Texas At Last

July 10-12, 2014

We arrived in Gilmer, TX late on the 9th.  We were all pretty tired, but after a good nights sleep we were ready to play with Grandma and Grandpa.  We tried to help them get a few projects done before we headed to Utah, so we could play more when we got back.  One of the projects we helping them mud, sand and prime their closet so it could be painted.  Grandma played with the kids while I did some sanding and primed the corners and edges. 

I had some gray hear by the time I got done sanding.

This is the first of the calves this year.  It was a surprise because Grandpa didn't even know this mama was expecting.  They thought she was too young for this go round.

It was so cute!

Nathan loved Grandma's playhouse and slide.  He slipped out whenever no one was looking.

The neighbor dogs showed up a couple times.  We were afraid they might mess with the mama and baby, but that isn't why Grandpa has his gun.

When he went to feed the cows he found some unwelcome visitors in the grain bin.

He found their mama a couple days earlier.  The neighbor dogs got her.

He had to take care of them.  It wasn't the way we would have wanted, but it was probably better than letting them starve or get eaten by the dogs.

After the pest problem was taken care of we turned our attention to the next project.

The pool!  Grandpa hadn't gotten it cleaned out in March like they hoped, so it was pretty bad.

First we had to pump all the nice green water out of the pool.

We played with the cute little kitten the mama kitty brought out.  It was the first time Grandpa and Grandma had seen it.

Eliza was very good to make sure Nathan was gentle.

It got on his nerves a little.

Cute kiddos with the kitties.

Once most of the water was pumped out we could see all the little tadpoles.

The are baby tree frogs.

Dad helped the boys catch some to keep in a jar.

Daniel was super excited to watch them change.

Andy changed into his swim trunks to bail out the last of the nasty water.

Grandpa supervised the process to make sure things were done properly.

We had to add a little water to get the grime out.

Bradley tried to save as many tadpoles as possible.

Nathan was very intrigued by the tadpoles.

We wore Grandpa out.  :0)

Andy also helped clear some fence line so they could tighten the lines and make sure it was ready for the cows.

Before we left for Utah the mama kitty brought the rest of her kittens out of hiding.  She had four, three white and this little black and white one.

We flew to Utah on the 12th.  As we went out to load the van and head to the airport we noticed that there were fire ants all over the back seat! 

We had to empty the back of the van and Andy vacuumed it out as fast as he could.  Then we put some poison down to kill any ants we may have missed.  All the way to the airport the kids kept spotting random ants that were quickly smashed.   

Eat your heart out Andrew!  We have Braum's ice cream here!!

Our flight to Utah was uneventful and we made good time.