Lake Livingston

The second day trip that our family planned during the boys' fall break in early October was to Lake Livingston, a state park just over an hour's drive away. We were excited for the chance to spend some time away from the hustle & bustle of the city and to be outdoors together. Originally, we thought we'd borrow some Jr. Ranger backpacks (complete with binoculars and magnifying glasses for young explorers) and pick up an activity journal for the boys to complete and earn a Jr. Ranger pin. Unfortunately, we found out upon arrival that only the park store (not the main park office, strangely enough...) gives out those items, and they were closed on the day we visited. Bummer! We enjoyed plenty of other activities though, and it gives us a reason to visit again, I guess!

We started off our visit by walking along the hiking trails. Adley was not AT ALL happy to be in the hiking backpack, so she pouted in Daddy's arms for a while...

Soon enough, though, she was ready to hit the trails like her big brothers!

We also enjoyed just being by the water---

collecting special rocks and seashells,

and learning how to skip rocks. Daddy is a pro at this!

We had an absolutely gorgeous view of the water during our picnic lunch.

For the boys (and probably for Mommy too!), one of the most exciting parts of our visit was trying out geocaching for the first time. We loved it! For those of you unfamiliar with geocaching, here is a little summary...

First, using an app on Mommy's phone, we picked a geocache treasure to search for. There were several geocaches hidden throughout the park on various hiking trails. Each geocache had specific GPS coordinates listed, so we used my phone to get us as close to the treasure as possible (usually within 6-10 feet). My phone always buzzed at us when we were getting close-- so exciting! 

Once we knew we were close, the whole family started searching intently for the cache. Sometimes, the app gave us a clue about the geocache's location. Other times, the description was a little vague

It was always a golden moment when we spotted the hidden-- and often camouflaged-- geocache! As you can tell, each container was very different, so we never quite knew exactly what we were looking for.

Once we found the geocache, we'd open up the container and discover some sort of paper logbook and occasionally a small trinket or two. Our family signed our geocache name Schleich5 along with the date in the log. It was fun to see all the names of teams or individuals who had done the same thing before us!

Our last step was to replace the geocache exactly as we'd found it.

What a great adventure! We loved that the geocaching gave our boys something exciting to think about along our hikes. Team Schleich5 found a total of four geocaches at the park before it started to rain fairly heavily. Unfortunately, the rain also meant that we couldn't go canoeing or kayaking like we had been planning to try out that day too. So, our day at the lake was cut much shorter than we had hoped, but we still got a few good hours in, hiking and geocaching. We'll just have to visit this park again another time to try out the other great activities it has to offer! All in all, still a fun experience and a great family day!

Oil Ranch

At the beginning of October, Jaden and Cody had a few days off school for a Fall Break, so our family planned a couple of day trips together. Our first trip was to the Oil Ranch, 56-acre ranch with a wide variety of family activities. We visited last year too and enjoyed this place immensely, so we were eager to return, especially with Adley now old enough to enjoy it a little more!

The boys most remembered jumping on this Kid Hopper from last year, so naturally that was our first stop.

Then, all three kids enjoyed this unique swing.

The ranch, of course, contains lots of animals-- animals that we got to feed, pet, and even ride! 

Usually, kids can even milk this cow, but this particular cow was
pregnant. Her milk was golden! We were happy to feed her instead.

holding baby chicks

Yee-haw! Lessons from a real Texas cowboy! :)

We took pictures by this sign last year too, at least with the boys. Here are this year's and last year's photos...

Adley and Jaden

Cody

Both boys have obviously grown a bit, but the change in their faces is most significant to me. They look so much younger in last year's pics!

Jaden -- Oct 2017

Cody -- Oct 2017

After spending time in the petting zoo/barn area, we went for a hayride over to a cow pasture. We're allowed to take a couple of pieces of "cow candy" to give to the cows. These cows sure are eager to get their food when we arrive! When the "candy" was all gone, the cows happily ate the hay right at our feet. They sure get close! Adley was a little hesitant this year, but the boys smiled and laughed so much at the cows.

Next, we got a back-seat ride on this train. The weather was warm again this year, so it was nice to get a slight break from walking around in the sun.

These hamster wheels were another big hit for our boys. They raced each other over and over again!

After some playtime on these wheels, our family paused for our picnic lunch. This renewed everyone's energy to play a bit longer. I didn't take many pictures after lunch, but the boys and Daddy enjoyed the sandbag swings and the spider web climber while Adley and I played at a little toddler playground/sandbox area. The boys also briefly ran through a little 6 Flags maze and jumped on the Kid Hopper one more time. They were out of energy to try the mini-golf, so we decided that we'll have to start there next year!

Our last stop before heading home was to pick out our free mini-pumpkins at this pumpkin patch (pumpkin pile is probably a little more accurate...). It was another great year at the Oil Ranch!

19 Months Old

At 19 months old, Adley's language is growing by leaps and bounds! This past month, it was so fun to hear her say new, challenging words out of the blue-- like "monkey" and "Jesus" and even "vacuum." We love hearing what's going on in her little mind and seeing all the connections she is making. This little one definitely is a girl on the go who doesn't like to be held for long at all. She wears us all out by the end of the day, and yet we love this endless energy and constant curiosity. She is such a blessing to us!

Other current facts and stats:

PHYSICAL

• Cut two left incisor teeth
• Learned how to open the pantry door on her own; goes straight towards the candy stash!
• Enjoys doing peg puzzles, especially the ones that make sound
• LOVES putting on anyone's shoes
• Started to "clean" the toilet and the bathroom wall using water from the toilet (eek!)

LANGUAGE

• TONS of new words! We've counted well over 50 words in her total vocabulary. A few new words include: bike, guy, buggy (referring to any bug she'll find on the ground), chocolate, moon, vacuum, monkey, teeth, Jesus
• Can find the correct page in her Hello magazine when Mommy starts singing one of the song-rhymes from the book
• Often asks for a "book" in the car if Mommy forgets to give her one to look at while we're driving
• Reminds Mommy "door!" if I don't immediately close the van door beside her car seat

PLAYTIME/OTHER

• Loves teasing Mommy and Daddy during diaper changes by kicking her legs wildly so we can't get her shorts back on; will laugh her deep little laugh while kicking-- what a silly kid!
• Often imitates her brothers-- rubbing her body in the same order that she sees Cody washing himself in the bathtub; crumpling up paper just like Jaden after he made a mistake on a drawing; trying to play piano songs after they practice their songs; attempting to copy the sounds of words that they say
• Enjoys watching Little Baby Bum on Netflix and often pats the couch next to her so we sit down beside her
• Is VERY particular with certain PJs, shoes, or dresses that Mommy or Daddy will attempt to put on her; will whine and scream until she gets the one that she wants!

We've started to go to the library storytime regularly now that Jaden and Cody are back in school. We've graduated up to the toddler time (away from the baby bookworms). The toddler time includes a craft at the end. On this particular day, was Adley decorating a leaf with glue stick and paper scraps. Adley's favorite part of storytime is dancing along with some of the songs and getting to play with toys at the end.

So proud of herself for finding and opening her own sucker from the pantry!