Hola de nuevo amigos

The latest trip with the zoo involved an airplane ride with my little cowpokes to San Antonio, TX to visit our cousins.

We first visited the "Texas Verners" two years ago never dreaming that we would be lucky enough to be able to return so soon ... this time, we are leaving amidst promises to have Thanksgiving in Texas!

summertime exuberance, 2011

more exuberance 2 years later

You know that feeling when you are fully aware that the very moment you are living in will be remembered for the rest of your life?

That is what every moment has been like for the past week.

The memories that are being made this week are ones that my children will carry into their adulthood and beyond.

Charlie with his very favorite person on earth (and beyond), his cousin Vivian!

an afternoon pedi from cousin Jillian

Hannah hangin' with the big girls

They are the memories that will eventually bore my grandchildren when my own children begin retelling the stories of, "the summer when I was little and we went to Texas ...."

off to feed the goats 

I am unused to a vacation that doesn't involve militant sightseeing, synchronized itineraries, and the sound of our minivan's GPS stating, "follow this road for the next 267 miles".  During our week at the ranch, our daily decisions  revolved around sitting on the deck,

swimming in the pool,

Ava teaching Charlie how to swim without swimmies!!

brotherly love

relaxing on the hammock,

eating, always eating,

grilling by flashlight

Texas sized cornbrad!

Charlie had a permanent "Tang moustache" all week long!!

nothing beats real Texas Bar-b-que

or practicing ninja cowboy moves (some of us more than others on this one!!)

Hi Ho Silver, away!!!

The days were long and lazy and filled with laughter and tranquility.

The nights were full of good conversation, great wines and cool breezes.  Oh, and don't let me forget, the mornings -- they were filled with Starbucks brewed specially by my 12 year old barista nephew, Paul Henry!!

brewing a cup of love!

There were midnight games of manhunt that ended with the kids jumping into the pool for chicken fights,

and exhilerating rides from the treehouse down the zipline.

We did occasionally leave the ranch.  There were various trips to the movie theaters for both the big and small kids, the older girls checked out the shopping mall, and the kids went bowling courtesy of Uncle Frank.  The "adults" went shopping in Fredericksburg, and Boerne (where we almost got a free puppy, but that is a blog for another day!!),

Hannah ventured down to the Alamo and the Riverwalk in San Antonio with her uncle and cousins,

and the whole gang went underground to check out Cascade Caverns -- an enjoyable way to beat the 106 degree temperatures!

Yep, those are bats above Paul's head!

Childhood is, by definition, fleeting.  I am very aware that, all too soon, my children will be leaving our home and embarking on their own life journies.  I want to cram as much as possible into their lives before they leave.  I want to show my children the world;  I dream of eating croissants with them aboard a bateaux mouche, of capturing them in the perfect sunset along the Serengeti, or of snorkeling along side them at the Great Barrier Reef, but even if we are able to travel to the ends of the earth in search of great adventures, nothing will compare to the simple luxury of a lazy summer vacation spent with family.

dogs v. kids soccer tournament!

Here's to our next visit in ... ???