Day trip to Aggieland

Allie is trying out for the meat judging team at her school. The team will compete against other schools at area competitions. Meat Judging is just that, the judging (grading) of meat. The kids look at pig, beef and lamb carcases/cuts of meat and judge the quality based on set criteria. As part of her training she and some of her classmates got to go to Texas A&M University for a clinic this past Saturday. The Meat Science program at Texas A&M University is ranked #1 in the nation by Meat and Poultry Magazine for their training and research in meat science.

Emily and I went along so we could spend a few hours checking out the campus. She had never been so she really loved it. It has really grown since I was there in 1990. She would ask me where something was and I really had to think... :)

The famous "Dixie Chicken"

Em just had to take a photo with this sigh. Eli L. Whitely is the author of the FFA Creed. Emily won first place in "creed speaking" back in November.

Love where the "poop" goes! :)

We went to the Bonfire Memorial. It was pretty amazing. A very fitting memorial for the Aggie's that lost their lives.

Christopher Breen and Jeremy Frampton both died in the bonfire accident. They were classmates with our friend, Stu McMullen. Stu holds a charity bonfire every hear in their honor. David and I were one of the sponsors for it this past year.

We also got to visit with Mom & Dad and my cousins that were showing their goats in the county fair. It was a packed day - but we had a great time.
It was a very busy day - But we had a GREAT time!!

Spring Break Camping

We spent the first few days of spring break camping with the usual crowd. We had a great time and the weather was WONDERFUL. We went to Pecan Park in San Marcos and did not have any issues with the owners this time. Yea!!!

In case you can't tell, we have a lot of fun together!

Puppies anyone?

If you are looking for lab puppies look no farther...

Emily and Amanda's Grandmother's dog, Chica, had a litter on Sunday. There are four boys and two girls. Chocolate, Black and Yellow.

Emily happened to be spending the night during the big event and got to help deliver them. What a great experience for her!

Allie was super anxious to see them so we went over Sunday for a visit.

Let me know if you want one.... :)

Getting ready for Easter??

Maybe it was the snow last week, or maybe the "girls" just know it is getting close to Easter, but they got busy and laid two little blue/green egg yesterday!

Won't be long now until we have them coming on a regular basis and I can share. :)

From 70 and sunny to snowing like crazy in just a few hours!!!!

That is truly Texas weather for ya! No wonder we are always fighting off a cold.

Man it really came down here today! It is actually still falling as I type this. I have never seen it snow like this before. The flakes have been huge, some looked like big cotton balls falling from the sky. Here are some cool shots of how it looks here….

The fire pit does not look very warm at the moment.....

Amazing what a difference being out of the city a few miles makes!!!

Very productive week / weekend indeed!

Because the weather finally cleared up a bit last weekend David got started framing the roof on the building.

It looked like this a week ago

He worked at it Sun – Friday and got all the framing done. It was really a lot for him to do alone but he was a trooper and did not ask for any help.

Saturday came and so did the helpers. All our great friends pitched in – Paul, Jen, Markus and Eric! They really put in some long hours both Saturday and Sunday and by the end of the weekend the plywood and tar were in place!

David spent Monday wrapping the building in “Tyvek” plastic, just in time for another weather change tomorrow.

Thanks so much to ALL of you.

It is so wonderful to have great friends!!!!

What fun a tree and a little wood can be…

Allie has wanted a tree house or fort for as long as I can remember. She and David starting building one together on the first nice weekend we have had since New Year’s Eve!

Before

Allie makeing the first cut…

After - Pretty fancy hua?

The first of many days of pretend - No cell phones, no video games - The best kind of fun!

4th grade science fair

Allie and three of her classmates did a volcano science project for the 4th grade science fair. They did a great job, learned a lot and had fun doing it.

I really love Allie's new school - the kids do the traditional projects that we did each year at BHC, but here the kids do them at school and not at home. This is to ensure the kids are actually doing the work and not the parents. It worked really good for Allie as she had to work with her team to do the research and get the project done on time.

Great Job Allie!

Amanda's new ride

Amanda’s grand am was a great “starter car” but was really starting to have problems. Because I am an over protective (and a bit paranoid) Mom, I was getting worried about her driving it back and forth to college.

David spent days checking out every car dealership between Georgetown and San Marcos looking for the best deal. We wanted something she could afford that was safe and good on gas – he found her a Nissan Versa.

It is really cute and has some nice features that her grand am did not. And the best part is her payment is VERY LOW considering it is a brand new car.

Hopefully it will get her safely though college and into the work force before she even has to think about replacing it.

I will add photos of her actual car in a day or too - when it is not raining.

Congratulations Amanda - Drive Safe!!!

Puppy Breath

Don't you just love that smell??

We have the cutest addition to the family. His name is Aggro, short for aggravation and very Australian. He has a very playful personality and is very smart.

He is pretty photogenic too!