Many Masks

The boys have been creating orc masks over the past week.

Wins and Winks

Lennon's team won their bracket in the Classic League Qualifying Tournament this past weekend, and made it into Division 1 for this season.

Lennon had a goal and two assists, while playing a few new positions for the first time. This year is shaping up to be a great experience for him.

But in the meantime..

zzzzzzzzzzz

A Half Day at the Beach

“It is a happy talent to know how to play.” 
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

So we played at the beach at Lake Ray Roberts today. Well, not all of us, Lennon played soccer.

A Baptist church from Dallas had adult baptisms in the lake, which was quite wonderful to watch. It was obvious that each of these adults were full of joy. Lots of singing, cheering and clapping.

Dallas World Aquarium

The kids and I went to the Dallas World Aquarium this week. We learned a lot (because there is not a day we don't learn). It had been a few years since our last visit there - we had forgotten all about the beauty of the colors and textures in the deep sea.

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” 
― Benjamin Franklin

“Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.” 
― Socrates

Texas Sky

Taken on one of my morning walks.

Before an evening storm.

All I want for Christmas is a Play-mobile Hospital Set..

Kassidy lost another tooth tooth today, so she now officially needs her two front teeth. Kind of a right of passage, I suppose.

But don't ask her if she wants them for Christmas, she would rather have the merchandise instead.

Out Foxed

Lennon went up against his best friend Fox this weekend (he is the goalie), playing his first games with FC Dallas.

Fox made a great save to stop that shot, but Lennon would move on to score his first goal with the team during the next game.

Next time, Fox. 

Next time..

Fossil Rim Wildlife Center

 Friday, July 7th, I took the Doescher and Milette kids on a little day trip. We had so much fun together. Here are a few pictures I managed to take of kids and animals.

The car was fully loaded. For the drive through, we just unbuckled and loaded up the  seats. Well, Lennon decided having the third row to himself was just fine.

 There were many young animals. I don't know how many Addax calves we counted.

 The fallow dear (dama dama, as Katharine prefers to call them by their scientific name) became a favorite of Katharine.

 At the half way point of the drive through, we had a nice picnic lunch and I managed  to take a group picture of all seven.

 mother giraffe and calf

 Nice picture of an adult Wildebeest. They too, had four or five calves.

 a female Fallow Deer

 Scimitar -horned- Oryx. Fossil Rim participated in a reintroduction project for these animals by supplying animals in 2006.

 two Fallow deer fawns

Gwen and Lukas

  The giraffe encounter was awesome.

 A Hartman 's Mountain zebra. Fossil Rim is the only facility in the US that has this kind of zebra.

 Keira's favorite animals had cubs, too. Here is a mother cheetah with three cubs hanging out in the shade. Fossil Rim has a cheetah breeding program that has produced 125 cubs since 1986.

Two female Blackbucks. The Blackbucks are near threatened in their native India and Pakistan. Due to the popularity of hunting ranches there, there are now more Blackbuck in Texas than in their native India and Pakistan.

Two European Red Deer.

The view is always. gorgeous. There were many more  animals off the paved roads that we were only able to see from the distance. Katharine has a video of our Ostrich encounter which she will have to share with us. Fossil Rim also has an intensive management area that is the  home of the more sensitive species such as Coati, Grevy's zebra, Maned Wolf, Mexican Gray Wolf, Red Wolf, and others.