Another Wild Weekend

Friday night and the grandkids are here.  Harley is not too happy about the Kindle game but it won't get used much while they are here.

Morgan is telling her Dad all about her week at school...can you tell she is a drama queen?

One last game before bedtime.

Saturday morning and Helen had to head up to Austin to ride/run the route for the triathlon she will be competing in the end of this month.  She had everything ready before bed and we didn't even hear her when she left at 5:30AM.  Once we were up and had breakfast and dog walks out of the way, we headed over to the Madrone Trail for a hike.  Steve and Harley tried it out on Friday and thought we could all make it.  He was very excited about finding it for mountain biking.  Morgan found a hiking stick which she graciously donated to Grandma about halfway through the hike.

This is one of the flatter areas.  There are some much more rocky areas.  Steve was talking to some of the mountain bikers that were in the parking lot and they said that there were about 11 miles of trail.  We never ran into any of them while we were hiking so he can't wait to try the rest out on his bike.

We had a great view of the lake when things opened up near the top.  Well, Steve and I enjoyed the view.  I don't know what had the kids attention.

Although this is technically in a COE park, it starts well before the camping area which is closed.  Helen actually ran through there on her 12 mile run on Sunday and they just waved at her as she sped by.  We made a run by the marina so the kids could see the boats and saw this swimmer.  He was chasing a stick and having a great time bringing it back to his mama.  He had a life jacket on too.

Saturday afternoon, we spent several hours in the pool.  It's cooler than it was a few weeks ago but still comfortable enough for swimming and playing.  Steve and Cameron were playing catch.

It's a good thing the kids can swim because they are fearless.

The cool front came through Saturday evening but the rain held off until we were all asleep and it was bright and sunny again Sunday morning, just much cooler.  The kids weren't too happy that we wouldn't let them go swimming but it just wasn't warm enough.  We did another nature walk through the large area at the park and this time the dogs got to come along so everyone was happy.

Later on, Helen (aka the Mad Scientist) had several experiments for the kids to try.  They always look forward to this.  This time they were checking out the effects of acid rain by using tums they drew pictures on and what vinegar, basalmic vinegar, and water had on them.

It was a great weekend.  It's always quiet after the kids leave.  Steve and Helen took them back to Marble Falls where their Mom picked them up and then they headed back to San Antonio as Helen had to work Monday morning.  The dogs and I went for another walk and then I cleaned the barbeque and put up most of the outside things so packing up and departure will be easy in the morning.