Camping

My philosophy on family vacations is similar to my philosophy on golf. When playing golf as long as I hit a few more good shots than bad shots I feel like I might come out and play again. Likewise, with family vacations, if the good moments outweigh the bad, then there's a chance we'll load up and venture out next summer. Thankfully, on this camping trip there were plenty of endearing moments to cancel out the melt downs, stuffy tent, pesky raccoons, and sweltering heat. Here are a few of my favorites:

1) taking naps with Hogan on the hammock

2) playing Scrabble by flashlight

3) finding rocks to throw in the lake

4) ice cold red cream soda and black cherry soda

5) Hogan sleeping soundly for 2 out of the 3 nights

6) Troy's fantastic grilled dinners

7) hiking

8) air conditioned places in Tyler

9) having the whole movie theater to ourselves one afternoon

10) getting our favorite campsite (#138 for anyone who ever ventures out to Tyler State Park)

Forest Hike

Tree Rainbow

Forest Slide

Snakey branch

Kids make you see things in such different ways, which is why I love hiking with Hogan. True, it's much slower going, but he finds so many things to enjoy and makes such interesting connections.

Discovery Museum

We had to get out of the heat during the afternoon while we were camping and we had fun exploring Tyler, which surprisingly had several things to do for little ones. Our favorite afternoon was at this science museum for kids. We spent nearly 3 hours here and could have spent more. They had an indoor cave with a simulated earthquake, pictures of bats, and a bridge that led to this huge ship. There was a sand table, blocks table, ball room with all sorts of ramps and spirals to run balls down and through. There was the TV room that Hogan loved. He could not quite figure out how he could be on TV. It was almost like he thought that he was in the TV. He kept trying to get up and walk to the TV to talk to himself, but of course as soon as he did that he was no longer on the screen. It was so cute watching him talk and wave to himself. There was also a bubble room where you could make giant bubbles. Then, just when we thought we'd seen it all we found this huge warehouse room filled with business-sponsored playrooms like a fire engine with fire-fighting gear to put on, a construction zone with tools and hats, a transportation room with a train track and an airplane, a grocery store with shopping carts and aisles of food for kids to pretend they were shopping. Can you tell we LOVED this place? It was such fun and a perfect way to get out of the heat. Way to go Tyler, Texas!

Paddleboats

There were many fun moments while we were camping. Paddleboating was not one of them. Even though we started out early, rented a paddleboat right when the camp store opened, it was the hottest, longest paddleboat of our lives. The lake, that at first looked so small, turned out to be vast in a very slow moving paddleboat. The boat ride that at first seemed novel for Hogan quickly turned into tears and whining as the sun beat down on his little face and the bulky lifejacket trapped in all the heat. Troy and I were grimacing from the burning pain shooting in our legs and back while trying to keep a happy face for Hogan and the sweat was just dripping down our faces.

Finally, divine intervention, and I promise you it was. About the middle of the ride (we were just making the turn to go back to the dock, but had a very far way to go), Hogan asked me to put on Troy's hat and be Sir Toppenhat. For those of you who don't know, Sir Toppenhat is the train manager or owner or something important for Thomas the tank engine and all of his friends. I gave my very best Sir Toppenhat impersonation- it was the best of my life so far. Sir Toppenhat encouraged Hogan to stay strong and help his mommy and daddy who were very tired and hot. Sir Toppenhat also pointed out places where Thomas and his friends liked to swim and helped Hogan to see the dock where all the paddleboats were lined up. Don't ask me to explain toddler logic, but somehow this got Hogan through the most hellish paddleboat ride ever and calmed him down more than Troy or I could.

When it was over we all had a good laugh and several times during the week we asked Hogan if we wanted to go on a paddleboat ride (in jest of course) and his answer was always an emphatic "No!"

Butterflies

Here are some pictures Troy took of the butteflies from the Heard Museum exhibit.

Heard Museum

We took a morning trip to the Heard Museum in McKinney,Tx. Hogan and I visited this museum last year around the same time. Today was the opening of their butterfly exhibit so we decided to go check it out again. What struck me most about this visit was how different Hogan was from last year. I remember last year that he spent a large amount of time running and trying to climb on things completely oblivious to all the hands-on exhibits like looking at the turtle shells or touching bones. I also remember steering clear of the sand pit last year because I knew that he would only go in and eat the sand.

This year he talked all through the exhibits, naming things, asking if they were "really" (his way of asking are they real and alive?) and telling us he wasn't scared (of the snakes or the big black stuffed bear). He actually used the brushes in the sand pit to uncover the fossils (although as you can see he had to have full contact with the sand, but no eating!). And was interested in viewing the animals and butterflies. I hadn't expected this trip to be some kind of measurement of his growth. It was exciting to see how much he's learned in a year.

Let's Play Ball! Huzzah!

On Saturday we went to watch the Rawhide Creek Tanners play a baseball match against the Wichita Red Stockings. I guess there is a league of club nines that play old style. The Tanners are from the Dallas area and the Red Stockings traveled all the way from Wichita, KS to play this match. They play by the rules adopted by the National Association of (Amateur) Baseball players on March 14, 1860. Some of the differences in this match than present day baseball are: the ballists don't wear gloves, the horsehide is softer and is made out of a one-piece hand-stitched white or tan leather, the umpire may ask the players and rooters for assistance in making calls (very fun way for the cranks to join into the game), the bowler must pitch the ball underhanded, and sliding into a base is discouraged and deemed ungentlemanly.

Before the game started the baseball commissioner of the Dallas area came out and read the rules to us. Then, all the players introduced themselves by their actual name and their nickname. Supposedly back in 1860 every player had a nickname.

Here are some 19th century baseball slang for you that, if you'll notice, I tried to incorporate into the paragraph above:

club nine: team
bowler: pitcher
cranks: fans
huzzah: used to congratulate a player on a well played ball
ballist: player
horsehide: ball

Ballgame

While Troy and I were watching the ballgame Hogan found lots of ways to entertain himself. We sat in this shaded area in front of a line of bushy trees, which provided a new space for Hogan to explore. He watched some older boys pick up sticks and hit at the trees to make them shake (picture 2) and soon after Hogan gave it a try (fourth picture). He also experimented with throwing toys into the trees and crawling in to find them. It was a fun Saturday adventure!

Swim Lessons

dipping and swinging

practicing kicks

ring around the rosies

back rides

It was Troy's turn to be in the water for swim lessons last night so I was able watch and get some photos. Hogan loves swim lessons. I had some concerns before we started because this year he is bigger, smarter, and I wasn't sure if I could work with him in the water as easily as I did last year when he was smaller and less independent. However, this year has actually been easier because he can listen, follow directions, and he enjoys going under water. Troy and I are both excited about his progress!

sprinklers

Have I ever mentioned that Hogan has more friends than Troy or I? His friend, the groundskeeper, stopped by our apartment yesterday to give Hogan a little ride on his golf cart and to turn on the sprinklers for him. We were the envy of every apartment tenant (at least all the ones 5 and under).

Lake

No 4th of July weekend would be complete without a trip to the lake. It was busy with other people who the same idea, but that didn't stop it from being absolutely relaxing and refreshing. We're getting to be regular lake rats- and we love it!

Bocce Ball

We also got out our bocce ball set on the 4th. Hogan was on Troy's team. As you can see from the pictures Hogan, as usual, had some new rules to suggest for the game.
Rule 1: when the other team is too far away to reach you quickly, grab their balls and toss them down the hole
Rule 2: it is okay to remove the boundary sticks as long as you charmingly smile while you do it
Rule 3: when you notice the other team is at an advantage, ride the inch worm through the balls to mix things up a bit

I suspect that Troy and Hogan had this all worked out beforehand. Luckily, despite their efforts, Tia and I were able to overcome and win the game!