Mini Vacay

After camp, we traveled to the Hyatt Lost Pines with Mimi for a little mini-vacation. 

Abby was sick for the drive and the first afternoon there so she rested in the room with Mimi while Isaac, and Adel, and I explored the grounds.  By the way, ice cream cone = vacation. 

We had to stop briefly at the activity room just so these two could build with the giant legos.

Then we went for a bike ride around to explore more. 

We found the ponies (and lamas)

And rode along the golf path (which we later found was against the rules, but I'm so glad we did it before we found out...it was gorgeous!  Shhhhhh, don't ask, don't tell!)

I loved my pink beach cruiser and kept trying to get a picture. 

See what I mean, pretty!

What a great way to start a vacation. 

We enjoyed dinner in our room (they upgraded us to a junior suit so we had a living/dining room...sweet!)

The next morning, Abby was back to her usual self.  So we all headed off for a horse riding lesson.   It began with horse care...

 brushing and how to put on a saddle.

Abby's horse was Max.

Isaac's was Wee Wee.  (He loved that!)

And Daddy's was DJ.  I left to jog back to the room to get ready for breakfast just before they hopped on their horses. 

After breakfast (a great buffet), we went with Mimi on a little exploratory stroll and found ourselves off the beaten path.  Mimi had bought 3 pamphlets: snakes, animal tracks, and butterflies.  We obliged by encountering all 3. 

First, the snake.  It was fully out in the path, but our first instinct was to back away.  By the time we stepped forward to take a picture, the snake was mostly in retreat and you can barely see him.   But what a thrill! 

We saw deer tracks. 

Wild turkey tracks.

Dog tracks. 

And lots of butterflies, although none of them cooperated for a photograph. 

The afternoon was spent playing at the waterpark.  We spent many hours on the lazy river and some time at the waterside.  The kids enjoyed the sand beach. 

We all enjoyed some poolside snacks. 

After swimming, we enjoyed another walk to the tetherball court. 

And the butterfly garden (again no butterfly pics, but Abby got lots of good flower pics). 

The last morning, we hit the pool first thing and had it to ourselves for a little bit.  The lazy river was awesome with no other traffic. 

I'm pretty sure I'm made for lazy rivers. 

We ended our short stay with a visit to the longhorns and a last breakfast buffet. 

It wasn't cheap, but we enjoyed it and wish we could stay more (or do it again?!?!).  

Off to Camp

This was Isaac's first year at church camp.  We went up early to help set up.

Isaac with his buddy Henry. 

My job was to help set the stage, which was supposed to look like a cluttered garage. 

The cross is barely visible behind the clutter. 

Adel was tech for the camp so he helped set up the equipment for the band. 

Breakfast before the rest of the campers arrive.

And their buddies.

And the campers arrive!

Adel got an infected ant bite. 

See the red streak growing up his arm?  Yeah, that's not good.  We took him to the urgent care and he got an antibiotic shot that took care of it. 

Isaac was picked to play one of the intro games.  He threw marshmallows for his partner to catch in his mouth.  His partner threw pickles for him to catch. 

He finally caught the last one. 

 He did great at the BB range. 

His favorite activity was dodgeball.  But he also loved the zip line and the water blob.  Yup, he wore himself out.  This picture was during small group time.  Oops.