Summer Vacation

We had a fabulous summer vacation to Utah. For the first time, we drove with the kids. It wasn't too bad of a drive, just wish he had more spectacular scenery other than New Mexico ;)

The vacation was too short, and packed full (especially when you factor in Jake's nose surgery). We went camping in Pine Valley with the Anderson clan. The boys enjoyed sleeping in a tent (and the van one night when the tent zipper broke). We also enjoyed hiking, horseshoes and fishing. The camping food was awesome!

While visiting with Grandpa and Grandma A. we also enjoyed a water park, visited the temple, and the boys enjoyed a really unique park with lots of fun activities.





















We spent several days at Grandpa Ortler's house in Brian Head (including the 4th of July weekend). The firework show was fabulous, the noise as the fireworks explode and the sound bounces off the canyon walls is neat. The boys had a unique experience of driving a backhoe with Grandpa O.'s good friedn. We also enjoyed a BBQ at a hunting cabin in Cedar Breaks where the boys got to shoot BB guns and ride 4 wheelers.The boys spent a lot of time with their Utah cousins and really enjoyed them (it had been two years since they had seen each other). Now were back home trying to weather the July Texas heat!

"Ambition...

....may be defined as the willingness to receive any number of hits on the nose." (Wilfred Owen)

According to this definition, one of my sons is very ambitious! Jake broke his nose at cub scout day camp on June 18th. He was in a bounce house with 2 other boys and one boy pushed another boy, whose head hit Jake in the nose. His nose was pretty bent, sort of shaped like a backwards "C". The real kicker of the deal was that 2 days later we were leaving for vacation.

So, we spent a good part of our vacation seeing an Ear/Nose/Throat specialist and having the bones in Jake's nose surgically reset. He wore a "nose cast" for a week. He was such a trooper too, he never once asked for pain medicine or complained of any pain (after the injury or after the surgery). A week later when they took the nose cast off, unfortunately it is still a bit crooked, but there's nothing more they can do until after he is done growing. As for now, his nose has a bit of character to it ;)

Texas Twister

On June 10, 2009 Flower Mound had an EF1 tornado roll through town. There was a lot of storm damage in our neighborhood including giant oak trees down, with some trees down & then wrapped around their trunk (evidence of rotating winds). One tree behind my next door neighbor's house was down and looked like someone took a giant axe and sliced it down about 4 feet up from the ground, it was a large tree and was a powerful reminder of the raw force of Mother Nature.

John, the boys and I spent about 25 minutes hunkered down in the bathtub together in the pitch blackness (power out). John exclaimed that it was the closest we had ever been as a family (2 adults + 3 kids + 1 bathtub = close quarters). I must say it was a sobering experience to feel the power of the wind hitting the house and and debris hitting the house, feeling the house kind of move & shake and wondering if the roof is going to be ripped off at any moment. Gratefully we came out of it fine with the roof intact and not a single tree down in our yard.

Here's a video filmed by some storm chasers about 1 mile from my house. There's some language, but most of it is bleeped out. It's amazing to hear the roar of the wind in the video. Even without the tornado they claim that 75-80 mile per hour winds came through our area. It was quite a night!
http://untamedscience.com/DFWstorm

Have You Gone The Distance?

Okay...you know what comes next. How many miles can your vehicle claim? This is certainly a first for me. When we bought the van it already had 70,000 miles, so I personally can only claim 30,000 miles.

Handsome Ring Bearer

We attended the beautiful wedding of Carrie (John's sister) and YK in the Olema Valley of California on Saturday, May 30th. They had a very sweet, very handsome ring bearer. Of course, we are partial to this opinion as it was our son - DYLAN.The wedding rehearsel dinner was held Friday evening at a great italian restaurant in Point Reyes Station called Osterina Stellina. You can see a picture of Carrie in her stunning dress below. The food was fabulous and the boys enjoyed shrimp, lobster and crab for the first time. The restaurant even really surprised us when they had some dairy-free strawberry sorbet on hand which the boys could eat, they were thrilled to get dessert! You can see a picture of Ryan below giving his sweet cousin a kiss on the cheek, they are the same age and enjoyed being together. The evening proved a little too much for Jake & Ryan (we spent the day at the beach) and Jake fell fast asleep on the chairs at the restaurant, and Ryan fell asleep in my arms. Dylan, however, was alert and awake and took my camera around for about 25 family photos, the majority of which turned out perfect. The wedding was held at a beautiful white church in Nicasio, surrounded by rolling hills with happy grazing cows. The ceremony was lovely and we couldn't be happier for Carrie and YK.

The reception was held at the Olema Inn. It was a fun evening and the boys enjoyed thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The Inn prepared them a special allergen-free meal of roasted chicken, french fries and green beans. Ryan was the last one to leave the table as they prepared him a "special sauce" made of olive oil & honey, he ate french fries until his sauce was completely gone ;) They enjoyed the thoughtful gift bags full of bubbles, poppers, coloring books and toys which Carrie prepared for all of the children at the wedding. They even managed to find a tree to climb (no surprise there!). What they enjoyed most was the dance floor. I had to break through the crowds of people gathered around them to see their moves. They couldn't stop talking about how everyone was cheering when they were spinning on the floor. It was priceless!

Happy Cows...

Last weekend we enjoyed a fabulous trip to California. We spent the first day in San Francisco with John's entire family: Sue (Mom), Jim (Dad), Chris (brother) with his wife Corina and their son Jamon, Carrie (sister) with her fiance' YK.

The boys had a great time walking the steep streets of San Francisco and enjoyed a patio lunch, a local toy store and a park. That evening we had a home cooked family dinner with a delicious roasted chicken and garlic rosemary pork shoulder.

The next day we headed north to the beautiful Olema Valley, where we got to see first hand why they say "Happy Cows come from California".

During our visit there we stayed in a vacation rental home with John's brother where the boys got to enjoy hanging out with their cousin Jamon. The home overlooked Tomales Bay and we enjoyed bird watching in the wetlands and saw lots of Egrets.

The boys enjoyed a morning in the hot tub.

We also spent a day at the beautiful, but cold Stinson Beach with foggy mountains surrounding us. We also enjoyed the beautiful wedding of Carrie and YK (which I will cover in the next post).

Rare Sighting at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center

If you were lucky enought (like we were) to get another mini Spring Break (thanks to the swine flu) and you had chosen to visit the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center then you may have experienced a rare sighting, indeed. I'm going to quote the Fossil Rim Times newspaper, as I think they had an accurate description of the sighting.

Fossil Rim Times

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

Visitors at the park today were fortunate enough to catch a sighting of three very rare creatures. Late afternoon it was reported that three wild "Ortler Boys" were spotted throughout the 9.5 mile long scenic drive. The wild "Ortler Boys" were seen with their Mother and Grandfather Ortler (who was reported to have temporarily migrated from his grazing zone in the mountains of Southern Utah).

The "Ortler Boys" are on our Native Species list and are known as our "volunteer" species as they have somehow made their way into the Center throughout the years. They are very well camaflouged in their native habitat. The "Ortler Boys" haven't been spotted at Fossil Rim for nearly 4 years, making today's sighting particularly rare. These creatures originated in Denton County, Texas and the first one was brought to Fossil Rim in 2000 when he was only 10 days old!

The "Ortler Boys" aren't fed the diets that our other animals are fed, but do adhere to strict special diets of their own. Guests at the park reported seeing the wild "Ortler Boys" singing, laughing, hanging out of the sunroof and grazing. One visitor reported hearing the smallest of the wild "Ortler Boys" exclaiming that this was the "best adventure ever!"