Thursday, July 29, 2010

Athens Fish Hatchery

Our first stop as we set off to the hatchery for the day, was the Mennonite bakery in Kemp. We stopped to get our breakfast and to pack a lunch - they make THE BEST sandwiches! They also have handmade furniture - Maggie and Justin have decided that they would like these giant chairs!


Don't let this pic fool you - she DOES NOT fish - EVER!
She was just kind enough to hold our poles for a minute.

Tim, on the other hand - could fish all day long! He takes after me in that regard!


catching minnows for bait

Michaelberry Finn


Michael & Tim

If you make the fish think that you have food, and then they find out that you really don't ....

they retaliate by splashing - a lot!

Oh wait - here is some food for them! Tim was NOT happy about this threat!

inside the hatchery - somehow I don't think they learned very much from the exhibits!

Michael & Maggie

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Nana came to visit!!

Nana finally came to visit us! We didn't do much while she was here, but we always enjoy having her visit!

One day we drove out to Hams Orchard for lunch. Nana sampled the homemade strawberry/peach ice cream - it evidently made her crazy by the looks of her face in this photo!


i think Nana and Tim were stifling a laugh here!

These pics are of Maggie trying out fondant - Nana was giving her some tips with plain practice fondant before she tackles the real thing on an actual cake. They were covering a plastic box!


Michael and Nana laughing like naughty little children!

College Station/Brenham

The kids and I recently took a little two day trip to College Station to watch Justin play in the 7 on 7 football state championship at Texas A & M. He played all day on the first day, and then again the next morning. We came back VERY sunburned!
Maggie showing off her "Larsen #6" shirt

melting from the sidelines


tim and his sunburned & freckled cheeks

maggie and katelyn waiting for the next game to begin

Tim and Justins brother, Brandon.

Only my son would be reading on the sidelines!

After the games, we drove down to Brenham - it's where I grew up! I haven't been back in about 27 years! We toured the Bluebell Creamery and then I tortured the kids with a drive down memory lane! I actually remembered exactly where my grandma's house was! I admit, I had to use my maps app to find where I had lived! I never found the house that I really wanted to see.

L. O. V. E. Bluebell ice cream!!!

1010 Windswept drive - there is a railroad track that runs behind this house - my brothers used to put pennies on the tracks and let me go with them to pick them up - i loved how hot they felt in my hand! This house always smelled of honeysuckle- the sides of the tracks were covered in it! The trees were MUCH smaller when I lived there!

705 Clinton. This was one of my favorite houses to live in! So many memories! It is now a bed and breakfast.

This house had original wood floors and glass doorknobs - very cool. Also, the prettiest pink rose wallpaper lined the stairs.

My room had a walk in closet (creepy stairs led into said closet) and on the back wall of the closet was a small door with a rusty latch that led to the attic. SUPER SCARY!!!
There was also a stain on the carpet under my bed - my brothers told me that a man had been killed there and was buried in the back yard by the basement window - again - SUPER SCARY!!!

I got spanked for the first and only time by my mom in this house - I called my brother a fartface (fart was the F word) and she chased me into the sunroom with daddy's belt and swatted me!
I had a dog named Daisy - she and I used to walk all the way to the back of the property with little tupperware containers filled with water and carrot sticks. We would spend our time watching for the bunnies - I had to have Daisy to play with because my brothers were so mean!

Thanks Maggie and Tim for tolerating my stories and the two hours of cruising around Brenham - I know you secretly LOVED IT!!!

disgust

Kitten loves him and likes to snuggle. Mostly, he likes it.
Apparently not on this day - his disgust was written all over his face