June

Howie the Artist

This month Howie enjoyed some en plein air painting. Was his subject matter outdoors? No. Is a four year old with acrylic paints far too messy for indoors? Yes. Howie had lots of fun painting a picture of a dragon for his room.

A Trip to the Theater

We went with some friends to the Magic Theater, a downtown theater that does children's shows, to see Freckleface Strawberry. This was the first time I have taken the boys to a live performance, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that both boys loved it. It was short, full of music and dancing, and there was a concession stand with popcorn. At the end, Howie said," Is there another one coming on?" He thought it was like cartoons on TV. After the performance we had a picnic lunch and played at the park. A fun outing for all!

Howie and Henry with their friends Maya and Carla. Yes, my boys are the crazy ones making dinosaur faces.

Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch

Well folks, this month we crossed another item off our Texas bucket list by going to the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch. It is somewhere between San Antonio and Austin, and on our many trips between the two cities we have seen many billboards advertising this place as a "Safari--Texas style". This month we decided to give it a try.

At the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch you drive your car around the ranch and feed wild animals. They had Longhorn cattle, ostriches, lots of deer and antelope species, emu, buffalo, and zebras. They also had a large giraffe exhibit and petting zoo. The boys had a lot of fun watching for animals and throwing food out the window. 

I think the best part was watching the car full of crazy teenagers in front of us. They were feeding the ostriches out of their hands and the ostrich was sticking its head all the way inside their car. When Howie saw them he said, "Roll up the window Daddy! I don't want an ostrich in my car!" The only thing we were brave enough to feed out of our hands was a deer. Here is a video of Matt feeding the deer. That is Henry laughing in the background.

After enjoying the safari, we went to the petting zoo. Henry loved feeding the goats. He is not afraid of them at all. He walked around patting their backs and feeding them out of his hand.

Rockport Beach

This Saturday we decided to take the boys to the beach so we drove to Rockport (near Corpus Christi). This was the most fun the boys have ever had at the beach! Henry was old enough to play in the water and sand. Howie was old enough to not be scared of the water and waves. The water was shallow and warm so we could walk out a long ways and Howie could still touch. Howie walked out until the water was up to his neck! (Before we could hardly get him in water higher than his ankles.) He played in the waves, and we pulled him around on a boogie board.

After playing for awhile, we took a break for some lunch. As soon as we opened our cooler and pulled out a loaf of bread, the sky was suddenly full of seagulls. They hovered overhead and slowly circled Henry, guessing correctly that he would be the most likely to drop his lunch. When we were done with lunch, the seagulls disappeared. Later in the day we saw them swarming around another family and we said, "Oh, they must be eating lunch."

After a few hours on the beach, we cleaned up the boys, got some ice cream and headed back home. It was a long day and a fun day.

Other Random Awesomeness 

We fed the ducks at Brackenridge Park.

We rode the train at the zoo.

Matt celebrated Father's Day with a nap, bike ride, balloons, and cherry pie.

Howie rode his bike around the park and we had a picnic.

Howie discovered the Lego Store at the mall. He was in heaven--or he would have been if Mom had let him buy out the store like he wanted to.

We enjoyed some tasty BBQ. Howie and Henry are rather obsessed with creamed corn.

Henry decided that he is too big for a high chair or booster seat. He will only sit  at the table if he can sit in a chair like a big boy. And now for some reason, I seem to be cleaning up a lot more food messes. I don't understand it.

We put up a birdhouse. In less than one week the food was gone, thanks to a hungry squirrel.

Howie wrote his own name!