The Llamas and the Papas

We had a fantastic Father's Day celebration on Sunday.

The boys were excited to give Carl their gifts, so they woke us up with the presents in bed. I was really happy with how his main present turned out, this little book about Dad I had printed and which the boys then filled out.

 The boys were excited to give Carl some new skylanders characters for their video game, and yes, they pretty much bought themselves a present. We went back to sleep after opening the gifts while the boys went downstairs to "test out Daddy's new skylanders and see how they work." ;)

Chris and Al came over a bit later, and we all hopped in the mommyvan for a trip to the Wildlife Safari.

We love this place, and this was possibly our best visit yet.

Its so much fun to drive through the ranch and see all the animals, and everyone loves feeding them.

 

 

 And yes, zebras do bite, but you just have to feed them right out of your hands.

Its just a little nibble after, after all.

This was the first time we've been brave enough to feed the ostriches.

Look at their feet, and just try and tell me these animals aren't proof that dinosaurs still exist.

We especially loved seeing all the baby ostriches.

This was also the first time we've been successful in getting a llama to come to the car and eat out of our hands.

Or bag, as the case may be.

We drove through the park twice, going on both of the two paths.

And we're already planning our return trip in the spring when their expansion is ready.

After the safari, we headed to Gruene, for a late lunch at the Grist Mill and some antique shopping.
 

Finally, it was time to head home. Elaine and family were coming over for dinner, so we had a chance to visit and celebrate with them for a bit, too.

Everyone agreed it was one of the best Father's Days ever.

Happy Father's Day

Grasshoppers and Scorpions

I love how each week of summer  is better and better for the boys.

The first week, they went to the YMCA camp at their school. Ryan's BFF was there, along with Jackson's older brother who is Alex's age. They've never had classes together, but are becoming good friends.

Ryan and Jackson are going to be in the same scout den next year, so they got to spend a second week at camp together in the "Grasshoppers" den, while Alex and several of his buddies were in the "Scorpions" den.

Last week, they went to Cub Scout camp. As Ryan is only just joining Cub Scouts, he needed to have an adult "akaela" with him at all times. Carl's parents volunteered a few days, and Carl and I rounded out the days.

So we were able to get a lot of good pictures of the boys having a great time. :)

No surprise, but their favorite activities were archery and BB guns.

Woodworking was another favorite activity, especially since Papa was volunteering at that station. Carl and his parents had pre-cut all the wood for these scout tool boxes since saws weren't allowed at camp.

The boys then put them together and painted them. Look how cute they came out!

It was hot, and Alex was just a wee bit obsessed with his new camelbak. ;) We didn't have to worry about him getting dehydrated! The water slide was another favorite activity.

They also played flag football, tball, soccer, basketball, and went fishing. Not a whole lot of fish, but Alex caught a small one. And Ryan caught a turtle, which traumatized him.

(fish, turtle, and traumatized Ryan not pictured)

Cooking (which consisted of making s'mores, or popcorn with mix-ins) led to yummy snacks every day, and arts and crafts let them get messy.

VERY messy.

But, after all, the theme for camp this year was "Digging in the Dirt," so what little boy doesn't love to get messy?

Post Script:
This was my favorite part of camp.

A nice, clean, somewhat-fresh smelling port-o-potty, just for the moms.

Little Picassos

Can you guess which camp we've been to this week?

Cub Scout Camp

Blogging about vacations always takes longer than I think it should.

In the meantime, we're overdosing on all things Jubilee related, and the boys are at Cub Scout Camp this week.

Jubilee Weekend

We had fun celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee at home in Austin this weekend.

 Saturday was spent swimming. We had the first swim meet of the season, then Ryan went to a friend's pool party, and then we came home and our neighbors were swimming with Alex. Three pools for Ryan in one day, and he couldn't get enough.

Sunday, we slept late (!) and got ready for the Jubilee Flotilla. I'd heard so much about the 1000 barges that would be traversing the Thames, I couldn't wait to see it.

 What a spectacle it was!

I loved the barge the Queen and the Royal Family traveled on. With the rowers, it was something straight out of the first Elizabethan age! Love how this one detail helps strengthen the reminder that Elizabeth II is royalty and descended from the days when the kings and queens regularly traveled the Thames via barge, to get from Hampton Court to the Tower and to central London.

I drank out of my new Jubilee mug the Royal Blend tea from Fortnum & Mason's, and broke into the shortbread that came home from London in its special Jubilee tin.

 Carl had picked up a birthday cake for me so we could celebrate with the boys, and we used my new napkins I picked up at Marks & Spencer.

We had such spectacular weather while we were in England, I feel so bad for everyone shivering out in the cold, wet and windy rain.

I can't wait to catch the Jubilee concert later tonight on the US tv, and then the special Trooping of the Colour tomorrow. I saw the Trooping of the Colour back in 1993 when I was in school, and that was amazing even back then. Tomorrow should be over the top!