Easter Kerrville 2012

The extended Boyce family was in Kerrville to celebrate Easter.  So far Sean has accomplished most of the items he put on his list this week for this visit: dye eggs, go to hot tub, play with Elissa, go to Nana's park, and make waffles and pigs in a blanket for breakfast.

Rest Stop for Bluebonnets

Kidding around at Nana's Park

Did I drop my contacts here?

Bubble blowing (Sean has on the proper Personal Protective Equipment  to protect his hands from toxic bubble juice

"Doggy Bone!"

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Camping in the closet with flashlights

Cheese and crackers at the winery

Waiting for bats - that never emerged

Rodeo Houston 2012

We finally made it to Rodeo Houston today, on the last day of the event.  Through the miracles of social networking we saw that the Boyce's would be there at the same time and hooked up.  Sean and Elissa got along famously, however they mostly ignored poor Dylan - it is a good thing he had four adults to entertain him!

Sean at the Market, his favorite part of the show every year

This year Sean stopped to read all the educational signs

Sean and Dylan look at Sean and Dylan?  They are really looking at rabbits

The kids showing off their sand art - getting this picture was like herding cats

Busy kids makes hungry kids

I am not sure what the game is here, but Sean says he was being an allosaurus

Don't tell anyone, but they were holding hands waiting for a ride and it was cute!

Catching fish

Keep your hands and feet inside of the ride at all times!

Facebook Pics and Some Extras

Posting some pictures that are on Facebook, for non-Facebook followers.  This weekend started early for Sean and Aunt Joanne.  They, and Barbara and Grandma, went and flew a kite on Friday afternoon.  Saturday started out with all the Pastas (except Dave) running the Methodist Stride 4 Stroke.  We followed that up with a lot of yard work and then dinner at Jake's with Aunt Joanne.  Today we read a lot, went to Mass, and did more yard work.  Dave got to remove a dead possum from the garage lean-to, and Sean got to paint a ceramic birdhouse he received as a gift from the Cypress Boyces.

Sean in rainy Fredericksburg last Monday 

Sean planting snapdragons from Nana and Grandpa

Sean finally getting back on his new bike (after after a month long hiatus due to his broken collar bone)

Waiting patiently to start painting his birdhouse

Just like Uncle Joe, the tongue out means he is concentrating

No shirt, not paint on shirt

Finished product

Spring has Sprung (at least that is what all the flowering trees are telling me)

We took advantage of a nice spring Presidents' Day to have some quality family time.  We walked to Dunn Bros. for breakfast, paid a visit to the gym and Houston Garden Center, and did some yard work.  Sean, at five years old, is becoming much more useful!  Concerned readers must trust me that we did not strain his healing collar bone too much...

Children's Museum for Sid the Science Kid

Last weekend we paid a visit to the Children's Museum to see Sid the Science Kid.  Sean asked to go after seeing an announcement on TV.  Sean had a great time, however the place was overcrowded due to the weather and the fact that Sid was there.  We watched a Sid show, the first I had ever seen - I was not impressed!  I may be a dufus, but not as much of a dufus as the father portrayed on the show.  Sean's "seeing" of the costumed Sid was limited to seeing the top of his purple hair down a long hallway while I held him (Sean) up.  The important part?  Sean had a great time!

Surfing Safari

Walking back to museum after lunch at Cafe Express

Sean's New Bike

Sean finally picked up some skills at riding his bicycle, but he was starting to look a little bit like Kermit the Frog as it had gotten too small.  We bought a new, correctly fitting, bike today and it was amazing how much larger it was.  He is still on training wheels, it will probably be a few months before we try without them.

Apparently Luck Bear gets the hand-me-down bike

Rainforest Pyramid Trip

We made a trip to the refurbished Rainforest Pyramid at Moody Gardens in Galveston.  Interesting, but not worth the price of admission I don't think, except maybe for Sean who loved it.

You are not really taking my picture in this thing, are you?

Joe auditioning for the part of the cowardly lion

Checking out the birds down below

In the butterfly cage

2 Weeks Before Christmas

Catching up...

Two weeks before Christmas Santa, courtesy of the Friendswood VFD, came to check on whether the neighborhood kids were being naughty or nice...

Sean and David Play with Spreadsheets and Movies

And now we are tired.  More later.

Name	Type	Class	Food	Age	Color
billy	bee	insect	Herbivore	5	Yellow
Buffy	Buffalo	Mammal	Herbivore	10	Brown
cindy	rat	Mammal	Omnivore	2	Grey
Crabby	Crab	Mollusk	Omnivore	6	Red
dino	brachiosaurus	dinosaur	Herbivore	12	Green
Froggy Head	Frog	Amphibian	Carnivore	3	Green
Inny	Elephant	Mammal	Herbivore	2	White
Kelso	Horse	Mammal	Herbivore	1	Brown
Lucky	Bear	Mammal	Carnivore	5	Brown
pengy	penguin	bird	Carnivore	2	Black
Pudgy	Chameleon	Reptile	Carnivore	4	Blue
rachel	dolphin	Mammal	Carnivore	2	Grey
stege	stegosaurus	dinosaur	Herbivore	18	Green
Swirly	Snail	Mollusk	Heribvore	1	Pink
tim	turtle	Reptile	Omnivore	7	Green
	Lizard	Reptile	Omnivore	11	Green

San Francisco Marathon Vacation 1

We headed to San Francisco last weekend to vacation and for Barbara to run the Nike Women's Marathon.  We stayed downtown in a suite with Grandpa and Nana.  Most of our activity Friday, Saturday, and Sunday was centered around the marathon.  We had some time for sightseeing on Saturday.  Sunday Barbara ran the marathon finished in good spirits with her summer training partner.  Picasa Link

Smile after 15 miles

Approaching the Finish

Done!

Where is the finish line?

Nick's 40th Birthday

Nick, the baby of the Boyce family, turned 40 this weekend.  Nick and family are also celebrating their new house!  They are building a house a little further out in northwest Houston.  They really did some work on their current house and it has sold, too.  Soon they will be renting their current house until the new one is ready to move into.

Sunday we went to the Ashland family picnic and Moody Gardens in Galveston.  It was our first time to the water park there in a couple of years.  They now have a small wave pool and a lazy river.  Afterwards we drove around Galveston and looked at ships and oil rigs.  The Ocean Saratoga was one of the oil rigs being worked on.  Sean's Dziadziu loves Saratoga, the race track, so we took a picture.  The Ocean Saratoga was the "other" leaking oil rig in the Gulf during the Deepwater Horizon spill last year - but not nearly as severe.

Elissa helps Nick turn 40

Dave, Tyler, and Haley watch the Longhorns beat Iowa State

Elissa and Sean holding up Nick's new fence

Grandpa and Dylan chilling

For Dziadziu - a picture of the oil rig Ocean Saratoga