Gone Camping!

This weekend we had Jenny's friend Amy come and visit us for a few days. At the same time we had a camping trip already planned, so it turned out we combined the two and took Amy camping with us. We spent one night up north at the Rifle River State Recreation Area, the same place we camped last year. This year we had a much better campsite, and overall a much better time. No rain this time!
We went on a nice nature hike around a pond, and then later took the kids swimming in a nice scenic lake. Ben and Megan love camping, and their favorite part is always just playing in the tent. I don't know what it is, but they're fascinated by it when it's put up. We also had fun making different kinds of smores. We made the classic smores, hershey's chocolate and marshmallows, but also we made smores with Andes mints, and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. It was tasty! As an added bonus to the trip, we got to hear lots of loons. Not the baseball players this time, but the real thing. It's a very pretty sound if you've never heard it. The loon is kind of an icon of the northern woods in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
The park is nothing fancy, but it works for us for several reasons. It's only an hour north from us, so we don't have to drive to far...and if the kids just aren't in the mood we can easily pack up and go home. Also, the park offers you some scenic views, northern lakes, some hiking trails, and pretty woods...so you feel you're farther north than you really are. It's very convenient for us...especially with the kids at the ages they are right now.
Anyway, the next day we headed back home. The kids were all exhausted. The night got a little colder than we expected and I don't think anyone slept well. But they would all go again in a heartbeat I'm sure. It was a fun getaway.

Life At Random - Texas Edition

Here are some extra pictures from our Texas weekend. Included are pictures of the epic "firecracker battle" of East Texas, blowing bubbles with Grandma and Grandpa, and riding a merry-go-round with Grandad at Grapevine Mills Mall.

4th of July - East Texas Style

We spent the 4th of July weekend with Jenny's family out in East Texas. We stayed at Jenny's Mom and Stepdad's place which is on Lake Cypress Springs near Mt. Vernon. We had a great time, and Ben especially had a great time playing with his cousins Jackson and Luke. The kids all got to swim in the lake, ride the boat, take rides on the jet ski, and do a little fishing. We also got to enjoy a great home cooked BBQ out at Hidden Springs Ranch (Jenny's Aunt and Uncle's place). Then we capped off the weekend with a fireworks display out over the water. Overall...it was a fun time. It was hot and steamy of course, but fun.

The Dallas Cowboys "Giant Tick"

We went down to Texas over the 4th of July weekend, and the first order of business was taking a tour of the new Cowboys stadium in Arlington...better known to locals as the "giant tick," or "the giant beetle." The stadium is so massive it dwarfs every other building in the city.
My main curiosity going in was "is it going to be gaudy inside?" But as a matter of fact, it really isn't. You walk in through the doors and the inside looks like any other stadium. All the halls and corridors are like anything else you've seen. But once you walk in the stadium itself (where the seats are) that's where you notice its size. The opening game of the 2009 season is already sold out...at over 100,000 seats. The video screen over the field is an incredible 60 yards long, and 40 yards wide. The roof opens at the top, and both endzone glass doors open...allowing for a more traditional open-aired stadium affect. Even the speakers that hang from the ceiling are each the size of an 18 wheeler.
Anyway, I could go on and on. Basically, the place blew me away. The highlight for us was getting to walk into the locker rooms and then down onto the field. It was fun.