Valentine's Day!

the girls with their Valentine butterflies from Mom filled with candy hearts, and their pink heart pancakes for breakfast!

Bart also gave the girls their very own potted Marigold flower, and he gave Al some beautiful potted Tulips (her favorite)!

Al gave Bart a bumblebee Valentine filled with candy hearts and a Twix candy bar.

Lots of Love!!!

Allison's Birthday!

Al with some of her presents (a jacket and shoes)

and for dessert.... Blueberry Muffins! YUM!

making a wish

George Ranch Historical Park

On February 7th we decided to go to George Ranch Historical Park. It is the center point of a 23,000-acre working ranch. The ranch was passed down from mother to daughter starting in the 1830s. At each site there are people in costume who tell about the family during a certain time period and take you on a tour of their house also from that time period (1830s-1930s). It was very interesting and neat to see.

The Jones' House (the first house built on the ranch)

a pioneer showing the girls the different kinds of cotton grown on the ranch. It was the children's job to get all the seeds out of the cotton and they had to fill their shoes with cottonseeds before they could eat dinner.

the kitchen in the Jones House

Jenna climbing the ladder to the loft where the kids slept

Bart trying to pet the baby piglets

typical sign anywhere near water in Texas

we spotted several alligators in the little river

Bart and the girls on the bridge

the girls looking for alligators

working on the railroad

we thought this was a cow laying down, but when we got closer we realized

that it was a huge pig!

the kitchen in the servants house

The Davis House

so happy to be at the Davis house

the girls in a sweet treehouse

A Trip to the Zoo

We decided to take the kids to the zoo on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (Jan. 19th). However, we didn't realize that it was a "free day" at the zoo so it was packed! Needless to say we didn't stay long, but we still had a great time.the girls

Mom and baby elephant

Al and Jens

loving the zoo!

The longhorn a "Texas Original"

McPhee Visitors!

Late Christmas night Allison's Dad, Mom, Corbin and Kelsey came to visit. They were able to stay through the New Year and, as you can see, we were able to do a lot of fun things while they were here. It was so nice to have some family around for the Holidays! Thanks for coming!

WE MISS YOU GUYS!!

Kemah Boardwalk

the group at the entrance to Kemah Boardwalk (it was almost completely destroyed by the hurricane but has been mostly rebuilt)

us on the boardwalk overlooking the bay

Bart and Corbin taking a ride on "The Bullet" roller coaster

a view of the roller coaster

Al and Kels by a palm tree

The Houston Space Center

The group of us at the Space Center

us by the "Men on the Moon" display

inside the control room of a space shuttle

Bart and Jenna trying to land a space shuttle

sweet sisters!

More Space Center Fun

Bri and Jenna in a space racer

Bart giving the astronaut a high five

Jenna the aspiring astronaut

Brielle trying on the astronaut suit

trying their hand at flying a space shuttle

The Houston Texas Temple

A picture of our family (obviously not at the temple but taken on the same day)

Kelsey, Corbin, Mom and Dad in front of the Houston Temple

Bart, Bri, Jens and Al in front of the temple

Allison and Bart by the entrance of the temple

Jenna's 6th Birthday

The Beautiful Birthday Girl!

Is this a tutu or a clown wig?


opening presents

Jenna with her birthday stuff!

making a wish!

A Day at the Beach

checking out more hurricane Ike damage

Bart trying his hand at sailing

our picnic on the beach (sorry it's sideways?!)

the crazy kids going for a dip (what the picture doesn't depict is that it was only 60ish degrees outside! BRRR!)

running into the ocean