All in the Family

When you live on an acreage in Texas

you tend to accumulate animals of various shapes and sizes,

so when I asked for our young Texans to pose for an Easter picture...

...well there were a few extras!

There are their two Australian Shepherds,

Sky who is 11 years old and Mama to many....

and Zoe, her great-granddaughter,

11 months old and full of energy.

 And then there are the two kittens,

brothers named Clark...

 ...and Lewis...

 ...yes, that's right,

Lewis and Clark,

named by Caily who loves reading historical novels.

They are usually seen together,

whether out in the yard,

or curled up in their bed on the porch,

and they love attention!

There is also Twinkle,

the more traditional aloof cat,

who only shows up on her own terms

preferably after the dogs are both sound asleep.

 Of course you can't forget the chickens,

the rooster, Spot...

 ...and all his ladies!

Fresh Eggs anyone?

 Finally, there is Biscuit,

but more about him another day.

 Yes, they are definitely all in the family!

Our Texans

 Being back in Texas this past week has been wonderful...

 ...not just because we get to spend lots of time with these four,

 but because the weather is summer-like for us coming from the 'Wet Coast'.

 There are lots of trees to climb,

 and projects to work on outside.

 The older girls had the week off school

 for their Thanksgiving Break.

And we are so thankful...

 for such as these!

The Path that Dave Built

Remember that dry creek bed?

Well when Dave saw it

he saw flat rocks that would be just perfect for a path.  

So after checking with Jody to see if she would rather have it at the front

or at the back or side door, 

the decision was made to build it to the front steps

which were already made out of large rocks 

from their property.

 So the search was on for the perfect flat rocks...

 Colson got right into it as well...'this one Bupa?'

 Bria knew exactly what she was looking for...

 and carried her finds all the way to the golf cart for transport.

 Everyone was excited with the load of rocks.

It was much like putting a puzzle together

 especially since the path had to curve!

 Little rocks and pea gravel were used to level the big rocks...

and once again Colson was right in there trying to find the perfect rocks.

I just loved watching him and his Bupa working together.

 It was declared done because we had to leave the next morning...

but I have a feeling that it might be added to next time we visit!

Exploring

 Our first few days in Texas were cold and rainy so when the sun finally came out,

it was time for us to go exploring on the back 2/3 of the property.

 We had heard about the dry creek bed that ran like  a raging torrent during last year's floods

and couldn't get over how beautiful it was.

 And beyond that, the meadow....complete with another burn pile waiting for it's demise

and a fire circle, the scene of some family fires it looked like.

 A cross stands at the back of the fence line...

with a story to tell I'm sure,

but a photo op as far as the kids were concerned.

I could imagine a group of teenagers playing soccer on this field

or maybe a game of volleyball,

so much room!

 But then the creek bed called us back...

...loved this old oak tree

which looked so perfect for climbing!

 There are actually three children playing in this picture...

Can you find them all?

 These two have a special bond
and I just love how their heads are bent together
as if they are sharing a special secret.

 It was hot in the sun so we decided to head back to the house

along this path that they had cleared

(you can still see the piles of trees that need to be burned on another day)

and then we were back on the yard!

So much fun!

Trampoline Fun

 

Along with working together,

we also have time for fun together...

 ...like a stop at the trampoline

 covered with the leaves of the live oaks that shed in the spring time here in the south.

 Although I thought we should maybe clean off the leaves first,

 first they had fun playing and jumping in them.

 Definitely a fun time was had by all!!

Working Together

 "Many hands make light work" or so the saying goes anyway.

I'm not so sure that the work is light,

I think I like the saying in German better,

"Viele Hande machen bald ein Ende"

(Lots of hands achieve a quick end).

 What I do know though is that it is a lot more fun to work together

than to work all alone as we are finding out these days here in Texas.

 Whether helping to polish and then install the concrete counter tops in the kitchen...

 or picking up trash on the property with Mimi,

 we don't have to work alone and that just makes it fun.

 Everyone lends a hand,

 from the very youngest...

 to the oldest and everyone in between.

We can all pick up sticks,
the sizes just change!

Our muscles are sore at night

and we have the bruises, scratches and scrapes to show for it,

but we also have a great sense of accomplishment at the end of each day.

And to be honest,

as Dave and I reflected tonight,

being able to work hard is a gift

and for that we are thankful!

Being able to work hard with three generations of our family

is also a gift for which we are thankful,

and when the work is done for the day

there is always that lovely porch to sit on 

and read some stories to those hard-working grandchildren.