Weekend Camping

We had a great time camping this weekend at Potter's Creek Park on Canyon Lake.  We went with two other families from our Sunday school class.  The men went down Friday after work and the rest  of us joined them Saturday morning.  It was really nice already having the tent put together. Yes, yes!

The kids had fun looking for interesting rocks at the shoreline of the lake. They kicked around in their rainboots and all had their first pair of pants wet 15 minutes after arriving at camp.  After lunch, the men took the kids for a walk around.  Deer were everywhere. They learned from another camper that the deer are fed at 4:00 everyday, so we all made sure to be around for that event.  Lots & lots of deer.  

The weather was perfect. Cool & Clear.

And, it wouldn't be camping, without s'mores on the campfire.

Games by lantern light.

My favorite picture of the weekend!

The night was cold, but thankfully we were prepared.  Warm sleeping bags & lots of blankets made for all 5 of us sleeping all night.  The kids fell asleep so fast. With it getting dark at 6;00, they were ready to hit the hay easily.

The kids rode bikes & scooters all over the place! It was terrific.

Breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and lots of bacon provided by The Hall's.

 Looking for rocks & fossils again.

 Cally, Conleigh & Alex

 We touched base with my cousin Blake before we left Austin. Turns out, we would be driving right by his house, so we stopped by on our wya home today. He was hunting but we got to see Heather & the boys, and the mini horses, Oreo & Champ.

Campbell is a real animal lover. Last week she told me, "Mom, I want a dog." O - No!

The kids played a quick game of soccer outside.

We finished off the weekend with the last soccer game of the season & a end of season party. Great team, great season, and great coach (if I do say so myself).

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful parents.

44 years ago they got married.

I am so thankful for the way my parents raised me,

the experiences they provided for me, the things they taught me that have helped

me throughout my life, and the support they always

give me. I remember my mom cutting out letters for posters I made to run for

student council in high school. I remember my dad helping me stain, and sand, and sand

and stain a dresser. By the way, I still have that dresser & my daughter uses it now.

When I moved to Austin, my mom & dad drove here almost weekend-ly to help renovate

my first home. That was hard work, but we made a lot of great memories during

that time.

Enjoy your celebration Mom & Dad!

Love,
Kate

Halloween Wrap Slide Show

Thursday afternoon snack

Marshmallows & Whipped Cream

Delish!

Art Show

Conleigh & I went to the Art from the Streets Show today.  This is a once a year show where homeless artists sell their works. I was amazed at how many pieces of art there were. It was held at a church downtown and there were two floors of art with the artists nearby to ask questions or they could tell you about the painting.
Campbell & Alex would have been chomping at the bit to be done with the art show. Conleigh loved it! We just really looked at everything and she would tell me what kind of paint, acrylic, tempura, or watercolor was used to create the art. She also noticed that the paintings didn't have titles. She said they title their art at school.
We had made our selection and were about to leave when a man came up and showed us this:

"Life, How Wonderful to Watch as it Unfolds" by Art Randle

Conleigh & I both gasped. We couldn't believe he had drawn this picture of us. We didn't even see him working. I love it so much.  Art is very important to Conleigh & I think this drawing shows her explaining something to me about a piece of art.
 
The top of the drawing which is on a piece of lime green paper and written in black ball point pen says, "A Trip through the Art World with Mom"  11/7/2010 penned by Art Randle.
Art was not an official participant in the show. He looked rough around the edges, but he was very polite and I think he is very gifted.  Although I really like the painting I bought today, we named it Angelic Sunrise, I LOVE the above drawing of Conleigh & me. It is a treasure. I'm going to get it matted and framed.












Relaxing Saturday

When Alex came into our room last night after a scary dream, I offered for him to crawl into our bed. Then I noticed Campbell was already between Peter & me, so instead, I followed Alex to his twin bed.  Ugh! You can guess the kind of sleep that followed -- smooshed and not too good.
On to Saturday morning, wake up at 9:00, who knows how long Alex had been out of the bed already...Peter had made pancakes, bacon and eggs, so we all enjoyed that and then Alex & Peter started playing chess, Campbell & Conleigh were playing Chutes & Ladders, and I snuck out for a walk. The weather was absolutely gorgeous today. On my walk, I came across a garage sale nearby. I checked out the goods and continued.
When I got home, I told the kids to get their $3 that Granny sent for Halloween and we'd take the golf cart to the garage sale. I had seen a couple of puzzles that I thought Campbell would like. Peter went too.
Campbell indeed used her money to purchase the two puzzles & fancy dress up shoes she found.

She is really good at doing puzzles. Today she said she wants to be a puzzle do'er when she grows up, and an artist, and dancer, and ....

We had so much fun at that sale, we found another one.  Alex found some great legos including a Star Wars Anakin and his ship (I think).   We also found the deal of the day!  A basketball hoop including a return for...$5!!!! Yes, $5! They were obviously just ready to have it gone.  We have enjoyed $5 worth of fun just today.  

This evening Conleigh headed to a slumber party, and the rest of us went downtown to the Gypsy Picnic Trailer Festival.  It was a blast. Bands played & a sideshow perfect for the kids (except the Leslie sighting).  Austin is famous for the many food trailer's around town. This year the Gypsy Picnic was the inaugural festival of all the trailers in one place.  SOOOOO many of them ran out of food. Peter manned the Sysco truck for awhile which was onsite to supply food, but by his shift it was practically empty.  Many of the trailers had signs up that said, "Sorry, sold out!".  The ones that did have food had really, really long lines. We enjoyed the atmosphere & music and people watching & grabbed dinner on the way home. 

Campbell chowing on lots of cheetos.

Circque Dreams at the SideShow. He was really good at his balancing act.

This guy layed on nails and then held  a concrete block & had someone break it with a sledge hammer.  Definitely keeping Austin Weird.

Leslie, the resident transvestite.

Keeping Austin Weird!



A beautiful end to a great family day!

Birthday!

Today is our Compassion child's birthday. Miguel is 5 today.  We chose Miguel because his age is so close to our son Alex, so maybe we can imagine what he is interested in and is learning.  I can honestly say that I pray for Miguel. I pray that he is safe & warm and happy & learning.  We have written him two letters. We have received a letter from his pastor that suggested he be involved in the Compassion program in Columbia.  I hope that the letter we sent for his birthday arrived in time. 

There are children all over the world that could use your prayers. Please click the link below to see some of these precious children.    http://www.compassion.com/