Fun in the Country

Saturday on our way back from our trip, we stopped at a friend's house in the country.  We were there for over 6 hours where the boys played non-stop.  We first drove over to the horse stalls to ride their horses.  Timmy rode with Teresa on Sissy.  The rest of us waited for them to get back.  Then, it was mine and Collin's turn.  I rode on Scotty while Collin rode with Teresa on Sissy.  Timmy did not want to ride with me but changed his mind and ran after us to get on one of the horses.  He rode with me the rest of the way.

Collin and Teresa

Collin and Teresa

Mommy

Timmy

Me with Timmy

While we waited for the others to ride the horses, Collin drove a mini ATV around with Timmy as the passenger.  He rode around in a big circle and not too fast.  They were laughing and having a good time.  Timmy wanted to ride the horse again but Collin did not want to.

Back at the house, Teresa rode with Collin on a 50cc motorcycle to get him comfortable with it.  She sad he was really good with his balance and control over the bike. So...we let him drive the motorcycle by himself.  He road around in a big circle over and over and over again for at least 10 minutes.  He finally stopped by himself because his hand were getting tired holding onto the motorcycle handles.  He immediately asked Dad when he could get one.  We both knew that was coming.

Next, we road around in a Polaris to look at the property.  Collin thought it was funny that their little dog got on the Polaris with us.  We only road around to look at the trees on just 20 of the 150 acres they have.  Their property is amazing!

When we got back, Collin got to drive the Polaris because of how good he was controlling it.  Timmy was upset that he could not drive by himself.  He did get to drive but Teresa had to help him.

Besides riding around on riding toys, there was a trampoline, a lake and acres and acres of woods to play in.  It was too cold to swim in the lake but Timmy did not care and kept asking if he could swim. That boy loves to swim!  Because no adult was in the water, he could not swim...and was not happy about it.

When it was time to go, it was hard for all of us to leave such a fun, beautiful place but we had to get back home and Timmy's mom was ready to see him.

New Bike!

Collin rides his bike every chance he can get.  He loves to ride with his friends after school especially on the dirt or muddy paths on the trails in the back of our neighborhood. His friends are a grade older and have larger, geared bikes.  Because of this, Collin does have to pedal faster and harder when going up hills or when speeding up.  We have told him we will get him a geared bike soon knowing one of our neighbors was selling their son's bike that would be perfect for Collin.

Well, the day came that they were ready to part with the bike and Collin could have it.  He was so excited when we drove to the neighbor's house to show him the bike.  He wanted to ride it back to our house just a few blocks away while we followed him in the car.  The bike is bigger than he is used to so it was good for him to get on it and test it out.  I am glad he made it home without any issues. He wanted to continue to ride it up and down our street working through the handle breaks and how to work the gears.  "Dad, show me which gear to use when going up the hills" was one of his first comments.  I loved seeing the smile on his face as he road by the house.  "Mom, I am doing good, right?"  He sure was.

Mimi and Pappi came over that night and Collin showed them the bike and how he could ride it.  I hated to ask him to come inside but it was time to get ready for bed because I knew he was tired from the week off last week from Spring Break and our recent trip.

I'll post a picture of the new bike showing Collin's riding skills soon.

Spring Break - Jeep Trip

I am so glad I go to spend Spring Break with the family this year.  I have been working some hours at the office during the week and weekend so I was ready to spend some time with the family.  They picked a place to stay so I could work if I needed to while they played.  So that Collin would have someone to play with, his cousin Timmy came along with us.  He was excited about the trip and spending time with us.

Day 1

The boys did great during the 4 hour ride to the cabin on the lake.  They either played video games or talked only asking just a few times how long it would be until we got there.  When we arrived, we unloaded the Jeep and then heeded to the off-road adventure park, Hidden Falls.  We were all excited to take the Jeep off-road and ride on the trails.  Timmy was the most talkative and narrated a majority of the 2 ½ trip.  At one point, I got really nervous about doing down a really steep decline.  I wanted out and watched them safely get across.  I then had to jump over the water and climb to the other side to get back in the Jeep. While jumping over, my left side landed on a cactus.  When I got to the other side, I had to pull out at least 20 cactus needles out of my leg before getting back into the Jeep.  Those suckers stung! 

The boys are excited to see what's on the other side of the hill

Our view on the first trail

The trails and the scenery were amazing!  We were in rolling hills.  Some of the trails took us to the top of the hill and we had a great view of the surrounding area.  The boys were happy to get out and play a little.  They “created” a slide and slid down the flat part on their slip and slide.  After about 30 minutes, we left to roll on a few more trails before heading back.

Getting out to play a little.  Collin remembered how to climb down the rocks from our hiking trip.

I like this shot.  Dad got me taking a picture of the boys sliding down the path.

Great shot of Dad overlooking the valley below

A view of the campground and some of the trails

At the end of the day.  Great first day on the trails.

The boys wanted in the shot

Once we were back at the lake, the boys swam a little.  Timmy could not wait to get in so we let them swim to get it out of their system for a few minutes.  The water was freezing but they did not care.  Dad hung out in the water as long as he could stand it.

Jumping from the dock

Acting like sharks and then splashing each other

Great view from the dock of some of the lake

After a very busy day, we all crashed in our beds around 10pm.  I was also feeling a little queasy.  Maybe it was from the cactus needles or working the long, long days I did at work for the past 5 days. 

Day 2

Before heading out to the trails, the boys got in an early morning swim.  They did not last too long because the water was cold.

Collin being a fish

The lake is so peaceful in the morning.

Today, we rolled on trails near or on the river so there was a lot of water and mud involved.  Timmy thought going through the water was “amazing!”  Everyone seemed to have a great time today.  We stayed on the trails for about 3 hours before the boys started to get tired.

Coming out of a riverbed

The big boy is having fun!

While we were waiting for Dad to put the air back in the Jeep tires (he has to let a lot of the air out so the tires will grip the rock and road better), the boys threw a Frisbee together….until it go stuck in a tree.  Collin tried getting it out by throwing rocks at it and then thought he would use the football to get it out…and that cog tuck in the tree.  Then he used the tennis ball in the Jeep …. Until THAT also got stuck in the tree.  We all gathered up some small rocks to through at all of the objects stuck in the tree.  Finally, I was able to get all of them out and was Collin’s hero because the he won the Frisbee for raising money during the Boosterthon. 

Not bad for a 46 year old!

The boys were "spotting" me and telling me which direction to go so I was closer to the frisbee

Before heading back to the cabin, we stopped for some ice cream.  Great idea Dad!

Day 3

The boys must have been tired because they slept 1 ½ hours longer than the last two mornings.  After breakfast, the boys went for a swim.  This time, there were other guests on the dock trying to fish.  They did not seem like it bothered them that the boys were swimming around the area and making noise.  We hung out for about 30 minutes before loading up in the Jeep again.  The weather was overcast and it was supposed to rain.  We thought we could get in at least an hour of rolling before we had to go. 

Water!

....and more water!h

The Jeeps in front show the types of trails we drove on

Takes some skill to drive up the trails like these

They weather held out for us and it was a great last day on the trails.  This time, we stayed on the East side of the park where the trails were more narrow and challenging.  I was alert the entire time because of the challenge of the trails AND it was really nice in that area.  They boys got bored in about an hour.  I guess there was not enough mud and water on this side…and it was Day 3 of being in the Jeep.  Timmy could only think of eating and swimming.  We were all getting hungry so we left the trails after about 2 hours. 

Oh, Collin did get the Frisbee stuck in the tree again.  This time, no one could get it out. We had to leave it and brought a not-so-happy kid back with us.  We did tell the place to put it in the lost and found if it ever fell out of the tree.

The bluebonnets are in bloom and gorgeous!  I had to take some pictures the first day but was smart enough to know the boys would not sit still long enough for me to take pictures of them beside the flowers.  I did make them do it this morning before we left for the trails.  I found a barn with the Texas flag painted on it and thought that would be a great place for a picture.  I had them then sit near a patch of bluebonnets.  Timmy was not interested in smiling but Collin did sit still for me so I could get a few good pictures. 

Love this picture of Collin 

The only picture I could get of the boys sitting still

I thought this flag on the side of the barn was really cool.  The boys were ready to do but did great posing for just a quick second.

Odyssey of the Mind Presentation

The day is finally here!!!  The boys made their presentation for Odyssey of the Mind, No-Cycle Recycle.  We had to arrive at 10am for the team to check in.  They then wrote Thank You cards to the volunteers before heading over to the other school where they waited until it was their turn.  It was challenging to keep the excited boys in one area until it was time for them to present at 11am.

Matthew, Taha and Collin writing thank you notes

Matthew, Cooper, Collin and Taha writing thank you notes.  

The team - Collin, Taha, Cooper, Matthew and Ian

"Team, are you ready?"  They sure are!

At 11am, the boys brought all of their props into the gym and waited for the judges to be ready. When the judges said, "Team, are you ready", the 8 minute timer started.  The boys had to quickly set the stage and start their performance.  One side of the room was set up with the alien and his planet, the middle with the recycling center and the other side with Earth.  The spaceship was set up in the middle.  Collin was the driver and Ian was the passenger.  They used crutches to move the spaceship to the alien planet, i941c, to talk to the alien.  They then moved the spaceship to the recycling center to recycle a teddy bear into Teddy Roosevelt.  They dropped him off at Earth and picked up a platypus.  Ian got out of the ship and Collin took the platypus back to the alien planet to bring water and a friend.  Then the alien got in the spaceship with Collin.  He drove back to Earth. Along the way, they picked up a rock that was recycled into a rock-it (rocket) for the alien to go back home from Earth when he was ready.

Waiting for the judges to be ready

In the spaceship headed to Planet i941c

Talking to the alien

Picking up the platypus after recycling the teddy bear

Bringing the alien to Earth

The platypus and Collin headed to Planet i941c

Headed to get the alien

Not only did the boys finish on time, they mainly remembered their lines.  The spaceship did not move along as planned, so two of the boys ended up having to push it.  We thought they did great for performing in front of an audience and not getting "cold feet" at all.  I was really impressed with this.  

After the performance, we had a little less than 2 hours until their spontaneous problem test.  This is done without the coach.  The boys are given a problem or a puzzle to solve.  They are judged on the result, how they work as a team and creativity.  While waiting, we bought lunch and let the boys play on the playground....they earned this fun time.  While they rested and ate lunch, the coach talked about the test and what to expect.  It was a beautiful day and nice to be outside watching the boys.  The time did fly by and it was time to walk to the other school for the spontaneous problem test at 2pm.  They were finished in 7 minutes.  I asked how they did and they said they could not tell me anything about it.

We are still waiting on the results but the boys are winners no matter what.  They learned about each other, to work as a team, to support other's ideas, rework a problem when an idea does not work and to perform in front of an audience over the last six months.  Also, Friday, the Principal announced each team member's name over the speaker and gave each of them a good luck goody bag loaded with snacks so they could bring them today.  I thought that was a thoughtful, great idea.

Goody bag from the Principal

Proud that his name is on the board in front of school