411 The Walters Bunch

School's out for summer! We finished our finals last week and now we have 2 months of a break before we start back. Okay, the kids get a break and I still get to locate and purchase all our curriculum for next year and do lesson plans. We have lots of trips planned before it gets too hot so hopefully we will have a lot of fun experiences. The kids just finished choir for the summer and the church celebrated with hot dogs and hamburgers, after which the kids performed. They have come a long way on hand bells! We also attended the homeschool day at Sharkarosa in Ponder, TX. We had a great time spending the day with camels and zebras. We got to look at a baby joey and lemur. We also saw a skunk up close (he was de-scented) and very soft. If you ever happen to have the opportunity to go, I would highly recommend it. The lemurs are adorable! We went on the train ride through the various pastures. Kids loved the camels! It feels like a cat. Oldest daughter made bre

Love the decor at Blue Bell. We stayed wonderfully warm and toasty thanks to our electric heater. We may camp, but I do not "rough it". We hike about 2.5 miles in the morning and then went to the blue Bell Factory in the afternoon. They have expanded and got rid of part of the tour. I found the guide this time bland and unknowledgeable about anything other than what she memorized. Next time, no tour, just ice cream in the parlor. After bluebell we went down the road to Washington on the Brazos. This was the highlight of the trip. We spent two hours on the living farm. The lady there was so informative and engaging that we only left because they were closing. We will definitely come back one day. We also saw a live armadillo cross our path. The oldest daughter lost her tooth (I was unaware it was even loose). Does the tooth fairy come camping? We learned how to turn cotton into yarn. We picked radishes to feed the hogs. We saw an armadillo NOT squashed on the

Good old McDonald's is a great back up breakfast during bad weather. Oh, yay! We wake up at 1:45am to a wonderful thunderstorm. A little nervous after all the water issues at Galveston, but thankfully the tent does NOT allow any water in. Since the mud canceled our earlier plans of a morning hike, we decide to head to Mcdonald's for breakfast and check out the San Felipe historic site.The lady in charge there was absolutely wonderful and really brought the history to life. The kids willingly listened and interacted for over an hour and then kept talking about how much fun it was. It had dried out enough by the afternoon that we were able to hike about 3 miles in the afternoon. All in all it was a great day. Kids learn how to write with quill pens at San Felipe. WE tour the settlers house at San Felipe. On our hike at campgrounds. They have some big trees here!

The ship is HUGE! We woke up to conditions so windy that I thought a tropical storm was coming. Some tents that had the smaller ground stakes completely pulled out of the ground. We tried to make breakfast and pack quickly in order to get on the road early, but the wind made that nearly impossible. We stopped off at the San Jacinto Monument and the Battleship Texas on our way to Stephen F Austin.The battleship was really neat. It was actually used in both world wars. I couldn't believe how big it was! I would make a horrible sailor, not only would I get lost in the massive ship, but I would have been to scared of heights to climb the 132 foot lookout tower! The San Jacinto Monument was awesome. We took the elevator to the top (about 50 stories) and had a great view. Afterwards, we headed over to one of our favorite state parks, Stephen F Austin. Where else can you take pictures on top of ammunition? A really old bell. Even our tent allows for more sleeping room!

We have decided the tent might not be so great. It let in A LOT of water from the dew. Maybe all tents do, but I really dislike being damp. We decided to head to NASA today and stop along the way at Academy to get some stay dry spray for the tent. NASA was so cool and even though we were there from open until close we still didn't have time to do everything. The kids play area was a big hit and after an hour I had to drag (literally for the youngest) the kids away to go something else. I promised the kids when we got back to the campsite that they could play on the beach for about 2 hours and get as dirty as they want. It was really hard for me to let them get so dirty and NOT say something. The water was really cold and the breeze was chilly, but they played in their suits for about 2 hours while their dad and I huddled in chairs with blankets. They were so tired that they fell asleep very easily after their showers! This had all kinds of neat hands on stuff on the inside.