A Rainy Day at Cedar Ridge Preserve

It is a rainy day in Dallas and I want to enjoy it.  It is rare for Texas to have temperatures in the 70's during the month of July.  There is a light drizzle which has been holding on for days and no one is complaining; we certainly need the moisture.  I am simply tired of being cooped up -- let's go for a hike.

We decide to check out Cedar Ridge Preserve, 600 acres of natural habitat smack dab in the middle of the metroplex.  It rises to 755 feet (yep all you mountain lovers can cringe now just as I do, but around here 755 feet is nice.  It is something other than flat.)  Upon arrival, we decide on a medium hike to a pond.

Once we are under the trees, the rain is minimal and the walk is quite enjoyable.  Yep, it is still  humid out, but at 74, we'll take it.  As we walk the path, I notice spider webs in various places along the edge of our walkway.  The webs glisten from the sunlight hitting the raindrops sitting on the and they swirl down in to a funnel about a foot below.

Down in the very bottom of the funnel lies our spider, waiting for breakfast.  Pretty cool huh?

Our next stop is at a lookout near the top before we drop down towards our destination.  The view is nice even on our overcast, rainy day.  The interstate is out there somewhere as I can occasionally catch a glimpse of a vehicle moving along.

The flora and fauna are always fascinating and today is no exception.  We run into trees that we try to identify; one that bears a small fruit and another that reminds me of the juniper bushes in my childhood back in San Diego.

I also spot snails of all shapes and colors under the trees.  Can you find them in the pic?

The path opens up and no longer has tree cover.  As a result, it is very muddy and our shoes keep packing it on.  I feel like I am walking on high heels and resort to a stick every 50 yards or so to clean it off.  Mister just keeps looking at me and laughing.  For some reason, it falls off his shoes faster and easier.  Grrr.

Rounding a turn in the path brings us a great view of the pond with a nice bench to sit on.  Trouble is that everything is wet and so far I have managed to keep my pants dry, although very muddy.  We stand and watch the turtles bobbing their heads out of the water for their occasional air intake.  We also notice a blue heron standing along the edge fishing for his dinner and stay put to watch him for several minutes.  It is so peaceful here -- we are the only humans and cannot even hear the city noises.  Amazing.

After a brief respite, we continue on our way and as we turn the next corner, we spot beehives up on the hill above us.  Looks like our friendly bee guy from Texas Honey Bee Guild has been up here.  He has hives absolutely all over the area and sells "zip code" honey, the only kind we buy.

The return trip is a bit more difficult.  I didn't realize how much we had descended, but let's get climbing.  This has been a great day.  I have truly loved each moment of it and would like to bring the grands here sometime.  Perhaps when Jared visits, we will try to pay another visit.  Simply put, a great little-known treasure in Dallas.

A Quiet Week

After returning home, I was definitely on "down time".  As a result, Mister and I were oh so productive.  See what we did with all our time.

A Lunch Date at Stephan Pyles

After 4 days of little or no movement in our house, I finally decide that enough is enough.  We have a gift certificate for Stephan Pyles and it is lunch time.  Since it is almost the end of the lunch hour downtown, the place is relatively empty.  I could say a lot more, but look for Mister's review on Yelp -- needless to say, the place definitely could use a good scrubbing.

The asparagus soup is excellent --- the sandwich not so much.  The time together is excellent and it is always fun to put our "restaurant critics" hat on.

Reunion Day 4 - Fun At The House - Head Home

The last day for us as we have to leave early in order to get Scott back to Dallas in time for work on Monday - so sad but it was the only way he could come and I sure didn't want him to miss the reunion.  I have a tough time waking up today and so when I leave my room, the kitchen is alive with activity. Jen is cooking eggs and Rhiana is busily making scones for everyone while the boys have finally found technology and are waiting patiently.  Oh yum.

The line never seems to end and there are cries for more that last well after the last batch is made.  This is a huge hit.

When everyone is fed, dressed, and the mess cleaned up, it is time to play and figure out what to do today.

Malea is spotted in the sunlight near the sliding glass door.  This has been her favorite spot the entire weekend.  She stared at her bottle for awhile and then dove at it like it was going to get away making me giggle so hard.

What a little charmer.

Last night, Mister and I had helped Elena and Zyra put this puzzle together and today they are so excited that it is still here.  They pull out a piece and then put it right back.  While we were working with them last night -- I was fascinated with how hard they worked and both wanted to get their sections finished even though moms were waiting patiently to put them to bed.  They were not stopping until it was perfect.

About half of the family has gone off to the shooting range, so Mister and I take this opportunity to have a little craft time with those still here.  We brought several items with us for just such a time and as I get the finger paints and paper, Grandpa comes to the rescue with a bunch of his t-shirts to cover up nice clothes.  Yay for him.  We set up at the dining room table and Elena gets confused when she realizes that we are not painting fingers, but finger painting.  As soon as she understands, she is ready to go and within moments both the little girls are literally painting with their fingers.  I cannot stop laughing at them.

Hyrum gets into it though and soon his hand is brightly colored.  I show him how to coat the paper and then draw designs in the paint with his fingers and as he figures it out, his designs become more and more intricate.  Excellent.  Oh, and the smiles make it all worthwhile.  Apparently he is having fun.

Once we clean up from craft time, Grandpa and I take Hyrum and Elena out to fly her kite.  She does such a great job and shares beautifully with her cousin.  When kite flying is no longer interesting, we put everything away and Mister takes me for a ride on the 4-wheelers.  We go back on the BLM land, only to discover that we are not supposed to have motorized vehicles back there -- oops.  We decide to go the opposite direction and climb higher up the mountain.  It is beautiful up there and we can see the Buffalo Bill Reservoir almost in its entirety.  Beautiful.

Shortly after we arrive back at the house, the shooting group returns allowing Scott and Cass to take the kids out on a geocache adventure culminating in a treasure for each.  What a great location for this activity.

Dollar coins or bills for all.  Yay!

The 4-wheelers are then put to use and the line never stops for those wanting rides.

Jen and Cass are happy to help out and make several trips around the property and down the road much to the delight of small ones.  The older kids are able to do some of the driving themselves and naturally that earns big smiles.


I spot Bekah and Jake with a slingshot and watch quietly from behind a tree until I can't take it any longer and the laughs burst out of me.  Each time she shoots, it goes straight into the ground.  Finally, I walk over and offer to show her how it is done.  The look she gives me is, "yeah right Gam", but when the first shot takes off out into the brush, she changes her look.  Score one for the old lady.

We are packed and ready to go when Cassie comes down with the bug that has struck others.  Ugh.  As we wait for her to see if she can make the drive tonight, Mister catches Bekah working on Zyra's hair.  She sits so patiently and when it is finished, she looks so cool.

Everyone else then departs for the night at the rodeo.  Mister and I take some time and try to do some of the cleaning so that the load will be lighter for everyone else tomorrow.  Upstairs is full of people starting to feel sick and at this point I am praying that we don't get it as well since we have 20 straight hours of driving ahead of us.

As darkness falls, I take one last look at the mountains behind us.  It will be awhile before I am in this region again.  It looks like another storm is brewing tonight and I hope that they don't get rained out at the rodeo.  Cass is willing to go, so we climb into the car and hit the road praying that she can sleep but knowing she will be miserable.  Exactly 20 hours later with only stops for gas, Mister delivers us back to Dallas.  I only spelled him once for about 2 hours.  He is a machine.  It is time to relax and try to sleep.  This trip provided so many great memories and precious moments with my children and grandchildren.  I will be forever thankful for that.

Reunion Day 3 - Big Horn Valley

Breakfast with my grands.  Who could ask for anything better?  Well, it would be fun if the other five were here at the same time, but seven looks pretty cool and a few were even paying attention to what Grandpa was doing.

Today the sky is a little bit ominous.  We are not sure whether we can do a swimming activity or not but after a great deal of discussion, we decide to give it a try.  During the discussion, Mister and Zyra are busy playing with the horses.  Oh my, we really need to get this little girl on a horse.  Mister and I saw a place yesterday that gave rides -- we should try and get down there if we get a chance.

Other than the weather, we appear to have some sort of flu going through the house.  Drat.  We have had 3 successful gatherings without anyone getting really sick, I guess we are due, but it still sucks.  Scott and Amanda were down all night -- or perhaps I should say up all night.  Scott and Cass decide to stay home so he can recover a bit more and so they are keeping Malea for the day.  How fun for them. 

The rest of us (including a weak by still smiling Amanda) are off to the Big Horn Mountains for some swimming and cliff diving.  No, Mister and I are not cliff diving, but I am looking forward to watching others do so.  We arrive at the lake and set up a great location where we can make lunch and keep an eye on the kids at the same time.  After a good dousing with mosquito repellant, we are set.

Within moments the water is being enjoyed by everyone 12 and under plus a few brave adults
(Matt and Trent).  It must be very warm water because absolutely no complaints of being cold are heard.  Awesome.

Mister and I set up a couple of chairs and sit back to enjoy the show AND the incredible scenery around us.  The colors are vivid and once again we just are taken to a peaceful place.  Wonderful!

With a little bit of lunch in everyone, the activity in the water picks up and soon more people head down to the water to enjoy its refreshment and play with the kids.

Even Mister winds up down at the water for awhile.

We all look down toward the water and notice that Caleb is coming back to shore, but with another group of people.  He hasn't a clue that they are not his family, but they have realized it and are starting to look around wondering who he belongs to.  As we are laughing and watching, we let them know that he is ours and he spots us and turns direction to joins us.  A few minutes later, the neighboring group of people realizes that they know us -- the Rice family is having a reunion here also.  How fun to reconnect and say hi.

I look over at Matt and he has managed to corral his entire family in one spot and I love the way they are sitting so ask them to look at me real quick for a picture.  Love it.  Wish I could catch moments like this with all the families, but know that that is a pipe dream.  (Mister, why didn't you edit out the person in the back?  hahaha)

Uh oh, the sky is starting to look rough and we anticipate another storm.

  We quickly clean up camp and decide to drive up to the cliffs on the off chance that the storm is going a different direction and perhaps it will move quickly so that everyone can still dive.  Mister provides a temporary dressing room for wet little boys to change before getting in the car.  We are leaving the RV here temporarily, so all the cars are filled with various members of Jen's family.  After Jon, Jen, and Louis climb in with us, we are off in search of an adventure.

As we are driving, the lightning is getting closer and more frequent, pretty much eliminating any chance of diving, much to the dismay of many, including the older kids.  Too bad.   Time to turn around.  I feel bad for the kids, the adults, and myself in missing the opportunity to watch something that Rhiana and Matt have talked about often.

Once we return to the lake, we pick up the RV (which now has most of the kids in it --- of course, it is an hour drive back and wouldn't you rather watch a movie?).

In the brief moment of reloading, Caleb and his dump truck make a quick escape.  As I am returning from the restroom, I spot Mister taking this picture and just stand and giggle at the whole scene.  He has no fear and we have no idea where he is heading.

Back at the house, dinner is underway and Mister takes his spot outside being the BBQ chicken king.  I am so hungry tonight --- and it tastes wonderful with a fresh salad to go along with it.

After dinner, the siblings sit down for a chat and Mister catches this moment.  It is so rare to find all five of them in the same spot at once unless it is on purpose for a picture.  I love that the faces all look like they are enjoying each other --- warms my heart to see.

Mister heads to bed and I stay up and visit with Jen, Matt, Cassie, and Bekah for awhile.  It is a nice talk I love every minute of it.  Soon though, my eyes are drooping and it is time to head to sleep -- night all.