Air Show 2010

Today we went out to Lackland Air Force Base for the annual air show. We went with some friends from church, and the only that spoiled the day was that our camera batteries both went dead on us before we could take more than a couple of pics. We didn't get to stay for the whole thing - so we missed the Thunderbirds - but we had a blast. It was so cool to see the planes do things I'd only seen on tv. They also had Japanese and American planes from WWII "re-enacting" some of the battles of that war. Very cool stuff. Also very loud. Next time we are taking ear plugs and head phones. And sunscreen. And water bottles. And chairs.

Here's all 6 girls sitting on the side of a medical helicopter, one of the static displays.
And just for my dad, here's the older 5 standing in front of the chopper like they used in M*A*S*H.

The "Later" pictures

Halfway through the week, and I'm ready to go back to the river. Our home school group rented a duplex right on the Guadalupe River. Since we rented both sides, we had the spacious deck all to ourselves.

Here's a look at the top level of the deck.

This is how far up the top deck is from the dock. The deck was actually three stories: the fishing/boat dock, the grilling level, and the lazy mommy enjoying the view level.
This is a peek at our wild party. Ignore the comfy pajamas everyone is wearing, and pay attention to the spiral staircase. My bed was up in the loft up those stairs. I had stupidly decided it was a smart idea to pack everything I was bringing into one suitcase: clothes, toiletries, blow dryer, games, movies, shoes, wine. And then I had to lug it ALL THE WAY UP THOSE STAIRS. The other ladies were all laughing at me. Next year, I'm bringing 2 duffel bags instead.
Some moms enjoying the deck Saturday morning, holding babies to give some of the other moms a break.

This is the view we had to look at.

A couple of the moms went fishing. Teresa caught a couple of rainbow trout, including this one. Those of us who like to eat fish but can't stand to catch them were duly impressed.
On Saturday about 5 of us went tubing. We liked it so much that on Sunday we rented a couple of rafts and 7 of us went rafting. I'm in the front in the pink shirt. Our "exit" spot was just across the river from our house so I had one of the other ladies get pictures.
See that raft waaaaaaaay back there? As we were pulling our raft out of the river, the other group was well behind. And they had 4 rowers and we only had 3!

Come on, you guys, hurry up!

Just kidding! Who wants to hurry on vacation?

We are definitely going to have to do this again next year! Next year, we're tubing all the way to Gruene!

Jack Frost Nipping at Your Nose

We are experiencing something resembling a real winter here in South Texas. A couple nights ago, we even had a hard freeze - down to 24 for several hours. This might not sound like a big deal, but if you've ever spent a year here in San Antonio, you know we can go an entire winter without reaching the low 30s, even at night. I think our average high in the winter is in the mid-60s. Yeah, I know, it's sickening.

But over the last week or so we've had more than one freeze, including the hard one Friday night/Saturday morning. Right now it drizzly and in the low 50s. I love the colder weather, but it certainly isn't what we're used to around here!

Funny story about all this:

Saturday morning, as I said, we had a hard freeze overnight. It was 24 degrees when we got up Saturday morning and I took a look outside. My almost 13 year old, Kora, observed, "The grass looks funny and there's this silvery kinda stuff on all the cars. Why does it look like that?"

So I introduced her to "frost." Yes, she's seen things like snow and frost before, but not in several years. So she had to call all her little sisters over to the windows to observe the frostiness. Kelly and I just laughed. Man we've got to take these kids up north sometime and let them see what real winter really is!

Dancing in the Rain

The other day, something spectacular happened. Something out of this world, hasn't happened in nearly two years kind of spectacular.

It. Rained.

Hard and long. For those of you not in south Texas, I hope you can imagine how parched we all are down here. Then last week, it rained for several days in a row. On Wednesday it rained in fits and starts. Then on Thursday, it started raining about 11:15 and didn't stop for hours. It was heaven.

When it started we all had to go out to the front porch just to watch the spectacle. I'm not sure Lauryn could ever remember rain like this and I know it hadn't rained like this in Ashlynn's lifetime!

First we just watched and marveled.

Then we had to reach out and catch some of this marvelous stuff.

Then there were some tentative dashes under the deluge.

Ashlynn liked it!

Pretty soon we were baby-stepping it onto the steps.

Next thing I know ALL SIX of them we doing this.

And this.

Eventually, Aubrey brought Ashlynn into me shivering. Lauryn came in too, not liking being cold and wet. But Ashlynn rather resented being brought in! I dried her off and stripped her of her wet clothes, and then she cried to be let back outside!

Meanwhile, the older four were doing this.

And this.

I was told later that Hailey was waving wildly to the couple of cars that passed by our house during this time. I half expected to get a call from CPS that afternoon.

But truth be told, I wished I could have gotten out with them in their impromptu recess in the rain (I couldn't because of my cast). I love rainy days, and something about the months of drought made my soul feel as parched as the land around here. And I think the girls will always remember the day they went out and danced in the rain.

Wind

I felt like I was back in West Texas yesterday! The wind was blowing so hard that it blew one of our chairs from our front porch into our yard. For those of you unfamiliar with our house, we have about 10 steps UP to our front porch, which is enclosed with railing. So the chair was blown off the porch from behind the brick columns, down the stairs and onto the grass. (This is a picture from last summer, BTW. Our grass is NOT that green yet.) The cute throw pillow I had in the chair was nowhere to be found. I guess someone down the street found it and is using it to decorate their house now. :-)

I had forgotten how much I hated the wind.

Spring is Here

The flowers are blooming.

The geese are headed back north.

And Kora and I have been playing with the camera. :-) I think we need some other lenses.

CORN MAiZE

Yesterday the girls and I participated in our annual fall field trip: the South Texas CORN MAiZE!
This is part of a family farm near Hondo, Texas. They plant a hay grazer crop and then create a winding, twisting maze. First, you have to pick the clue pages. There are posts stationed throughout the maze. When you come to one, you stop and read the clue; the answer tells you whether to turn right or left.
It sounds easier than it is. Go here for a view of what the maze looks like from overhead. So we have our sheets, lets head in.
First, we have to read the rules. Guess it's a good thing Kelly didn't come along or might have broken one!

Everyone went through, even this one!

Here's the view in the path - it can be very disorienting!

However, it wasn't as tall as it usually is, I assume because of the lack of rainfall this year.

Quite a few families from our homeschool group were there.

Even some visiting from Virginia.

Besides a maze, there were many other activities. The girls' favorite was the "corn popper." This was a big air filled pillow that they jumped around on.

There was also a corn shuck canon,

a barrel ride,

and a hay ride that took a detour into a pumpkin patch.

One activity was strictly prohibited, however.

After all this activity, plus a picnic lunch, the girls were a bit tired.

Nap time was very quiet yesterday. :-)

Anniversary

On our tenth anniversary, Kelly surprised me by taking me to Ruth's Chris Steak House. Even though we had never paid that much for a meal before, it was soooo good! We loved it and decided then and there to come back on our 15th anniversary.

So for the past couple of months we have been talking about going back to Ruth's Chris. So that's what we did. If you've never been there, you are sure missing out! Kelly had made a reservation, so when we told them who we were, the hostess replied, "Oh, happy anniversary, Mr. and Mrs. smith. Right this way." She then scattered rose petals on our table.

The hostess came over and greeted us by name every time. We started of with an appetizer of calamari in a sweet and spicy Thai sauce. Yum! Then we had a salad, followed by the main dish. I had a petite sirloin, while Kelly had two smaller petite sirloins topped with shrimp. The shrimp were so large he shared a couple with me. I paired this with a really good Riesling. (Yes I know you aren't supposed to do a white wine with steak, but I'm not big on red wines and I love Riesling!) We topped it off with a chocolate chunk bread pudding. I didn't think I liked bread pudding, but this stuff was wonderful.

Not only was the food good, but the service was unparalleled and so completely spoiling. They even used a little metal scraper thing to clean off the white tablecloth between courses. Just save up before going - I refuse to publish how much dinner was, but we could've bought enough groceries to feed the whole family for a couple of weeks! Good thing we only go every five years...

We went with very full tummies across the highway to see The Dark Knight. The best movie either of us had seen in a while. I can see now why there is Oscar buzz for Heath Ledger. His character was disturbing, eerie, all those things. The only downside was the casting for "Rachel." Maggie Gyllenhaal was totally wrong. She was too bubbly and not nearly as sophisticated or complex as the part was supposed to be. But it was such a great movie, that it didn't matter too much.

Well, I doubt this topped last year's anniversary announcement, but we still had a great time.

Who Knew Paradise Was So Close?

Saturday, we went to Paradise Canyon, about 25 minutes west of us on the Rio Medina River. Some friends from church were celebrating their 10th anniversary by renewing their vows and afterwards, their four oldest children were being baptized. So it was a special day for their family as well as our church.
It was also a beautiful day and a beautiful location. I didn't feel like I was near San Antonio at all! Plus the weather was a little overcast and breezy - just enough to keep us comfortable. It also would lightly rain on us occasionally - again just enough to keep the temperatures down - and reminded more than one of us of the weather in Hawaii.
They have a beautiful lodge out there that our friends had rented which made a great place to serve lunch, change clothes, nurse a baby, etc. It was huge!
Our pastor, Dirk, performed the marriage covenant renewal service. It was simple, heartfelt, and very sweet.
Then JD washed his wife's feet, as a symbol of being a servant leader in the home. I'm not sure Shannon knew about this part, because she looked a little surprised to me.
Then Dirk did a quick clothes change and came back out to baptize the kids. That water was quite chilly, too!
(I'm sure some of you are wondering, so I'll just add that our church does pour or immerse, depending on the convictions of the family.)
I am kicking myself for not getting any more pictures of after the ceremony. We had a wonderful catered lunch, and the kids swam, rode in a paddle boat, inner tubed, splashed, jumped off 10-12 foot cliffs into the water, and just generally had a great time. It was a beautiful place, and I can't wait to go back sometime!