Just me and my girl

My parents have the little buddy for a couple of days so Kate and I can spend some special time together. It's been fun for us so far. Yesterday we went to the pool. Kate swam completely unassisted to me about 5 or 6 feet. It was great!! She was very proud of herself and confident about it. She did it a few more times and I got an idea. All summer long, she has been wanting to go down the water slide at the pool. I never can let her because I always have Andy with me and I don't think I can manage keeping him afloat and catching her from the slide. But without the buddy wiggling in my arms, it would be no problem. So I backed up a few more inches and told her if she could swim out "this far" she could go down the slide. She made it and it was off to the slide.

She walked up the steps, looked down the slide to make sure I was there with waiting arms. She smiled, slid down as her smile turned to a look of terror, and shot out of the slide laughing, straight into my arms!! She loved it and repeated it several times. So much fun.

Longhorn Cavern

Just north of Marble Falls as you reach Burnet, TX, lies Longhorn Caverns; probably the most beautiful cave I've been to in Texas. As temperatures soared outside, I felt a trip to a cave would be a good idea. We headed out early on Thursday morning, stopping in Marble Falls for lunch at Bluebonnet Cafe. We'd hit Bluebonnet Cafe again on our return trip, but more on that later.

After a quick bite to eat (note to self...again...let the kids share one child's plate, do not order two child's plates again!!!), we were off. The cave is west of Hwy 281 and lies a bit east of Inks Lake. The road to get there is Park Rd 4 and it is super hilly! The kids pretended they were on a roller coaster as we drove up and down those fun hills.

Once we arrived, we bought our tickets, shopped and poked around a bit and waited for the tour to begin. The entrance to the cave is a beautiful limestone (I think) stairway of 52 steps. About 20 steps down, it begins to feel cooler. Once in the cave, it is about 68 degrees. That felt refreshing! We went in to the cave with our tour group, experienced "absolute dark" and saw "crystal city" a portion of the cave with tons of crystals from the ceiling. We saw a dog sculpture inside and walked about 200 more yards after that. However, the little guy was feeling restless and tired all at once. He wanted to walk, but I could not let him do that. The tour guides turned on lights as we came to parts of the cave and turned them off as we left -- so just ahead of us and just behind us was pitch black. The thought of my son running off into the deep dark cave actually terrified me a li'l bit! So, we saw a tour group that was finishing their tour up and we tagged along with them and headed back out. My sweet daughter was very okay with this and I was impressed. She was having fun in the cave. She didn't even get scared at all by the "absolute dark" experience and she is not a fan of dark!

I think we will try again when Jesse can come with us or wait about 3 more years. But I am so glad we got a chance to visit.

Oh, yeah...Bluebonnet Cafe. We stopped again on the way back and bought a chocolate cream pie. Mmmm. Don't be jealous!!

2 guys, 2 girls and a pizza place

We tried a new pizza place in Wimberley and I have to include it on here because it was oh, so good. It's called Brewster's Pizza; here is a link to their website http://www.brewsterspizza.com/homemedia.html

First, about the family that runs it, then about the pizza.

The family.

The owners of this restaurant are Holly and Bruce Collie. I have to put a link to the Statesman article about them, but I want to hit the highpoints of it in this post. http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/09/27/0927collie.html

Bruce played for the San Francisco 49ers and won Super Bowls XXIII and XXIV. He lived the high life and had all manner of worldly success, but he needed and wanted more. He felt he "didn't have a life -- [he] had things." He made a change turning his life over to God. He met his wife, Holly, who was a model for QVC. They bought land out in Wimberley, and through a series of jobs, eventually began this pizza place. Oh yeah, and they have 13 kids -- so far!

As soon as we entered the restaurant, it was warm and welcoming in a way better than most places. They brew their own beer and it was wonderful stuff. The pizza -- oh, the pizza -- was so good. We ordered a cheese pizza for the kids - they devoured it. Jesse and I ate the "Carnivore" specialty pizza. The crust was thin and crispy, the ingredients were fresh and delicious, the pizza is what we've been looking for out here for a long time.

If you live in the area, you've got to try Brewster's. If you don't live in the area, you've got to try Brewster's. We'll put you up for the night!!

A Week of VBS

We had an adventurous week on the "High Seas"

Kate learned lots of new songs and Bible truths. It's adorable to hear her explain Bible stories to us. She really has a good memory and also loves to tell a story.

Andy had fun too and has a couple of new friends -- Luke and Tyler. He mentions them a lot, which is pretty sweet.

This year's VBS Mission was to buy computers for Odom Elementary School's language lab to allow parents and neighbors to use the computer to learn English as a second language. Kate traded in $20 worth of change from her savings to get money to put in the collection.

It's HOT in the hot tub-uh!

I couldn't resist the title.

We went to Tom's house tonight for a Jimmy Buffett concert party (Buffett was streaming a live concert from Muscle Shoals on CMT) and the kids got familiar with the hot tub. We had a great time. Andy's motorcycles got to take a dip too!

The hot tub was not a time machine though, so bummer there.

We had a great time.

Day 33 - A Grand Day Out

Today we did a few fun firsts.

We started our Saturday watching a friend's t-ball game. Nothing is much more fun than watching little ones swing at the tee, smack that ball and run like crazy. The little boy we went to see is such a great kid and was really good -- definitely has instincts on how to play the game. I'm certain we'll continue cheering him on in the years to come.

Following the game (we actually had to leave a little early because the little guy was so tired he could not stand it any longer) we headed out to the RGK ranch to visit my aunt and uncle and cousins. We had a wonderful day. Kate went out on the "mule" with her cousin Madi and her Uncle Sparky. After that all the kids had a ride on the horse, Poncho. We went out to dinner at Angel's, the kids sang along with the music entertainment, we went back to the ranch and finished the evening swimming for a couple of hours. What a fun day. The kids are completely sacked out -- success!

Day 32 - Piano

This first is a big one! A long time ago, my wonderful mother-in-law kindly offered us her baby grand piano. My slow-to-act self finally arranged for piano movers to deliver it here and it arrived yesterday!

It's hard to write about how exciting this is. It is rare to have a first that is such a permanent fixture in our house and is open to so many possibilities. We are a family that loves music and this addition to our home is a most welcome one.

Day 31 - MB's new digs

Made a quick trip to Fort Worth to check in on my sister's new house. She bought a nice little gem in the middle of the beautiful and historic Fort Worth neighborhood of Arlington Heights. The house was built in 1941 and has some very homey and sweet details. I lover her open kitchen and dining area, the rooms are cozy and the front porch is very sweet. The neighborhood has a sidewalk, which I feel is the mark of neighborhood cuteness. She seemed very content in her new house and it was nice to get a peek at it -- albeit a short one. We only stayed about 3 hours before we hit the road again to go home to the Drip. We'll head back up soon.

The kids' favorite part of the trip was seeing family and Penny, the precious.

Day 30 - Knock, knock!

An unexpected and dear first for all of us today -- my son said "I love you" to my husband and to me for the first time today. As if that weren't enough, he also made a really hilarious attempt at a knock-knock joke. I heard him in his room saying, "knock knock, who's dare" then laughing. Later, he tried it out on us. "Knock, knock," he plied. "Who's there?" "unpronounceable garble"..."uprorious laughter!!"

Day 29 - A girl and her bike

Happy Independence Day!

Just 234 years ago, the United States of America declared its independence from the (then) tyrant Kingdom of Great Britain. We celebrate our independence today with fireworks, parades, family, friends, bar-b-cue, the singing of patriotic songs and the waving of flags. We love our country, our independence, our steadfast desire to earn our way, our opportunity to be a servant to our fellow man and country -- not by force or conscription, but by our volition. We are Americans. We are free.

And our little girl had a new taste of freedom today -- made possible by two wheels (and two training wheels).

The Sparks, some of our dearest friends, came over to help us celebrate the day. In typical fashion, at my earlier mention of wanting to get a bike for our daughter sometime soon, the Sparks showed up today with a hand-me-down bike in wonderful condition at the ready. My ecstatic daughter raced to get her shoes and got on the bike. After she got the hang of the handling and the brakes, she really had a terrific time. Her declaration on this day, "I don't want my tricycle anymore, I only want this bike!" She is on the road to being independent. Someone get me a tissue!

Day 28 - Yee Haw! They call the thing Rodeoooooh-whoa-whoa

Dateline July 3, 2010...Wimberley, TX

The Lewis Family made it out to the annual VFW Outdoor Rodeo in Wimberley, TX! This was the 65th annual rodeo and at one time in its history was the largest outdoor rodeo in the world. On this evening the grandstands were packed and the crowd even included 19 people from Belgium who come every year.

This was our first trip to this rodeo (though, no, it was not our first rodeo). We had fun.

Kate probably had the best time out of all of us. She participated in Mutton Bustin' and rode a mechanical bull. (I have pictures on my phone and need to figure out how to get them on here).

Mutton Bustin was awesome. As you know from my blog it has been raining down here for a while. The outdoor rodeo was a muddy mess. The kids were trodding out to the chute to ride the lambs and everyone was losing boots and shoes in the deep, deep mud. Kate decided to ditch her boots altogether and ride the lamb in her socks. She hopped up on her lamb, grabbed the neck and held on tight for a good, oh, 7 or 8 feet and plopped off face first in the mud. She thoroughly enjoyed this. She was pretty sure she won the muddiest award.

We washed her off with the hose behind the well house (sidebar: I love my bucolic life -- end sidebar), we grabbed her a change of clothes from the car, and we were off to enjoy the rest of the rodeo.

It didn't take long for the kids, and the hubby, to spot the mechanical bull. Kate and Jesse dutifully got in line as I did a little rodeo-ing of my own keeping Andy penned in. Both Kate and Jesse rode the bull and both did great. Again -- pictures are on the phone.

We took in about a half hour or so of the rodeo which included a very beautiful presentation of the colors, bronc riding, steer wrestling, and a calf scramble. Andy got tuckered out so we headed home a little early this year. Looking forward to making this an annual Lewis tradition.

Since I don't have pictures to post yet, here's a link to the webpage for the rodeo.

http://visitwimberley.com/rodeo/

Day 27 - Hi Ho! Cherry-O

Very rarely I buy a present for my kids way in advance of a holiday or a birthday, put it away, and remember to bring it out at the appropriate holiday/birthday. A few months ago, I saw one of my old favorite board games -- Hi Ho! Cherry-O -- at the store, bought it and hid it away. After four consecutive days of rain, I felt the appropriate time to unveil that little nugget was Friday.

It occurred to me as an adult what great learning games we had as kids -- made especially great by the fact that we did not realize we were learning a thing. That's certainly the case with Hi Ho! Cherry-O. Round and round the spinner goes and the fate of your berries is revealed -- either added to or subtracted from your berry pail. And the game teaches the peril of letting wayward dogs and peckish birds -- or even gravity (spilled bucket) -- interfere with your berry picking....valuable lessons, indeed. Kate and I played it and had a blast. It even has a new twist -- a puzzle to put together. Kate turned out to be a champion berry picker and beat me 3 out of 4 games.

Day 26 - Flippin' Out!

As rain fell hard around our Dripping Springs home today, my daughter's thoughts turned inward...inside the house, to the DVD player. She loves movies in the rain. And since the deluge interrupted my Wimbeldon watching, I had no objections. She wanted 101 Dalmations -- a great old Disney flick. I still enjoy the Old Disney animation and I love the way every day-to-day item that Cruella De Vil uses appears evil -- her cigarette smoke, her car, even her phone just look delightfully devilish.

So after the movie, I asked Kate if she ever wondered how things were animated. She looked at me blankly. "You know, how drawings become active in a tv show or movie." She looked at me blankly. I began to wonder if she thinks that cartoons are real. I think I thought that, now that I think about it. Anyway, undeterred, I asked her if she'd like to see kind of a basic way of how cartoons are made. She said no. I countered -- "let's make a flip book!" Okay!!! She agreed.

So, I made one of my favorite old flip drawings...it can be found in just about every text book I ever had in college. It's two dots careening towards each other only to collide and evaporate into thin air. She loved it. She made one of her own of a rose blooming. At least she made like the first three drawings of it before she lost interest. But I loved the idea of a rose blooming -- a great flip book for sure and much better than crashing dots. Wish I were as creative as her. She also offered I could make one with a fish getting caught on a hook. She's good. I'm keeping her around.

If I can video these I will post them at some point. If you make a flip book of your own, comment and let me know what you did! They are such low cost fun.

Catch up

Forgive me, it's been 20 days since my last blog entry. Wow, that many days, huh...seems like a lot of days.

I'm just going to list out the firsts that happened during that time and feebly offer my explanation that we've been out of town a lot.

- played at the Bissett's house! Super fun.

- stopped at the coolest reststop in Texas -- Exit 282 on IH35. Have you stopped there? If not, you should. They have great play equipment for the kids. They even have a bit of exercise equipment...great for truckers or anyone else needing to move and stretch.

-Chic Fil A at exit 391 on IH35. This is not a first, we stop there every trip to Fort Worth and back (unless it's a Sunday). Just want to mention it because the manager there, his name is Charles, is the most hospitable, good natured and pleasant restaurant manager I have ever been blessed to meet. The fact that this is not a first for us confirms this. Every time we stop there, he has a warm smile, asks how we are, goes to all the tables to see if the customers need anything. His pride in his work shows. Stop by and see for yourself if you get the chance.

- Finished our first big chapter book with Kate -- "Charlotte's Web" She didn't cry -- I did. Whew, what a good book.

- Swimming at the Buda pool with no floaties!! Kate was great. My son, on the other hand, did fine but lacks the amount of fear that would make me more comfortable -- boys!

- Watched the old Disney cartoon version of Alice in Wonderland.

- Talked to their parents while parents were in Belize (okay, this was more fun for me).

- Made a snake with construction paper and googly eyes.

- Fort Worth zoo -- a first for Andy!!

- Caught in the rain at the Fort Worth zoo!

- Made a wish on a wishbone.

- Watched 4 skydivers float through the sky and land. So great to watch. Kate thought it looked like so much fun. Andy kept saying "planes! planes!"

- Started reading "Stuart Little" to Kate.

- Got a copyright on the song we wrote -- Bug Love.

- Saw a potbelly pig who was staying at Dog Camp!

- Met MB's new puppy, Penny!!

- Fell in love with MB's new dog, Penny!!

- Made blonde brownies (blondies?)

- Tried breathing through a snorkel above water.

That's about all I can remember. Back to regular updates tomorrow.

Day 5 - Little hands

Shhhhhhhh....don't tell my husband. Jesse, if you're reading this, just skip this one.

Okay.

We made a craft for Father's Day. A genuine salt-dough handprint! The recipe is at http://www.babycenter.com/210_salt-dough-handprint_4367.bc

After the gym this morning, we headed out to the park with some friends, supplies, and a gritty determination. Okay, maybe not gritty. The first attempt at making the dough was a little too soupy. We added flour and then we had it. Rolled the dough out on wax paper and the kids pressed their sweet little hands in it.

We opted not to put the food coloring into the dough -- mostly because we forgot to put it in the dough. So, the plan is to let it dry and we will paint it tomorrow. I think it will make a great Father's Day present and was also a fun "first" for the summer.

Day 4 - A song in our hearts!

Today my daughter and I wrote a song together -- first time! I will record it and put it on here soon, but the downlow is -- It's called "Bug Love" it's about ladybugs, dragonflies and butterflies.

This was my favorite "first" so far and I can't wait till we can share it with everyone.

Blessings! Amanda

Day 3 - Dinner with Friends

Today we got to spend the afternoon and evening with some remarkable friends. We've never been to their home before, so I am going to count this as a first today. The family we visited has 3 boys. One is an 8 month old, the other two are pretty close in age to my children. They played in the kiddie pool (whenever I say "kiddie pool" my daughter tells me cats don't like water!!) played with toy trains, and ran around like kids do. Jesse and I had a great visit with grown ups! Dinner was delicious and the fellowship was outstanding.

What better way to start the week?

C.S. Lewis once said, "Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival."

Day 2 - Animal Junction

Have you ever seen Zoboomafoo on Sprout? My daughter and I love that show -- I think there are a total of 16 or so episodes and we've seen them all. Well, if you are not familiar, there's this Lemur, see. His name is Zoboomafoo, Zob for short. He talks, but only after he has had his Lemur snack, something like a garbanzo bean.

All of this takes place in Animal Junction, where all kinds of animals play together. You never know what can happen there (unless you happen to have seen all the episodes several times). At the end of the show, the last line of their theme song urges, "go make an animal friend today - YEAH!"

That is what we did today -- made some new animal friends. My little girl attended a birthday party and there were tons of animals there. Ponies, chickens, a rooster, dogs. And then, inside, two cats, a bunny, a ferret or two, box turtles, fish, guinea pigs. So the kids' "first" today was to pet a ferret and a guinea pig. We also learned a little about box turtles. The male box turtle has orange or red eyes and the female has brown eyes.

Honorable mentions for other firsts: My daughter participated in her first obstacle course and her first water balloon fight.

A good time was had by all!

Day 1 Continued - Organization

No one has ever accused me of being too organized. That's for sure. But today, my kids and I set out to set apart a room in the house as a playroom. Organization: Required.

The Background -

Last December we moved our dining room table out of the dining room and into the kitchen to make room in the dining room for our Christmas tree. We moved the smaller kitchen table into the space between our entry hall and our dining room and put Christmas greeting cards we received, cookies, and other treats on that. The Christmas tree came down in January, but the tables stayed put. The dining room slowly morphed into a sort of chaotic play room. There was no organization to be found, just more and more toys and art supplies showing up in the former dining room.

A First -

Starting this effort to have my family do something new every day has made me realize that there are a lot of firsts we haven't done. I think this is still going to be challenging, but I can't help but think of how hard of a task this would be for some other friends of mine who have already done some amazing things with their kids. Not that my kids haven't had fun...they have and they are very happy kids. But, I have to admit, some friends of mine simply excel at thinking up adventures for their family. They would never need something like a daily blog to motivate them to stretch their wings -- they were born to fly.

Consequently, back here on land, my starting point for "new" things to do is so basic that it can include going through old toys and sorting them between keepers and ones to give to charity. So that is what we did today. After filling a moving box with toys, I enlisted my daughter's help to begin planning a play room. Now we have most toys in one room, with an area for arts and crafts and an area for music. This is a work in progress. I am very blessed in this project too because my good friend Lisa -- a true visionary with an artist's eye -- has agreed to help me make this new playroom look and function the best it can. I think this is also going to make the house more easy going. Organization can set you free -- I get it now.

Day 1 is in the books!

Day 1 - The Inspiration

Yesterday was my daughter's last day of school for the year. What's been on my mind?! What to do next. I don't want my daughter in school for the summer because I am fortunate to be a stay at home mom and I want to make the most of her younger years with her -- what mom doesn't?

And, I have to face facts, I have been in a rut lately. I haven't done as many fun things with my kids in the last few months as we used to. This time in our lives is just so short and passes by so quickly. I would hate to look back and think that I got them into some lousy, boring routine and felt that was good enough.

So, I've been praying for a way to change that, to have the energy and the inspiration to do more. And today, on the first day of summer, inspiration came.

I go to the YMCA in Dripping Springs about 5 days a week. My kids love it there and I do to. More about that, I'm sure, will infiltrate these blogs in the weeks to come. Well, today I figured we'd have a little fun together at the park next door to the gym before the H2O Bootcamp class began. That was something we had never done before. We had a great time. After class ended, I took them to McDonalds, began scrolling Facebook for status updates as the kids played and I saw Ken Shetter's post about doing 81 new things with his kids this summer. I love it -- the inspiration I had been looking for. I know a good idea when I see it, and this was a good idea. It's a challenge, to be sure, but one I am really looking forward to.

This blog will keep a journal of this adventure. Blessings!