This month included all the regular busyness of school, dance, theatre, track, gymnastics, soccer, and church activities. But the highlight of the month was spring break.
We decided to explore the prettier areas of Texas while making our way down to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. We camped every night except the nights before and after the Rodeo. We got out a day later than planned because Matt needed to make a repair on the van but we were happy to not camp that night since it was quite raining and cold. Here we are at our first camp site, at Lake Brownwood State Park.
We did a short hike the following morning.
Then we headed toward Austin hill country and were pleasantly surprised that the blue bonnets came early this year so we could enjoy them. All the wild flowers were so beautiful!
Here we are at McKinney Falls State Park where we also had a campsite for the night.
The remains of an old sawmill.
The following day we went to 6 Flags Fiesta in San Antonio.
I was happy that everyone could go on "Maximum thrill" rides without me. I like medium thrill rides. Christian does some "Max thrill" but not as many as Matt and the older kids. It was a fun day!
We camped at Hill Country State Natural Area.
The next day we stayed in San Antonio. We went to see the Alamo and the Riverwalk. We really enjoyed this city!
We camped in Goose Island State Park.
The next day we went to Mustang Island and the beach.
Matt and Sheri spent the most time in the water. But Christian and Sterling did venture in for a little while.
Sterling after swimming. My sentiments exactly. I enjoyed reading.
Christian enjoyed collecting shells and broken sand dollars.
Sheri was determined to get her beach time and she enjoyed boogie boarding with Matt.
Then we went to Corpus Christi and toured the USS Lexington, a pretty cool ship!
We camped near the beach at Galveston State Park that night and could hear the waves all night. The next day we went inland a bit to the brackish waters. We were looking for alligators but I guess they were too shy to come out.
Then we took the ferry over to Houston and checked into our hotel for showers and laundry!
In Houston we got to see all of Matt's old stomping grounds. We got to see the home he grew up in, his schools, and nearby parks. The kids have missed large trees and parks. They enjoyed some tag.
We also stopped by the Houston Temple and the flowers were so lovely!
Next we went to the Live Stock show and enjoyed seeing all the animals and booths!
Then on to the Rodeo
Following the Rodeo was a Jonas Brothers concert which was fun.
We stayed at the hotel that night and decided to head home on Saturday since we had been traveling for a week and the weather didn't look great for our last night of camping. We are surely grateful for Big Blue's spaciousness! We were able to bring all our camping gear and still have plenty of room for laying out.
We are grateful for all of Matt's efforts to plan this trip! It was nice to get a break from the routine and see so many beautiful places in Texas!
Here are the rest of our highlights for the month.
Christian finished up his basketball season.
The kids had their stake friends over for games.
We celebrated Matt's birthday. He is 46 years old.
I had lunch at school with Christian to celebrate Easter.
Matt got us some spring chicks. The girls had a fun time naming them all.
We did an Easter egg hunt and hid their baskets.
Sterling and Sheri had their One Act Play competition. Bushland High School performed the Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe. Sterling played a dual part (both an actor and then separately Roderick Usher.) Sheri played his twin sister, Madeline. In the play, the house essentially makes them both crazy and Sheri's character gets buried alive before breaking out and getting rescued. They both did an excellent job!
Their school advanced to Bi-district which they were all thrilled about! Sterling won All-Star actor for both District and Bi-District competition.
Meanwhile Eve continues to do well in Provo.
The hardest part of this month was sending Sabey off to the MTC. She will be greatly missed. I am grateful that her other cousins and Sabey's cousin, Abbie continue to hang out with her from time to time.
Here she is at a Taylor Swift themed gymnastics meet.
and at a cousin dinner.
Here she is with her roommates at a basketball game.
and in her lab,
celebrating Easter with her FHE group,
and attending the temple.
One of her favorite highlights was her Taylor Swift charcuterie board party. Each board had an album theme. Here is hers...
and the others
Well, March flew by! Here is a short video of the wind we get here in the spring.
Happy Spring!
