Field of Dreams

In my last post I shared our beautiful state flower, the bluebonnet, with you. Well, our search for more bluebonnets continued this weekend. Gregg, Violet and I went to one of my favorite areas of Texas - Brenham and Chappell Hill. Or, as I like to call them, "God's Country". The rolling hills of this area are so beautiful and they remind me of my time spent at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. Go Cru! Whenever Gregg and I would drive home, or back to school, we would drive through this lovely land. It truly is beautiful!

During our drive we were hopeful that we'd see the beautiful flower that we were seeking. But we also knew that we were at the ending of the small window of time when they are in bloom. We drove around, enjoying the scenery, with only seeing a small patch of bluebonnets here and there. But there was nothing like what we found last weekend. Just as we had about given up hope of finding the blue fields of our dreams we topped a hill and found a treat more special than a truck load of candy! We found our beloved bluebonnets!


We were in a bit of a race to get that one special picture as there were some nasty clouds rolling in. The wind was pretty crazy, we were in the hills after all, and so Gregg had Violet and I facing the wind. This photo is straight from the camera, and could use some touch ups, but I actually like it. This photo gives you an idea of what a field of these beauties looks like.


My handsome hubby was a bit on the scruffy side today and he really didn't want to have his photo taken. Thankfully, I was able to convince him to get in front of the camera with our beautiful girl. I love this photo! There were a lot of giggles going on when I snapped this and it makes me smile seeing them enjoying their time together.

My Heart Belongs In Texas

This should come as no surprise but I have to just come out and say it....
I LOVE TEXAS!!! I may not like the area of Texas that we live in but I love this great state, and my heart belongs here. Depending on where you're at, we have a little bit of everything - coastal living, prairies, woods, and so forth. And spring is one of my favorite seasons here. The wildflowers are blooming right now and the fields look like watercolor paintings.

We are at the tail end of what is called "Bluebonnet Season". The bluebonnet is our great state's flower and the two go hand in hand. The historian Jack Maguire once said, "The bluebonnet is to Texas what the shamrock is to Ireland..." And no truer words have been said about the two. There are websites and festivals dedicated just for the bluebonnet. People travel from all over just to catch a glimpse of our famous state flower. And if you're lucky enough to find a nice patch, that's not on someone's private property, you pull over and take as many photos as you can.


My little family and I are planning on driving around on Saturday to look for bluebonnets. We may even catch part of a festival if we have time. As we are nearing the ending of bluebonnet season we may not find the ideal patch but that's okay. We will be out as a family, enjoying our time together, and that's all that really matters. Well, that and pride of our great state!

My photos here aren't the best. If you're interested in a better idea of how beautiful our state is during the bluebonnet season then go look at this video. The video is long but the scenes are beautiful!

Spring Trip, Part 3

You would think that after everything we did at Mountain View that we'd be too worn out to do anything the next day. After all, we did cram a lot into one day. But we were up, bright and early, the next day and had another full day ahead of us. After a nice breakfast with wonderful avian entertainment, we made our way to Blanchard Caverns.

Violet has never been to an actual cave before, so this was a real treat for her. I remember going there as a child myself and the memories are still vivid in my mind. To experience it again with my daughter, who is relatively the same age I was the first time I went, was a great experience.


A few noteworthy things about Blanchard Caverns... it is the only living cave in the United States. Meaning, it is constantly growing new formations, albeit very slowly. The caverns have two lighted trails that you can tour. The top tier level is open year round and is considered the shortest and easiest of the two. The lower tier level is only open part of the year and is a more advanced trail. The lower tier level closes during the local bat hibernation period and opens at the end of May. Apparently, there is a virus called The White-Nose Syndrome that is killing hundreds of thousands of bats throughout the northeastern United States. The virus has not hit Arkansas as of yet.

Blanchard Caverns is home to six species of bats, two of which are endangered: Endangered Gray Bat (Myotis grisecens), Endangered Indiana Bat (Myotis sodalis), Keen’s Bat (Myotis keeni), Tricolored Bat (formerly known as the Eastern Pipistrel Bat)(Perimyotis subflavu), Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus), and the Red Bat (Lasiurus borealis). (If you're interested in bats, then click on the links that are provided with each species of bat that is listed.)

We learned about Stalactites - the formations grow from the ceiling of a cave. Hope they hold tight!

Stalagmites - formations that grow from the ground up. They "might" grow up!

When a stalactite and a stalagmite meet in the middle, they are then called a column.


And if you're lucky, you can pick out a form of some sort while looking at the beauty inside these caves...


Our tour guide said you could tell a lot about a person depending on what they think the previous formation looks like to them. If they say it is a Love Boat, then they are a newlywed. If they answer the Titanic, then they are an older couple who have lived some time together. If the answer is New York, then that person is a dreamer. We had several different responses within our group.

Once our tour was over, we made our way to Blanchard Waterfall. Oh, what I wouldn't give to have a nice little cabin nestled near these falls!


While in the midst of all this beauty I realized how lucky I was to be there with my daughter and my parents. I can't thank them enough for making these last few days possible and for the memories that came with them. I love you guys more than anything and I am incredibly blessed to be your daughter. Thank you for a wonderful spring break.

Part One: Can You Guess?

What all these photos have in common?











They're all sweet little babies. Soft, furry babies. Tall babies with their mommas. Fat, grey babies that eat a lot of hay. And MY baby, worn out after spending the day at the Houston Zoo.

We had a fantastic day at the Houston Zoo on Monday! Everything started off with buying discounted tickets for the zoo admittance at a nearby Fiesta, which saved us quite a bit of money. The weather was overcast and pretty windy when we headed out but we were optimistic. Until my lovely GPS system got us lost (she had us going away from the zoo instead of toward it). After a quick call to the wonderful man I call hubby, we were back on track and headed towards the zoo.

Zoo parking can be quite a challenge and I think God had mercy on me, helping me find parking fairly close to the entrance. Truly, I've never parked that close to the zoo's entrance! Once through the gates we checked to see if there were any shows taking place and discovered the Natural Encounters was about to start in the Children's Zoo (a smaller section of the zoo that is mostly a petting-zoo, along with a splash pad and playground). We got up close and personal with a ferret, an adorable bunny, and an amazingly soft chinchilla. The chinchilla was my favorite of the three.

From there, we checked out the primates. They are always interesting to see and watch. I must admit though, being in that section of the zoo really puts me on edge. Here's why... everything is covered in a natural canopy of trees and other miscellaneous types of plants. Sounds beautiful, right? And, it is beautiful. But here's the thing, the birds LOVE this area too!!! And wherever there are a lot of birds flying overhead you are bound to encounter bird poop! Ick. Luckily we didn't get squatchied on but Violet managed to land her hand in a nice little pile of it. Ewww. And so we went on a quest to find a bathroom for her to wash her hands. Normally I have handi-wipes on me but I unfortunately ran out. (Note to self: buy more travel wipes!)

Once we found a restroom, and washed our hands, we were off to explore the rest of the zoo. We quickly found the giraffes (my absolute favorite animal in the whole zoo) and got to watch them for a while. The zoo had not one, but two, baby giraffes born last year! And while the babies have grown quite a bit since their births in March and August, they were still small compared to their adult counterparts. Violet and I got to see an adult giraffe eat from its hay basket in a barn-like building that has a window you can watch from. So, you get a closer view of just how tall the giraffes are and how short you are in comparison. We spent quite a bit of time at the giraffe exhibit.

Violet got to see her beloved elephants as they were being fed. Tucker, a three year old elephant, was certainly a big draw for Violet (and others). There was a media group there doing something, I don't know what or who for, but I've been keeping my eyes peeled. Violet was all over that area and I wouldn't be surprised if she made it in some shot or something.


We checked out the new cheetah exhibit and got to watch some training exercises while there. We even saw the Anatolian shepherd dogs, the two cheetah's companions, although they were in their own section while the training took place. The story of how the two dogs and the two cheetahs have become companions is quite the story so you should go check it out.

This post is starting to get pretty long and so I'll break our zoo experience into two parts for you lovely folks. Please come back though because the rest of the day is quite the story!

Friday's Flowers

Okay, I've made up my own day-blog-theme (at least I don't think I've seen it somewhere else). I'm drawn to flowers. Their beauty can reach out and grab me at times. I'd love to just park myself in front of some and watch how the wind blows them. With that said, these beauties grabbed my attention when we were in Colorado...


I'm particularly fond of these. Viola was my Great-Grandmother's name. For those who don't know, violas and violets are related. And, violas and violets are two very special things to me (both the flowers and their names). My Great Granny must have loved violets too because she always had them in her home, thus sparking my love for them.

More Storms But Pleanty of Beauty to Be Seen

This photo is of the parking garage at my husband's office. It was taken on Tuesday, the day after a massive storm hit our area, by one of my husband's co-workers (thanks Kevin!). We were pelted with another batch of storms on Thursday afternoon but nothing as severe as Monday's. Still, we don't need any more rain. The ground is soaking wet and there are areas that still have alot of standing water.

I was out and about running errands, getting ready for a week-long trip that Violet and I will be taking beginning on Saturday. While driving around I noticed several parks that were closed to the public due to high water. It's rather odd to look at a major lake of water and know that underneath it is a local dog park and there are benches under that water.

We were privileged to see several beautiful birds while out on our errand runs. There were several cattle egrets, great egrets, great blue herons and little blue herons enjoying the new digs, taking advantage of the extra water. (Sorry that the links don't take you directly to a photo of each bird but there is a list on the left of the page that has the birds listed, just click on the birds you wish to see and a photo will pop up. It's late and I'm really too tired to figure out how to correct this so please bear with me and don't let the extra step keep you from allowing yourself to see the beauty of these birds.)

Please pray for mine and Violet's flight on Saturday. We have a slight chance of rain that morning and I'd really prefer that we don't have to worry about rain. Violet and I are very excited to see my parents, Violet especially so. I have so much to do and have very little time to do it. So, if you don't see me for a while just know that I've not dropped off the face of the earth. I'm just taking a mini vacation with my daughter and my parents. Poor Gregg will only have Pepper, Flippy and Blue (our elderly cat, red beta fish and blue snail) to keep him company. I'm not too worried for Pepper not being fed on time because she will let Gregg know if her bowl is empty but I do worry about the fish. As usual when pets are involved, the Mommy ends up doing the bulk of feeding and cleaning. It's all good though. Other than cleaning the fish tank I rather enjoy having them here. Fish have a very soothing/calming effect on me and a soothed/calm Mom is a great mom!

Have a blessed and wonderful weekend and I hope to see you all back here sometime soon.

Love you guys!
Kimberly