The Ranch - The Tour (Part One)

Our weekend wanderings put us just miles from the US border to Mexico on The Ranch. This was only the Girls and my second trip there and we wanted the full tour this time out. So we loaded everyone in the 'Burban and Manly Man (my new name for Jeff after this weekend because at the Ranch he's definitely rough and rugged - it's rather appealing) set out on the Ranch roads. Mind you, these are not typical roads. Most are just paths through cactus and brush - yes, you can get thorns in your tires (don't ask how I know this). Some of the roads are dirt or caliche (which is like a mineral cement). When caliche is dry it is hard as cement, but when it is wet - it's not pretty let's put it that way.

I love this picture of the cactus and brush along the fence that borders the Ranch.

Almost everything on the Ranch is parched, dry and brittle - especially in the winter.
Here's Manly Man driving us, giving the full Ranch tour. He's getting the music just right for our tour.

Once "Is Anyone Going to San Antone" was playing we set off along one of the main Ranch roads. It was very overcast that day due to a cold front. The wind blew so unbelievably hard that morning and ripped our awning right off the camper - along with the jalapeno lights (a little bit of the redneck riveria).

We arrive at a blind where Jeff took the girls hunting earlier that morning. I stayed snuggled up in the warm camper with my little side-kick and heater, Abbey. They all get up at 4:30am for the morning hunts to pick their blind assignments. That's not my idea of fun, but the girls enjoyed spending time with their Dad. Melissa shot a gun for the first time - she missed her target but that's okay. They enjoyed the wildlife viewing the most (lots of deer, pigs and a few rabbits).





The girls that didn't get to go hunting that morning had fun climbing the ladder to take a peek inside the blind. The guys keep themselves quite comfortable actually.







Back on the "road" again.



This side of the Ranch has a new fence. See the bend in the fence near the pole? That's where the folks from Mexico have gone over it as they enter our country. I can't even fathom what they must go through and what life must be like to want something so bad as to walk through the cactus and brush all that way to a new life.


There is more of the Ranch to come!

~Lisa

Weekend Wandering

We'll wander around through the desert cactus and brush this weekend. Where the thorns and all things prickly become like magnets attracted to humans. There will be camper sleeping and snuggles under warm blankets. Cocoa for breakfast and other times too.  

Happy Weekend! We'll share pics when we get back.

~Lisa

What's in a day

We've homeschooled for two years now and finally I can say we have found our groove. I didn't believe it when others told me it would take this long and to just give it time. They said the girls would need time to decompress from their public school education and experience . While I can still see hints of it in them as they do their daily school work, they way they work in a phrase or two of "in public school I would have to raise my hand" or "in public school I would have to wait for the teacher to explain this to everyone". There are also bad habits we corrected, like how to write properly and to make the letters correctly. Handwriting is something they don't spend much time on in public school...and why? Because they aren't tested on it!

Handwriting is my focus each and every morning because if someone can't read what my girls have written then what is the point? Communication skills, girls, communication skills...I sounds like a teacher...

The school days fly by and just this week Allie (4) started her own handwriting practice and she loves her school work. I waited until she showed interest in what we were doing before offering her own books to her. I am so glad I did, because it is a joy to watch her learn instead of a chore to make her do it.

Isn't Miss Abbey cute as she joins us with her water colors?

I have an idea each day of what we will accomplish, but not a fixed schedule. I am not a schedule person and I like flexibility. This doesn't work for all homeschoolers, but it works for us. I see learning happening in everything my girls do each day. From making their own breakfast (measuring, adding, learning to be domestic), to tackling math problems on paper. It took awhile before I saw growth in their knowledge, but I know now that it was always there.

A typical homeschooling day for us includes handwriting practice, math, language arts/literature and history. Once we finish a year of history we will then switch to science. Extra activities we do as we are able to - like ballet, gymnastics, soccer and soon art classes. Amid it all there is still laundry and dishes and laundry and more dishes.... It's a good thing the girls are learning to be domestic, right?.

~Lisa

Happy New Year!

Welcome 2009! We had a quiet Christmas at home with our girls this year. Santa was very good to them! Some of their favorite gifts were: a wooden kitchen complete with baking set, felt cookies (an etsy find!) and a kitchen timer - for Abigail(2), the Barbie from Diamond Castle with a dress to match and a wooden castle - for Allie (4), and Waldorf dolls - for all three older girls. Abbey loves setting her timer, then when it goes off she comes running singing "It's ready! It's ready!". Very sweet. Allie is all about princesses and Barbies. She dresses up daily and is incorporating Abbey now in her dress up play. They play together well flitting and twirling around the house.

Santa came early for myself and Jeff bearing a new Nikon camera which I love. He also found us a new to us Suburban - which is so sweet! I love all the room we have now and it's so funny when we all ride together in the Durango. We seem so squished! It's kind of like a watching a clown car unload when the girls keep piling out of it.

The girls hand made each other sister gifts this year and the only thing we bought for those was a hair brush. Allie gave Jessica a gift set that included homemade hair detangler spray and a new brush. We made the hair detangler by mixing together in a recycled squirt bottle 1 cup of distilled water, several drops of lemon and tangerine essential oil (sunshine scented!), a tsp of aloe vera gel and a capsule of vitamin E. We decorated the bottle and called it "Beautiful Hair Detangler". It really works - Jessica's hair is super shiny and best of all, not tangled.

Other sister gifts included a Go Fish -fishing pole set to Abbey from Jessica, hair bows and a beaded braclet set to Grace from Melissa, and a felt i-pod holder for Melissa from Grace. I enjoyed the one-on-one time with each girl as they created their gifts this year. Having our sewing/craft table permanently set up makes it so easy to craft with them.

I gave Jeff (my Good Hearted Man) a new blog! He's still learning but I know there will plenty there once he gets going. http://www.newbraunfelseats.blogspot.com/. This guy can cook! I can say I knew him when .......when he could only make grilled cheese sandwiches that is.

Cheers to 2009!

~Lisa

Allie Speaks

Allie speaks - "Mom, you smell like a banana split!"

(this is after I ate a banana and drank some peach detox tea)

I guess it's better to smell sweet than sour!

Texas Riviera

Blogging took a back seat last month as we tackled much school work and geared up for the Holidays and a special little one's second birthday. So this weekend we took a much needed rest at the Gulf Coast. The camper's inaugural outing went perfect! As tent campers up until now, I have to say that my back much prefers the camper's bed.  The quaint quarters made for a big slumber party. The outdoor cooking, marshmallows, chocolate bars, graham crackers made for - m'mm good smores.  We ended each fun filled day staring into the campfire as the girls entertained us with stories in the round - mostly about a princess and a mighty evil dragon turned good - very funny stuff with giggling girls all around.

One of the things I love most about camping is the chance to get out in nature. The girls get dirt in their finger nails, find joy in picking up oyster shells on a hiking trail and build sand castles at the beach.  If you were looking for them, chances are they were up in a tree.  Following a trail

and not knowing where it might end or go  - that same adventurous spirit that propelled families westward so many, many years ago. 

The live oak trees here in Texas have a beauty all their own.  Each one is different, twisting this way or that. Evergreens very unlike the piney trees I grew up with in the East. Our campsite had a perfect live oak tree for the girls to climb.  I couldn't help but capture a few more on our hike. The spanish moss from the limbs and the vines that are usually full of greenery are now almost bare.

It wouldn't be a vacation without some car knitting now would it?! Travel to and from our Texas Riviera vacation filled my hands with a little of this and that.

I have some finished projects to share soon - like the birthday girl's new dress. Hope your weekend was relaxing as well!

~Lisa

 

Salute to the Sausage

Is that the most ridiculous title or what?! In fact, it is happening here right this very minute and continues year, after year in our hometown. The annual Wurstfest is upon us - one bite of sausage after another. We ventured out to Wurstfest the first year we moved here to see what all the fuss was about and we haven't been back - I think we all had culture shock! This is how you would sum up the event in very few words; Germans, sausage, and beer. Oh, maybe I should include polka music too! Have you ever done the "chicken dance"? Well then you have not experienced Wurstfest!

Have a great weekend! Na na na na na na na - clap clap clap clap!

~Lisa