and I have been searching high and low for papyrus paper.  They did not have the paper, but they had an entire table devoted to hieroglyphics so the girls were able to practice writing their names.
LE was quite the expert in the pioneer room and was telling us about all of the tools and supplies.  Bella still enjoyed the dress-up room, although if you ask her what her favorite part- "everything".

day at the museum - Read's version

We took the kids to the Mayborn Museum at Baylor this past weekend.  It is too hot to do anything outdoors lately and I needed some kid time before they leave for a camping trip with Mimi and PawPaw this week.  I was looking at pictures from our last visit and I was pregnant with R2.  I did not remember much of the museum and wasn't sure he would enjoy it.  He enjoyed it the most.  He was all over the place, trying everything.  We are now on the lookout for a cozy coupe and lego/train table.

Wordless Wednesday

the little things

the boy

Sunday afternoon fun

This past Sunday, we cashed in one of our groupons for the Pioneer Farms near our home.  They have expanded since we were there last fall.  They had a new house filled with period carriages, even including one ridden in by Theodore Roosevelt (Bella's fave president).  We had almost the entire farm to our selves, only 6 cars in the entire parking lot.  We had so much fun feeding the chickens and donkeys.  We packed a picnic lunch and enjoyed it in the Tankawa Indian Camp.
The girls packed their cameras and were took pictures of Texas wildflowers for their keeper's badge.  We got lots of other interesting pics that I will share over the next few days.
LE has almost finished her American Girls series (6 chapter) books on Kirsten.  Kirsten is the pioneer girl from the AGS.  LE enjoyed finding items around the farm that she has been reading about in the books.

a rare occurance

a pic with all of the Richards Family 5

wordless wednesday - sea world