Happy (not Crotchety) 40 year-old

Here he is with some of the funnier gifts from friends who attended our party last week.

It’s just that kind of a day

Kiwi's yawn captures the mood of the day.

Glamour Shot

Even the ol' Dodge deserves a glamour shot every once in a while. Sunset in Dripping Springs after a long day hauling gear into camp.

Nearly Indestructible Piñata

It was a whole-family effort (thank you everyone!), but we managed to build, paint, and hang our very own pinata before the guests arrived for Daddy's birthday party.  The videos below capture nearly 2 hours of entertainment enjoyed by all during the party.  A lot of the kids lost interest after the first hour or so and left the rest of the heavy lifting to a handful of parents and especially-dedicated (i.e. competitive) bigger kids, but the hordes returned when the candy finally started to flow.

I think, in the end, everybody enjoyed the fact that more than the first three people in line got a turn with this pinata...

---

---

---

---

---

---

So yeah... that happened.

Spring Break in Dripping Springs

Riding the four-wheeler is still one of the kids' favorite activities. No, they don't get to ride it like this! There's always an adult driving. But they like to pretend! 

There are endless things to explore, both big and small. 

Climbing trees is a must. 

No trip to Dripping Springs is complete without something to build! This is a water catcher that will provide water for wildlife and the occasional city-dwellers who show up and have to wash their hands.

Piñata Prep

Mami left town so Daddy and the kids built a piñata for Daddy's upcoming birthday party. I'll report back next week with the test results.

Nose Massagers

I'm not sure what else to say...

What a...

...mess?

...beautiful rainbow?

...maybe both?

The important thing is that all the kids helped together to pick up and sort all the little rubber bands back into their sorter tray.

Green doughnuts?

Only in the days before St. Patrick's Day. Good thing they tasted better than they looked!

Saying good-bye to the “baby slides”

As part of digging out the deck from all the debris from work we are having done on the playroom, we decided it was time to get rid of the "baby slides." We asked Portia and Wiley whether that was ok, and they said yes after one final slide down each.

Kids enjoying Carl the Snowman

The story was too long...

Both Wiley and Portia *really* wanted to listen to Graydon's bed time story, but it was just a little too complicated, and too late, and too... yawn. So they fell asleep and now Mami gets to carry them into their own beds.