Happy Dino Turkey Day!!!

We've been trying to go to Glen Rose and Dinosaur Valley all year. Between the weather and us being under the weather, we didn't get to take the trip until this past Thanksgiving. We headed out on Wednesday afternoon and spent four nights exploring the area.

We stayed at America's Best Value Inn. Not a 5 star hotel, but it was comfortable and the boys were treated like VIP's all weekend long. They swam, stayed up late watching Wipe Out, got their art work hung on the walls at the front desk, ate Texas shaped waffles every morning adorned with jelly and fruit loops while watching cartoons they aren't allowed to watch at home.

We explored Big Rocks Park three times (the boys FAVORITE), Dinosaur Valley State Park, Fossil Rim Wildlife Center (twice), and Dino World. We ate at the Loco Coyote and Hammond's BBQ, which were both good in their own way. They are two MUST visit eating establishments when visiting Glen Rose.

We saw genuine dinosaur tracks, hiked at least 5 miles, and had a scenic picnic lunch at the State Park. The boys got to drive my car though the Wildlife Park and thought that was almost better than feeding the giraffes from our car. We learned about dinosaurs and sifted for fossils at Dino World, and the boys each took home a shark's tooth and a couple other random fossils of their choosing.

We had a great weekend even though we ended up having Sonic for Thanksgiving, as it was the only reasonably priced joint open in town that day.

Glen Rose is a nice little place. We would totally head back for Big Rocks Park, Fossil Rim, and camping at Dinosaur Valley. If we go in the summer I think we will add in some canoeing or kayaking on the river, and possibly even some horseback riding. The boys certainly had a blast and are already asking for a return trip.

Tenerife Summer 2012

We were lucky enough to go and visit Jaime's family this summer in Tenerife. Of course Lela had our apartment ready for us and filled with the touches of Love only a Grandma can do. As always, she made us feel right at home, and the boys loved being able to run upstairs anytime to visit with her and Lelo and to see if she might be making some bizcocho.

Another cool thing was the fact that a family reunion was also scheduled for this Summer. Cousins, Second Cousins, Aunts, and Uncles all came in from wherever they lived to meet up with all the family in Tenerife. There was quite a crowd. The largest cousin gathering ever assembled from what I'm told. Two weeks flew by faster than one could have imagined. We had a great time hanging out, sight seeing, and visiting with family......and the boys had a blast!! See you again next year!

Brenham & San Antonio

Back when it was still winter, my friend Cass suggested we take a trip to San Antonio. She works for the Westin and gets some great rates, so we randomly chose the weekend of Jaime's birthday and booked out rooms.

The last time we went to the Westin La Cantera together was when I was first pregnant with the boys, and, although we had a great time, it was too cold to enjoy all the amenities. This time we picked a warmer weekend and also invited some more friends.

We all met Lori and Jeff back when we were all childless and had time for a regular cooking club. Since then, Lori and Jeff have also added to their family and relocated to Brenham, TX where the delicious Blue Bell ice cream is made. We "convinced" Lori and Jeff  to join us in San Antonio, and they invited us to spend a night in Brenham.

Lori cooked a wonderful dinner for everyone in her home on Thursday night, and then Friday morning we enjoyed the Blue Bell creamery tour (side note: Blue Bell doesn't allow photos during the super short tour) before heading on to San Antonio. We hung out at the resort the rest of the day and then had a lovely dinner at one of the restaurants.

Saturday was more time at the resort, a stroll, lunch, and a boat ride on the Riverwalk, a stop by the Alamo, and then a birthday dinner for Jaime back at the hotel.

Sunday we just lazed around the resort before making the traffic and potty stop filled journey back to Dallas. Of course it was a fun and relaxing weekend hanging out and catching up with friends.

An Unexpected Road Trip

In less than 3 hours we found ourselves in the car making the 16+ hour journey to Wisconsin for an unexpected road trip. We thought we were heading up to see my grandfather one last time before attending his funeral later in the week. Two days after we arrived, things took a 360 degree turn and he started getting better slowly but surely. He is now in rehab trying to make his way back to his apartment in an assisted living community.

Although it didn't start out under the best circumstances, it ended up being a great trip. We had been meaning to get up to Wisconsin to visit, but we were waiting for Jaime to find a job and have a start date to finalize the plans. I guess we needed a little push to head up. We spent just over a week hanging out with my grandpa in the hospital, helping him celebrate his 86th birthday, and visiting with family. Now we are back in Dallas and prepping for a move into a furnished temporary apartment and getting ready for Jaime to start his new job in just over a week. More on all that sometime soon....

See you in Dallas...

For those of you who don't know...we are heading back to Dallas for awhile. It might take some time to get settled in and back on-line, but we'll certainly be up and posting as soon as we can. I'm sure we'll be up to lots of fun things especially with the Christmas season just around the corner.

Our Friends on El Hierro (Video)

Our friends, Eliza and Sergio, and their baby, Elliot, were recently transferred to the island of El Hierro, the smallest of the Canary Islands. Of course that meant we HAD to go and visit them as soon as they got mostly settled in. On the first Friday of September, we took the ferry and spent just over a week with them hanging out and exploring their new home.

We hung out around the house, had a BBQ, played the Wii, cooked, ate, visited and explored some of the island. The highlights of our exploring include:

• Ermita de los Reyes - the Ermita is a small whitewashed church and the main destination of the local Herreños pilgrimages. Here they keep the statue of the Virgen de los Reyes - the patron saint of the island. Every four years, in her honor, they hold the Bajada Virgen de los Reyes - a tradition that began in 1741.

• El Sabinar - The juniper groves in the west of the island have enjoyed environmental protection since 1975 and they have a very special feature. Their twisted shapes have been formed over centuries by the force of the wind and the climatic conditions which predominate in this area. Alex & Connor just call them the "bendy trees."
  

• The Eco-Museo Poblado de Guinea -This, one of the three oldest settlements on the island with caves and volcanic corridors showing the way of life of the first inhabitants of the island - Bimbaches, and evolution of the construction industry since the times of Conquesu until the XXth century. It also includes a Lagartario where we saw the famous and highly endangered Lagartos Gigantes - the giant lizards of El Hierro.

• Faro de Orchilla - a lighthouse marking the westernmost point of Spain. In the II century A.D. the Greek cartographer Ptolemy considered this western end of the island as well as the end of the known world, and he used it as a reference point to cartography and geographical calculations. In 1634 this point was officially set as the Prime Meridian (Meridiano Cero). It was functioning there until 1884, when it was replaced by the new one, passing through Greenwich.

• Roque de la Bonanza - Another of the island’s emblems, this is a beautiful arch that rises 200m straight from the sea bed.

• Mirador de la Peña - A beautiful overlook and restaurant designed by the famous architect, César Manrique.

We had a great time with our friends and, as always, our time together flew by. Thanks for letting us visit your new little island home!! Enjoy the video!!

Kim and Megan visit Tenerife

My cousin, Kim, and her daughter, Megan, made the trip from Oregon to Tenerife to spend 12 days with us on our little island...here's what we did:

2010 US Trip - Part I (Video)

I heard that we are busy enjoying the hottest Texas summer in 40 years....how lucky that we decided to come for the summer this year.

Actually, we have found lots of ways to stay cool. We've been busy visiting museums, local events, water parks, spray pads, library story times, friends, family, pools, parks, malls, etc. So much to do and so little time...it's hard to believe we only have three more weeks back here in the good ol' USA......next week we head to Wisconsin for a bit and then a little more time in Texas before heading back to Tenerife.

Don't blink during this video...the pictures go by quickly. We've taken well over 1000 photos already, and I had a really hard time just choosing a few for this post. Hope everyone else is enjoying their summer!!

There's No Place Like Home

We have arrived safe and sound in Texas...just in time for some unseasonably hot weather!! Ugh!! The trip was long, but mostly uneventful, and the boys did great as usual...

We've mostly just been hanging out and getting settled in, it's hard to believe we've been here for over a week already. I'm hoping to get a video together of the highlights soon....stay tuned.