Snake Farm

March 17, 2012

My new favorite obsession is Groupon and the like...Living Social, Adealio, you name it, I'm all for a bargain! I recently bought a coupon for the Snake Farm, a place we've driven by hundreds of times on the way to San Antonio, but never stopped. So, I figured it would make a good day trip. The kids had a friend, Michael, spend the night so we could leave first thing in the morning. Well, they stayed up all night long, so they slept the whole way there, and all the way home!

But the Snake Farm was cool, we got there just in time for feeding the carnivores, and then we walked around, they had a lot of neat animals, zebra, warthogs, monkeys, lemurs, peacocks, hyenas, wolves (Regan's favorite) and a lot of gators and snakes. We spent a little time there, then hung out in the petting zoo area, feeding the chickens mostly, who would crow when they stopped feeding them.

Then we stopped for lunch at Wendy's and then had a nice nap on the way home (not me, the kids) and as soon as they got home, they came in and crashed on the couch for another couple of hours! Fun place though, we will definitely visit again.

Spring Break!

We made it to Spring Break! And trying to cram as much fun into one week as possible. I took the kids to Austin's Park and Pizza on Monday to spend the day, but it got so crowded, they didn't stay as long as I thought (hoped) they would. But they came home and the neighbor took them to Texas Jumping Beans and to the park, and then I took them back to APP later, but they were closing. Then on Tuesday we went to the dollar movie to see Alvin and the Chipmunks, Chipwrecked, but they were sold out (oh, darn) so we saw Big Miracle, which we all enjoyed, about whales that were trapped in Alaska. Cute movie. On Wednesday we just hung out at the house and played with friends. Regan went to see The Lorax with her friend, and we went to church Wed night.

Then on Thursday I took the kids to the carnival! We love the rodeo carnival, usually. But I think this year, fresh off a trip to Disney and Universal Studios, the rides just weren't as thrilling I guess. The kids rode all the rides they wanted to ride, we shared a funnel cake and some lemonade, and they were ready to go. We stopped off at the petting zoo before we left, and they were ready, beyond ready, to leave after that.

Kawaii Ice AGAIN!

We really love Kawaii Ice! Well, Colton was over spending the night, and he and David had never been to Kawaii Ice, so the kids were begging to take them. It was a nice treat. Colton had Tiger Blood so he could be like Charlie Sheen (ha) and David tried Blueberry. He ended up with very blue lips and teeth, (and wouldn't let me take his picture) but it was fun, and yummy. David was blown away at how busy they were. They're THAT good!

Kawaii Ice and Round Rock Park

For another fun, cheap treat, I took the kids to Kawaii Ice, which is the world's BEST snow cone place, and we got our cotton candy/banana colada snow cones and headed over to the Round Rock park to enjoy. Since the flood that happened a few months ago, you can really still see a lot of damage, lots of trees uprooted and the walking bridge is closed, but that didn't stop the kids from getting in the nasty water and playing around. Last time we went, they had to swim out in chest deep water to get to the "Round Rock" but this time you could walk out on the rocks, since we're still in a drought. They had fun puddle jumping and it seems like we went from winter to summer overnight. It has been HOT in the afternoons around here. So, even though the water was ice cold, it didn't bother them much.

Carnival

It's Spring Break and that means RODEO CARNIVAL!! My kids really think that a rodeo is just rides and food. I surprised them and when we pulled into the parking lot, they were like, YAY, the rodeo!! I said, no, the carnival. Yeah, the rodeo! Either way, they had a good time, and so did I. We all got a little sun burned, but it was worth it. They actually had fun together and acted like they liked each other. Regan ran up to the first ride we saw, the Spin Out and wanted on. She's just at 52" but the guy let her on, and it was a crazy ride. She was so scared, Riley told me after she was saying, "make it stop Bubba!" Poor thing. But, she's brave, she rode everything there, right along side her big brother. And where did they have the most fun? The Dell tent, playing Street Fighter, and Regan kicking her brother's butt. Like father, like son (and daughter). Then we got to pet the animals and then headed home, exhausted and red. Can't wait till next year!

Springwoods Park

It's been a while since we've been out and about, and the weather has been wonderful. So we hit up one of our favorite parks and had some fun. We walked the path and climbed trees, Riley calls them "hobo trees" because the way the branches hang low, he says a hobo could sleep in them and be comfortable!

Earth Day!

Well, it turned out to be a big coincidence, but I finally got my garden in today, on Earth Day. I have been planning forever, but had to get the cinder blocks, the soil, the plants, all loaded in the back of the truck, back the truck into the backyard to unload, mow the grass, go back to Home Depot to get all the stuff I forgot the first time, come back, and assemble in the rain. Well, it was drizzling, but not full on raining.

I'm excited to try it this way though, I have peppers that I've heard you shouldn't plant next to other things so they don't contaminate them, they are in their own separate holes, and I have 3 different types of tomato plants (if it were up to me, we would have ONLY tomatoes, and every variety of them, I just LOVE garden fresh tomatoes). We also are trying watermelon for the first time, and I got several herbs, stevia, mint and basil. Oh, and we're trying arugula, since one of the kids most favorite meals of all time is Chicken Arugula Pita Pockets. At least I can grow half of that!

Riley did really well helping out, he sampled each of the herbs, really liked the cilantro, and the stevia! He can't wait for the tomatoes, like me, he's a major tomato lover, and I think he will help out a lot with this.

But, the sad news, Riley got to mow the lawn for the first time ever, and he accidentally mowed over a baby bunny. It chopped one ear almost all the way off, and the other ear it cut the tip off. I about gagged, and realized I may not know my true calling in life, but it certainly isn't to be a vet, or a doctor or nurse of any kind. I called Austin Wildlife Rescue and they said to bring it in, since it was still alive, and somewhat dazed, poor thing. It was very bloody, and you could kind of see the scalp. Believe it or not, I did get pictures, but I will spare you here.

We rushed him down to the rescue center and are praying that he makes it. They said we could call tomorrow and check up on him. Riley is traumatized and never wants to mow again. Poor guy, he's so sensitive to these things.

But anyway, we came home, and finished up the garden, just in time for a good rain, and I grabbed some buckets out of the garage and made my own little white trash rain collection system. We have a leaky gutter, so I just put the buckets under it and voila! In about 30 minutes I had 2 buckets full of water for the garden! Next up is a compost pile and worm bin. This is science class in real life!

Bluebonnets

Regan wanted to take pictures in the bluebonnets in her fancy dress, but of course as soon as we pull up to our spot, it started sprinkling pretty good. We took a few pictures, but will have to try later, the ground was soaked from overnight rain, and we were already pretty wiped out from church. But, here's a cute one.

Park Day

One of my new goals this year is to get involved more. Regan is really missing friends from school, so I realize we need to be out and about, and expand our circle of friends. With that in mind, we headed out to Park Day with some other home school friends. This is a great park, I used to bring Riley when he was a baby, but hadn't been in ages. The kids loved it, plenty of room to explore, trees to climb and lots of shade for us moms! It was a perfect spring day, and we spent hours outside enjoying it!

Hockey Day

One of our home school groups had a really awesome field trip that we got to go on. First, we got to go out in the morning and tour the new Cedar Park Center, home of the Texas Stars Hockey Team, and tour the facility. We were the first group to ever get to watch the Stars during practice. The kids loved it as we sat up in the party boxes and watched the practice, and listened to someone go over the "science" of hockey. Basically, the ins and outs, and some of the rules, and how they set up and tear down the rink for other events, it was very neat.

Then since we were over by our old house, that used to be my mom's, we drove over there, saw the old place, (it looks pretty much the same) and drove over by Grandma and Grandpa's old house that was right down the road from ours, but now was confusing because there is a giant toll road separating our houses now! We also went to Block House Creek Park, where I spent MANY an hour pushing kids on swings! Regan didn't remember the park, but Riley did, and we went hiking up the creek a ways. The weather has been gorgeous, but we were dressed for the ice rink, so we were melting out there!


Then later that evening we went back with our group for a real live hockey game! Regan wasn't too impressed, but Riley and his friend Jett loved it. Riley got an autograph from one of the hockey players, and then as we were leaving the arena, the cheerleaders were by the door, (I didn't even know they HAD cheerleaders for hockey!) so Regan wanted to meet them and get their autographs, and Riley of course had to get in on that too.


It was a fun day, and one of those rare ones where the planets align and the kids actually got along! In one picture, right before I snapped, Riley actually, on his own, put his arm around Regan. I wanted to scream, "You DO love her!" It was fun, and I'm hoping Spring is bringing out the best of all of us.

Modeling Session

Regan got a "new to me" dress and it finally fit, so she wanted me to take her picture in the dress. After I snapped a couple in the driveway before we left for church, she shrugged her sweater off her shoulders and told me to take one more! Model in the making!

All Hail!

Golf ball size hail falling from the sky!

Here are some videos of the hail storm:

Waterloo Ice House

We met Jay and Tammy and the kids at Waterloo Ice House for lunch, they have a playground, and let the kids play while we eat, they did the usual drive by eating, take a bite and run it off. They had a good time playing around and it was a good halfway point to meet up, since Regan spent the night with them and it was time to get her back. She had a good time, and was worn plum out, she took about a 3 hour nap when we got home!

In Bloom

Bluebonnets

Well, there is a huge field of bluebonnets right by our house, so we headed out there today and got some halfway decent shots. The kids are still squinting in most of them, but some turned out pretty cute. They actually look like they can tolerate each other. Barely. It's funny, anytime we pass a flower now, Regan thinks it's a "bonnet" as in, "Mom, look at those yellow-bonnets and orange-bonnets!!" It's cute.