4th of July Fireworks

Our town held firework celebrations on Saturday, July 3. So "technically" it wasn't the 4th yet...but it counts for me.

After a day of crafts and preparations Christina, Nathanael, Allen and I took our pack of 12 to the baseball field across from the city park to watch the fireworks. We got there a bit early and killed some daylight hanging out at the park. It is a small park...I've never seen so many people there before. It was a bit intimidating.



Abagail and Amelia swing with cousins Liz (red) and Lauren (blue) - in case you can't recognize them.




"Hanging out" at the park. Simon opted out of the face paint - he is a bit more conservative and doesn't like people to look at him. I think he felt more comfortable than the others when we got to the park. The girls were a bit self-conscious being so decorated in front of so many strangers. I thought they looked cool - and so did a few of the park people who asked to take their picture. I did have a talk with them that perhaps they should ask a parent before allowing a stranger to photograph them...as it was I was close by and watching - and they did look cool - so I didn't suspect the strangers of anything suspicious. Still - good lesson to teach.



I like this photo - Abagail, Madalynn, Liz, Katrina, and Gabriel at the park.



The younger set watching the fireworks. If you zoom up you can see how fun Amelia's expression is. I love it. They were all suitably impressed by the show.


Our crowd of cousins enjoying fireworks. Love how Simon and Nathan are still "plugged in" to electronics while waiting for the fireworks to begin...even if they are battery-powered games.



More hanging out on the ball field waiting and watching.



Some of the girls enjoying the fireworks.

4th of July Celebrations!

More from our visit with Aunt Christina, Uncle Nathanael, and kids...

We love to have company to help us celebrate the holidays. In truth if it was just my family we would do something small...but certainly not near the preparations/activities we do with cousins. So my kids love it too. Technically these photos are from the 3rd as Saturday was the day our town hosted the fireworks display...close enough.

What could be more American when celebrating the 4th of July than a homemade apple pie - with apples fresh off the backyard tree? Abagail and Cousin Lauren came to me that morning and asked if they could bake something. They came up with the idea of apple pie. So they went out and picked the apples, cut and peeled the apples, prepared the crust from scratch, and came up with a lattice topped pie and a Swedish pie. Both were soooo good. The Chef's were very proud of their accomplishments...and so were their parents! (BTW: I love the before and after photos on this collage - such a transformation took place from the pre-baked pie to the finished product.)

Some of our preparations to celebrate. We made rocket balloons, filled with lentils - that made a HUGE mess when they popped in the house...projectile lentils flying everywhere.... However, they were not meant to be popped in the house so once completed we packed them up to take them to the park. I don't think anyone noticed the mess there...in the grass...until random lentil plants start growing everywhere. (What are lentil plants?) I love how seriously Bella is taking her balloon decorating in this collage. Her face is a mask of concentration. The kids also made some pretty creative hats. The first design was a flop and the girls were very disappointed. So they altered their design and came up with some amazing finished products.

Showing off their zany hats.

Some random photos. Simon and Nathan were glued to the playstation - but they took a little time out to participate in the crafts. Gabriel decided he wanted to make a spoof hat to wear to the park/fireworks that night. He made a British top hat. It bore the message, "British Border Patrol: keeping Yankees out of London since 1776". He's got quite a sense of humor.

After the hats, Aunt Christina did some amazing face paint on the kids. They all came up with their own designs. They loved the outcome! They were so excited to wear their paint to the park and show it off....until they got there. Then they felt a bit self-conscious. People came up to them and asked to take their picture though...they looked pretty cool and our group was the ONLY one sporting some America Spirit (or British - if you count Gabriel).

Sporting their designs.

Park Day with Cousins from Missouri

Aunt Christina and Uncle Nathanael brought our Arbuckle/Bergstrom cousins down for a visit! We love having cousins come stay and play!

We planned to go camp a few nights on Mustang Island, on the Gulf of Mexico - unfortunately a hurricane came along. Although the hurricane made landfall far south of Mustang Island the beach was flooded due to high tides and closed for the weekend we were planning to go. We ended up on the rainy side of the hurricane.

So....12 kids cooped up in a house...what to do? Christina and I attempted to take them to the free summer movie playing in San Antonio. Unfortunately we arrived just behind the last group to be admitted. Now what??? Why not go play in the rain at a cool park? We repack the kids in the vans and off we head to Landa Park. The beauty of it was that the rain was intermittent and very refreshing and we were the only people crazy enough to be there.

First stop: Naeglin's bakery in New Braunfels. This is our favorite place to stop for doughnuts. Our dentist office used to be located across the street - so my tradition was to take the kids after a dentist visit. Yep - right after getting all their teeth nice and squeaky clean. The dentist has since relocated but you better believe our tradition still holds. So - we decided to introduce our cousins to this charming little spot. As you can see we pretty much fill up the small outdoor eating area.

Our pack of 12 hanging at Landa Park.

What follows are multiple collages of all the fun we had. It really was a beautiful day to be there. I went back with the kids a few weeks later and the heat was so awful - sweating just from sitting around doing nothing...brutal sun - so the cloudy, rainy day was perfect.

Amelia was so funny on the slides. They were wet - which made me think she would just fly down them. However, Amelia would drag her shoes as she descended - making her slide extremely SLOW...so much that she would have to push herself down. This made it safe for her to tackle any slide in the playground all by herself - much to her delight.

We got a bit wet. These four girls got the wettest though. Liz, Lauren and Abagail thought it would be soooo funny to douse themselves with water bottles...repeatedly...and then go bear-hug the moms (who had so far managed to stay fairly dry). Bella thought that was a pretty good idea but didn't want to wait for her turn at the drinking fountain to fill a water bottle - the nearby puddle was good enough for her. Not sure how Amelia got so wet - maybe it was the rain.

Cousins Simon vs. Nathan and Oliver vs. Bella in slide racing. This went on for quite awhile. Abagail and cousins Liz and Lauren had a great time hanging out - they were inseparable.

Katrina and cousin Madalynn formed their own group and spent the day playing away. Of course everyone took a turn loving on Baby Lily - she was such a doll.

There were some cool climbing trees around. I wasn't around for this part - getting food from the car. Gabriel was nice enough to give a boost to the higher limbs. Somehow poor Lauren got stuck in her tree and no one realized that she was stuck. Good thing her mom was around to rescue her. Aren't mom's the best?

For some reason it began a steady light rain right when we set up a picnic to eat. We were somewhat protected by the large trees over us. Enough rain to get wet - not enough to drive away the MILLIONS of pesky flies. I guess since we were the only source of food there all the flies for miles decided to hang out at our picnic. When we were almost done we did look behind us and notice other people picnicking in the covered pavilion - guess we could have gone there...

I also love the top photos in this last collage. Gabriel was pushing Amelia in a swing. Simon, Oliver and cousin Nathan were acting like she was knocking them over. Amelia thought this was extremely funny - and the boys had a ball too.

Right as we were packing up to go to the car the rain REALLY came down - it was a total downpour. Those who were dry or had managed to dry off by that time got totally soaked. That was pretty much all of us. Even still - it turned out to be a great way to spend a day.

Exploring Enchanted Rock - May Campout

Warning: This post contains lots of photos - what can I say...I took a lot.

Enchanted Rock State Natural Area is a very beautiful place to camp and explore. The Rock is a huge, pink granite exfoliation dome. It is one of the largest batholiths (underground rock formation uncovered by erosion) in the United States.

Tonkawa Indians believed ghost fires flickered at the top, and they heard weird creaking and groaning, which geologists now say resulted from the rock's heating by day and contracting in the cool night. We didn't hear any creaking - but I'm sure that is because although the rock heated plenty during the day, it didn't cool much the night we were there - it was pretty hot!


Ascending the Rock. The upper right photo shows an idea of how big this thing is - 425 feet above ground. The dots at the top of the rock are people. It is quite a climb...steep, hot, and killer on the thighs...but well worth the view. Of course I had a husband that is very fit and had no trouble. I also trailed a few children who have enough energy to power our car. Thankfully Abagail was kind enough to lag behind with the pregnant mom who was struggling to make the climb. I think she enjoyed the rare one-on-one time. The rest of the family took breaks to let us catch up...so nice of them. :)



Some of the breaks we took on the way up. It was crazy. We saw some people who were very obviously out of shape, carrying no water, with flip flops on and no protection from the sun. I sure hope they made it...cause I barely did. Of course they probably took a much more leisurely pace than my front pack set.



At the top of Enchanted Rock. We took some time on top to climb around and get a snack. We took lots of water for refills, which was good since everyone was out by the time we reached the top.

Heading back down. It was sooooooo much easier to go down. The kids got going a bit fast as they literally bounded down the rock - I was a bit nervous, imagining them tripping and tumbling in a terrible fall. Allen and I had to keep slowing them down.

We stopped on a crop of rocks on the way down. The kids climbed and jumped and ran all over the place. They wanted me to take some "action shots". Simon made a bridge over a gap, then got stuck. Thankfully, Gabriel came to his rescue.

One last stop on the way down. This rock was huge - I'm taking zoomed up photos from the ground. The other side was a steep drop-off. Another nail-biter. Gabriel was wonderful helping everyone up and across the gap. He took hats, water bottles, backpacks...anything that might make the other kids unbalanced or nervous. It's nice to have such a good big brother.

Back at camp Oliver disappeared for a bit. He came back with a huge smile, swinging the camera, and said he had been taking "his" pictures. This last collage is a sample of his work. He actually got some nice scenery photos - and I love the self-portraits!

We had a great time camping! Next time we will plan to return when we have more time to spend - and possibly when it is not so hot (or at least when mom isn't pregnant and so affected by the heat).

Camping at Enchanted Rock - May

In May we went for an overnight at Enchanted Rock State Park. It is about a 2 1/2 hour drive north from our house. We got there around dinner time on Friday and were home by dinner time on Saturday. Lesson learned: if driving that far plan to stay longer. It was a loooong way to go for one night.


Hanging out at the camp site. I really liked how they were set up - pretty private areas with covered table which really saved us in the heat. Our little site was a clearing surrounded by trees.




We went Memorial Day weekend. There were lots of young adults who hosted parties till the wee hours of the morning. 2nd lesson learned: Try to avoid state parks on holiday weekends if you want to get some sleep. The good thing was that the neighbors were pretty polite and tried to keep it down. We have been before where we have terrible neighbors.


Smores is a family camping tradition. Even if it is really really really hot, we always plan to make a fire and make smores....and roast ourselves with our marshmallows.

Down a short path adjacent to our camp site was "Little Rock". The kids spent a great deal of time Saturday morning hiking around and climbing the rock. (This photo was courtesy of Oliver - he did a pretty good job I thought.) Each time we "lost" one of the kids we knew right where to look. Even Amelia disappeared once...tagging along after her older siblings. She knew where the fun was at.

Kids on Little Rock

It was such a beautiful place to camp and climb around. Since it was morning it wasn't too hot yet. Gabriel, Katrina and Abagail found a way all the way to the top - which was quite precarious in spots from their report.

My June Trip

In June Jen and Amelia took a trip out to Colorado and Utah.

Gabriel, Katrina, and Abagail were at Girl Scout and Boy Scout camps for the week, Simon and Oliver stayed with Aunt Yaw and cousins during the day and Dad took care of them at night.

It was quite a whirlwind of a week.

It began on a Saturday with Dad and kids dropping us off at the S.A. airport. After drop off they went to have lunch at Jack in the Box. They were almost home when I called them to tell them that my flight had been cancelled, and since I was flying standby, there was no chance that I would get out in the next day or so. So back to the airport they came, picked Amelia and I up, and drove us all the way to the Austin airport. I think they got home around bedtime. Poor Dad - very nice of him though.

At the airport my flight was delayed from 7:30 til 10:30 p.m. There ended up being 6 passengers on the plane - very roomy. We had a minor celebrity on the plane too - much to my humor. It was soooo funny to watch those "in the know" try to approach him for an autograph or photo - and watch him graciously grant their request. I was one of those not cool enough to be "in the know" as I really don't watch T.V. The guy had a show called Dawg the Bounty Hunter. He was described by one of his producers as "The Bounty Hunter with a Heart". He was quite an interesting character...like something out of an 80's hair band. Older, long blond curly hair, shirt unbuttoned to his navel with his bling and build showing, tight jeans and pointy cowboy boots. After arriving in Denver, at midnight, he put on his trademark sunglasses - since he films there and was more likely to be recognized, I assume. The flight attendants and many people at both airports were star-struck. The funniest thing was as I shared the story with others only Paula, Allen's sister, joined me in being not so cool. Everyone else knew who he was. Thanks Paula.

Our schedule went like this:

Sat - travel to Denver, arrive after midnight

Sun - church and hang out with Lysa's family (Risk with Laine and watching an old Bergstrom favorite childhood flick - The Slipper and the Rose with Lysa) :)

Mon - a.m. with Lysa, afternoon flight to Utah, hang out with Allen's family

(I love Amelia's expression in this photo - she actually had a GREAT time hanging out with Grandpa and Grandma Coleman)

Tues - special visit to Vanessa Stevenson with my B.Y.U. roommates, Heidi (with baby Ben) and Alyssa

Wed - a.m. visit with Grandpa Hart, p.m. flight to Denver - stay night with Lysa

Thursday - a.m. flight home to Texas. Allen picked us up from the S.A. airport. I dropped him back at work, picked up Simon and Oliver, and went grocery shopping to kill time until he officially got off work. We got home around dinner time.

Friday we travelled to pick up Katrina and Abagail from camp and Gabriel came home on Saturday. Poor Allen spent so much time on the road that week between airports, camps, work and shuttling children back and forth from activities. He is awesome!

It was a very long week - but totally worth all the travel!

Girls Bridge to Cadettes- May

In June Katrina and Abagail bridged to Cadettes in Girl Scouts.


They received a ton of badges that they had earned through the year. Each of those black sashes are totally full. At least I think they actually earned them. Their leader may have been a bit generous with the requirements. Whenever I tried to compete badges at home there was a ton of work per badge and I didn't see that much work going on at meetings... Oh well - now I get to sew all those little circle badges on - a big project in itself.


Bridging. For Katrina this was a "finally" moment as she was officially a Cadette last August - just never had the ceremony.


Girls with their troop and Mrs. Lena.