Remember the Alamo

Texas history is so much more exciting than Arkansas history. They've got that whole Alamo thing. In preparation for our trip to San Antonio, I wanted to the kids to know a little bit about what we were going to see. Jacob knew a little bit about the Alamo, and all it would take for him to read about it for hours is tell him that we're going there. Samuel, on the other hand, knew nothing about it and needed a bit more prodding to become curious. So, we went to the Fayetteville Public Library and checked out a couple of children's books that told the story of the Alamo. Here's one I brought home specifically for Samuel, knowing that the graphic novel form would intrigue him.

(Sorry the picture is so big - I'm working on our new computer and haven't quite figured out copying and pasting with this giant non-mouse thing on the side of the keyboard.) It's not that Samuel is a struggling reader. Just the opposite. It's just that I have a hard time motivating him to start new books. Nothing is as good as Harry Potter (his opinion!) . . . nothing. So why bother, right? I brought this home and told Samuel he HAD to read it. He did, and he quickly wanted to know more.

So, we watched the John Wayne version of the Alamo (not the most exciting movie . . . I think I fell asleep a couple of times) AND the Disney classic, Davy Crockett King of the Wild Frontier. The boys loved both. And Hannah, well - - she watched and picked up most of the story. I won't go so far as to say she loved it. But, it's really more a story about being macho and less about being a princess, so . . .

By the time we got to the Alamo, the kids knew their stuff. Samuel spent a good deal of time in the museum searching for "Betsy," Crockett's famous rifle. He couldn't find it and went up to the docent and asked where it was. We found out that "Betsy" is owned by someone in Tennessee who hasn't "volunteered" to share it.

Here are some pics of our time at the Alamo:

The boys posing out front. We had just sampled some McDonalds Mango Smoothies, so that's what Samuel has in front of his face.

Hannah has to look inside.

Jacob was the best model for pictures. I know he was hot, but he stayed in a good mood and would stop and smile whenever I asked him.

This live oak tree was just about the prettiest thing in South Texas!

I just love these wooden doors to the chapel portion of the Alamo. This is where the women and children gathered during the fight and where the last of the men died.

Schlitterbahn

When we first started talking about going to Texas for summer vacation (which is unusual in itself because we never go places that are even hotter than it is at home), Schlitterbahn was at the top of my list for places to take the kids. Schlitterbahn is a water park in New Braunfels, a little town about half-way between Austin and San Antonio. It's built into the side of a hill along the Comal River and uses all river water to supply the park. The Comal is spring-fed, so the water is about 60 degrees - - perfect when it's 104 outside. Plus, the word Schlitterbahn is just fun to say!

The kids all swim well, so they're at a great age for a water park. Most of the rides are tube rides with good old-fashioned black inner tube tires! Several of the tube rides last twenty minutes or so from the time you get in at the top, float through all the rapids and then splash into the river at the bottom. It's great fun to gently float along the river, which is shaded almost completely by the giant live oak trees lining both sides, until you reach the getting out point.

Pizza Parlor Fun

Hannah has been dying to have some friends over to play, so we finally arranged to make that happen. Her friends, Audrey & Isabel, came to spend part of the day with us today. In an attempt to do something more creative than just a sandwich for lunch and just dragging out toys the whole time (or just watching a movie), I got the girls some aprons to decorate and all the ingredients for them to make their own pizzas.

First, we decorated aprons with fabric markers.

Hannah's design

Audrey's work

Jacob, who LOVES pizza, wanted to join the fun. Not so much the apron decorating fun, but the pizza making AND eating fun. Here, he's making his crust and spreading it in the pan.

Isabel is adding sauce and cheese. (I made the crusts for the girls, so all they had to do was add toppings.)

Hannah likes cheese, as you can tell from the large handful she just grabbed!

Audrey is going for perfection.

Hannah's cheese pizza.

Audrey and Isabel both added pepperoni. Yum!!! Doesn't it make you hungry just to look at it? I was smart in not making my own pizza. I was able to eat plenty just from eating what the girls didn't want.

Our Local Swimming Hole

It was SO hot outside today. It was either lay inside in the air conditioning all day long or head for the pool. Lucky for me, my sister has a pool! She's out of town right now, and I'm supposed to take care of the pool and garden anyway, so we made the most of it this afternoon. The whole family went - - a rare treat. Usually, it's just me and the kids or me and a kid or two. Samuel didn't really want to go today (he wanted to play Wii instead), but we didn't give him an option. We all had fun. We played in the pool for almost two hours; hopefully our sunscreen worked! Don't worry Ann - - we put up all the pool toys before leaving.

Jacob's taking it easy.

So is Samuel.

Hannah is enjoying an orange dreamsicle. Mmm, one of my favorites!

Hannah finally gets a turn in the boat.

Yes, they can swim and not just float on tubes and in boats.

Hannah is still working on her dive. I think she's actually pretty good. Much better than me!

Revolutionary Berries

A disclaimer first - - - I have been spending a lot of time reading the Pioneer Woman's blog, so I decided to get my camera out while in the kitchen this afternoon. I am in no way saying that these are Pioneer Woman worthy.

I was looking for fun, 4th of July treats to make and discovered this recipe for Revolutionary Berries. Hannah loves strawberries, and it definitely looked like something easy enough for her to make.

The recipe called for melting white chocolate chips, but I got a big block of Almond Bark instead. I love Almond Bark and can just lick it out of the bowl. Evidently Hannah can too.

Then, you need some blue sugar crystals.

Melt the Almond Bark in the microwave, stirring several times. And of course tasting to make sure it's ok.

Dip the strawberries into the melted Almond Bark. Try to cover the bottom two-thirds of the berry. Make sure there's still red berry showing on top.

Then, dip the berry into the blue sugar. Try to make the bottom third of the berry as blue as possible.

Lay the berries on wax paper so that they can dry and that the Almond Bark can harden. (I'm going to put mine in the fridge so that they'll be nice and chilled.)

A fun and easy patriotic treat! Happy 4th!

Cruising Down the River - Family Field Trip #2

Cruising down the river

on a "Saturday" afternoon . .. .

ok, so we definitely weren't cruising. It was more like drifting down the river, into rocks and into tree branches. But, fun was had in the process. Early Saturday morning, we packed up the van with lunches, about 40 bottles of water, towels, and three sleepy kids. We headed towards the metropolis of Yellville, Arkansas to Buffalo River Float Service where three canoes were waiting for us. (That was along with a bus full of about forty other people getting on the river at the same time, and that doesn't account for the three busses of people from Wild Bill's Outfitters going to the same place!)

Our float trip would begin at Maumee North and go ten miles down river to Dillard's Ferry (at the Hwy 14 bridge). The trip is slated to take 5 1/2 hours. I think it took us about 7 hours.

My sister, Ann, and her husband, David, went with us for the day. They are like master canoeists - never steering off course and zooming down the river. John and I both had difficulty several times, especially when it was windy. We'd get blown to one side of the river and then not be able to easily get back into the main current. We stopped several times to get in the water and cool off. Did I mention that it was really hot? The kids loved swimming and floating in the current. I liked it too. Until I went down a section of water with large boulders (that I should have noticed and didn't) and banged myself all up. My knee hurt the rest of the day, and I have some colorful bruises as souvenirs. We especially liked stopping at Spring Creek, which flows into the Buffalo, because the water is very cold.

Below are some pictures of our day:

Ann, Hannah, and I in the lead canoe

Samuel learning to paddle

Doesn't David look like a professional?

Samuel floating down the river

I had to swim over and pull Hannah back to right side of the river.

Screaming to death COLD!!!

Master canoeists (is that a word?)

Beautiful scenery

Family Field Trip

So, here goes another blog. I know, don't fall down in surprise or anything. I'm attempting to chronicle some of our summer activities. We're not taking a big vacation but instead are attempting to take lots of smaller "Family Field Trips."

On Thursday, we loaded the kids in the car and headed to Prairie Grove National Battlefield, a Civil War battle field about 15 miles from our house. We recently read an article in our local paper about the updated visitor center and thought we'd check it out. I've driven past the battlefield on the way to other places, but I honestly don't ever remember stopping.

Here's the commemorative plaque giving information about the battle, fought on December 7th (hmm. . . . a famous date in history??)

Inside the Hindman House Visitor Center, Samuel really liked the exhibits on weapons.

The kids all tried to lift a 10 pound cannon ball, but it was really hard to do!

Hannah wasn't really into reading about the battle, and she was not happy at all to learn about the medical instruments used to amputate wounded limbs. (The boys, however, thought they were cool.) Maybe she should have skipped this part.

Jacob and Samuel checking out some guns.

There was a little desk and a set of post-it notes and instructions that encouraged young visitors to leave a note about something learned or liked. Samuel and Hannah both wrote notes.

Responses were not surprising . . .

The tiny gift shop area did have some costumes. Samuel is sporting Union blue, and Jacob is all smiles as Johnny Reb.

It was hot out, but we did walk around a bit and look at the memorials, houses, and signage outside.

Boys love to climb on things.

Hannah decided to wear a dress on this outing. She thought this was a good opportunity to pose for some pictures.

We also did the driving tour, stopping to get out at this overlook. The kids are checking out the information about the fighting that took place in the field below. John read aloud the information for each stop , but the kids had pretty much lost interest by this point.