Family Outing

On Wednesday we were supposed to go to the Ft. Worth Zoo, but the weather didn't cooperate with us. We had extreme thunderstorms as well as flooding and hail in some areas. Fortunately by about 1:00pm the weather had calmed down, but by then it was already too late for us to make the drive to Ft. Worth. So instead we headed north up to Sherman to check out a bird refuge up by Lake Texoma. The park was beautiful even if it was a little muddy! The wildflowers were in full bloom, there were butterflies everywhere, and we saw some interesting birds. There were some hiking trails as well as a car tour that you could take through the park (which we couldn't do because the water in Texoma was so high that it flooded part of the trail!). We did find a trail that wasn't too muddy that we could walk down aways until we realized that a pond had flooded a low part of it. We definitely want to go back when it's a little less muddy!

After our little hike and bird watching we headed into downtown Sherman where we found a Cracker Barrel and had a fun dinner together. We left with full tummies, Cotton Candy and Rootbeer candy sticks, and some lemon drops. It was a fun day even if we couldn't make it to the zoo.

(It was a little hard for me to get some good pictures because my camera's battery was nearly dead, so all I could do was turn the power on, point, and click before it died.)

Kyle, Janelle, & Spencer on our teeny tiny hike. Spencer preferred to walk and eat rocks rather than be carried.

Picture 1: Every time Kyle tried to put Spencer on his shoulders, Spencer would do this. He wanted to play with Daddy's nose and stick his fingers in Daddy's mouth. Kyle just loved it. (Ha ha!)

Picture 2: A quaint little cemetery we passed by that I thought was so pretty. It definitely had character, one tombstone we saw had a big fish carved into it, I guess the person buried there was a big fisherman.

Pretty views of the lake and the wildflowers.

Picture 1: What cuties!!!
Picture 2: This is a tree called a Cedar of Lebanon planted by the guy who's parents pioneered out there and settled the little town of Hagerman where the refuge is. I just thought it was cool and made Kyle stop on the side of the road so I could take a picture. I think it looks like the "Lion King" tree. :)




Janelle loved the park and enjoyed our little walk. On our hike she was very determined to find a lady bug and roly polie. We didn't see either of them, but we saw LOTS of butterflies, a few dragonflies, and some bees! She really liked the butterflies until they kept flying all over her, then she just got annoyed! "I think ladybugs are better, Mom."