NRH2O = The Formula For Family Fun

Earlier in the summer, I found a great deal on tickets to NRH2O Family Waterpark so I snatched some up. Not only were the tickets about 1/2 price but they also included wristbands for free drinks with unlimited refills. We stayed so busy all summer than we never made it to the waterpark. But with the tickets expiring today and Daddy and Nicholas home for the holiday, we decided we had better get over there.

Just inside the entrance, there is a little splash area with fountains and the water runs downhill to form a little stream that ends in a small pool. Nicholas and Rachel went hog wild playing in these fountains. It's not like they can't do this at the fountains just down the street from us anytime. And they seemed clueless about the rest of the waterpark just waiting to be explored.





Rachel crawled in the stream and said she was a baby crab!



We played on some waterslides in the little kid area. Even Nicholas went down some slides here.



Rachel loved the water slides and was so proud to go down them by herself.





Big brother was at the bottom of the slide ready to catch his baby sister!



Daddy and Nicholas decided to be adventurous and go down the Green Extreme waterslide. It's the world's largest uphill waterslide.



The Green Extreme is a seven story tall waterslide with 1,161 feet of twists and turns! Nicholas and Daddy rode together on a two-person innertube. There they are at the top and on their way!



They were both smiling when they finished and Nicholas said it was "awesome!"



Time for lunch! We brought our own picnic lunch and found a great spot under some trees.





I made chocolate chip cookies this morning to bring along on our picnic. Rachel didn't eat the cookies but she used her little finger to pick out all of the chocolate chips. Then she tossed aside the shell of a cookie and asked for more.



Mommy and Daddy were forced to eat her cookie discards. Oh, the sacrifices we make as parents ;)



After lunch, we relaxed on the lazy river.



Some of us define "relax" different than others.



We really enjoyed having our free drinks throughout the park. It was nice to just get a drink whenever we wanted. And another benefit...when the little one spills the drink, you don't feel that sinking feeling in your belly because they just poured $3.00 on the ground. You just get another free drink. Sweet!





There is a little beach area at the park complete with beach volleyball and waterfalls. Of course, we just knew the kids would love playing in the sand. Rachel disagreed. I think she was just getting tired because she loved the sand on North Padre this summer but for some reason she freaked out in the sand today. She didn't want to touch it and didn't even want her little feet in it.



When Stuart put her in the sand, she cried and tried to hold her feet up in the air to keep them from getting sand on them. Then she decided to just climb up on Stuart. So funny!





Of course, Nicholas was in his element and just kept piling up sand to make a giant mountain.



Eventually, Rachel calmed down and decided to join in the fun. We still aren't sure what all the fussing was about. Just a toddler moment, I guess.







The kids area was fantastic. It's called Frogstein's Splashatory and it's the largest interactive water playground in the state of Texas. It includes 5 levels of water fun for all ages including 6 water slides, interactive water activities and a giant tipping beaker that pours gallons of water on your head each time it fills up. Doesn't it just look incredible?



We used a waterproof disposable camera to get these shots because you just can't help but get drenched here.



Rachel loved the waterslides but she needs more practice. There were always arms or feet flailing as she went down.







Rachel headed back to the toddler area...









...while Nicholas walked on floating lily pads and floating logs...







Nicholas had a great time walking on the logs. It looks easy at first but then you notice how the logs can easily glide away from you just as you take a step. I think Nicholas really liked it because he loves watching that silly competitive show called Wipe Out.





Finally, we played in the wave pool. It was really cool to float around in an inner tube while being sloshed around in ocean-like waves.





NRH2O was totally awesome. It's now closed for winter but we'll definitely be back next Spring!

Saddle On Up At The Stockyards

We spent the day in one of Texas' most popular tourist destinations, the Fort Worth Stockyards. The Stockyards is an area rich in Fort Worth history. In 1876, the railroad came to Fort Worth. The city boomed as a major shipping point for cattle, hence it's nickname "Cowtown". But they didn't ship all of their cattle. Soon two meat packaging companies, Armour and Swift, built plants on one end of the stockyards. Operations in the Stockyards prospered despite many challenges. During World War I, they were a major purchase point for military officers to buy horses and mules for use in the war. But World War II was the best time for the Stockyards. They peaked their operation during this time and processed 5,277,496 head of livestock in one year. But soon after the war, the popularity of the railroad declined as trucking became a more efficient way to get product to market. Over the years, the Stockyards struggled until it became unprofitable. Although there are still weekly livestock auctions here, most of the area is now geared towards tourists including the twice daily cattle drive down Exchange Street. But even with all the tourist activities, you can't walk through the Stockyards without feeling the heritage and history that made it so great in its day.

And what better way to experience this heritage first hand than to attend Cow Camp hosted by the Fort Worth Herd?



Cow Camp is free family fun. It takes place behind the Fort Worth Livestock Exchange Building every Saturday and Sunday from 1:30 - 2:30. Camp started with sitting around the "fire" listening to a cattle drover's stories about about cattle drives, life on the range, and the chuckwagon.



We learned about the progression of lassos. Back in the pioneer days, lassos were typically made from rawhide, either buffalo or horse. But these lassos were heavy, cumbersome and often developed weak spots which made them easy to break and then rendered useless. The leather lasso has almost been completely replaced by hemp grass lassos which are lighter and stronger than lassos of old.



Of course, we got to watch a ranch hand do some fancy roping tricks for us.



Rachel just liked watching all the horses. She pointed and said, "Horsey!"



Next we listened to another cowboy who taught us about branding and the story behind the Fort Worth brand symbol (see the Cow Camp sign at the top of this post). It's an FW that stands for Fort Worth. The "F" looks backwards to represent Fort Worth's history and the "W" is a wave looking forward at the future. Fort Worth is the only city with its own brand and it's the only city that uses the same brand for both cattle and horses.

We learned about training horses and watched some neat horse tricks. Smile, horsey!



The cowboy explained the purpose of all the gear that cowboys carry. We learned that the fringe on chaps is more than a fashion statment. It actually helps rain water to roll off of him instead of seeping into his clothing. He taught us about the bull whip and did some amazing whip cracks. Rachel did not like the sound of the whip at all.



We looked at the Stockyards version of the I Spy game. There's a board with the pictures and names of the longhorn and you have to find them all in the pen. Some are easy but others look very similar. Which way do his horns turn? Does that one have a spot on his forehead? Are his horns tipped or not? It was a fun little game.



A real cowboy must have a real cowboy hat, right? So we headed down Exchange Street to Fincher's to try on some hats. Nicholas found the perfect hat right away. A boy and his first authentic cowboy hat...









Rachel tried some on too but they were just too big for her.



Finally we found the perfect fitting hat for Rachel. She is quite proud of her cowgirl hat :)





Mommy and Daddy got a little jealous and decided we needed cowboy hats too.



Stuart has photographed a lot of horse shows and rodeos but now he looks like a real cowboy photographer.



Mommy must have stolen her cowgirl hat because she ended up in jail along with Nicholas who was captured for just being too cute...



We had a great lunch at H3 Ranch at The Stockyards Hotel on Exchange Street. This restaurant has a warm, rustic atmosphere which helps you feel right at home in the Old West. It took a little while to get our order out so Daddy snapped a few pictures while we waited.





And he played Tic-Tac-Toe with Nicholas. Nicholas has gotten really good at the game and honestly beat Stuart a few times.



The food was worth the wait. I recommend the Hickory Cheeseburger. Doesn't that look good?



Although it has nothing to do with the old West, we always seem to end up at The Candy Barrel when we come to the Stockyards.



It's just hard to resist such a fun store full of barrels of candy and taffy. We especially like it here because you can find candy here that you just don't see any where else like lollipops with real scorpions in them, giant pez dispensers, a yard stick of bubble gum, and even candy cigarettes (I can't believe they still make those?!). This is a picture of just the back of the store where all the different flavors of taffy are located. Did I forget to mention that they even offer free samples of taffy? Yum!



We've been to the Fort Worth Stockyards many times before but each time we go we find something new. And there is still so much we haven't seen and done so I know we'll be back again soon.

Pool Time and Burgers With Friends

We spent some time with some dear friends recently. Stuart has known B. most of his life and ironically both of our families started off in Baton Rouge and, by their own paths, made their ways to the same little town in North Texas. However, as life is always so busy, we hardly see them, even though they live just a few miles away from us. So we were delighted to be able to get together with them and catch up.

Nicholas especially loved playing in the pool!





Rachel liked all the bubbles in their spa!



We enjoyed some great burgers from the grill.



Then the boys went upstairs to play while the adults (and Rachel) had some great conversation in the living room. What a wonderful evening spent with good friends.

Our Little Tiger Cub

I'm so proud of Nicholas. He's joined Boy Scouts this year and we are all so excited! Since he's in first grade, he is actually called a Tiger Cub (Cub Scouts is the younger version of Boy Scouts). Look how cute he is in that uniform :)



I wonder how long they will let him wear that uniform without having any patches on it? I'm not looking forward to sewing all those boogers on...or paying someone else to sew them on for me (which is actually more likely to happen).

We're glad he has joined Boy Scouts because it is the nation's largest values-based youth development program. It focuses on building character, responsible citizenship, and personal fitness. They combine learning with fun, hands-on activities to teach basic skills as well as values, teamwork, and leadership.

We are part of a Boy Scout troop through Nicholas' school. The boys are divided up into "Dens" with about 8 boys in a Den and all in the same grade. The Dens meet twice a month on their own. A lot of the boys in our Den already know each other and they have a good time together at the meetings.



Once a month, all of the Dens come together and we have a Pack meeting. This is where a lot of the business and awards are handled. We also have a once a month outing to go do something cool in the area.

We're grateful for the opportunity for Nicholas to participate in such a great activity and look forward to the exciting outings and camping trips we will be going on this year.