Camping at Lake Conroe

Two weekends ago, we went camping with H's best friend and his girlfriend. They had never been camping before, so we were excited that they were giving it a whirl. Got our tents all set up with a great view of the lake & next to our campfire.



This was my first time camping in an Army Corp of Engineers Park, instead of a state park. It was very nice & clean, but lacked some of the features like playgrounds for kids. Most sites had really nice picnic tables & fire rings, but we were missing our fire ring. We really like Cagle Recreation Area & totally lucked out on getting such an awesome campsite.



We were treated to a gorgeous sunset on Friday night as we grilled up fajitas and ate guacamole!



It was the first weekend of March Madness, so our friend brought his TV and we watched lots of basketball. I don't feel guilty at all- every camper out there had a satellite dish sitting outside of it.



This was our "backyard" for the weekend and the forest was beautiful. There was a little trail down to the lake where we'd walk to go fishing.



The guys did some shore fishing for a little bit, but no catching. Tons of people at the park had nice fishing boats & used the boat ramp at the park.



Saturday morning, we heated up the fajita meat and used some southwest Egg Beaters to make easy & delicious breakfast tacos.



We also went for a walk around the park. It didn't have as many trails as some other parks, but it was fine. The dock had sustained some damage from Hurricane Ike & has yet to be repaired.



This little woodpecker was hanging around all weekend, but luckily he wasn't making too much noise. We saw lots of birds, but no deer. H saw an armadillo at night & I imagine there were some raccoons in the area.



We saw lots of birds out on the water & many fisherman came back with tons of fish.



We found this secluded little picnic area down on the point, which was surrounded by the lake.



We also had PERFECT weather that weekend- not too cold, not too hot, lots of sun and lots of breeze.



The neighbors were all very friendly & gave us their unused firewood.



We had a great time just relaxing and hanging out- the guys played horseshoes.



We also played cards & Uno. And yea, the box wine is perfect to take camping- no messing with foil cutters or corkscrews or glass bottles that can break.



The guys made a beer run to a local convenience store and came back with these. Who the heck thought of such a thing? I wasn't brave enough to try, but they said that they tasted pretty good.



We also hung the hammock and I even took a little nap in it on Saturday.



Saturday night we grilled some yummy burgers right over the open-fire and we also made s'mores!

I was so glad it had rained the previous weekend and the burn-ban was lifted. Camping just ain't right with out a campfire at night. We sat around and played the electronic version of catchphrase and had a blast. I can't wait to go camping again, but it's hard to find many free weekends before it gets blazing hot in these parts.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: One of my friends is in town & I'm getting together with her for dinner tonight!

Weekend Update

Friday, we went to a fabulous steak & lobster dinner at Flemmings & then went to my (rescheduled) 10 year high school reunion. I was able to visit with 2 of my really good friends from high school that I'd lost touch with in the last 10 years. Hopefully I'll also get to hang out with some of the other gals & I've been inspired to do some more high school flashbacks with all my scanned APS photos.



Saturday, I go to sleep in & then went for an invigorating 9 mile jog and it was 40 degrees out! I thought winter was over, but I think the garden will be fine. Then I ran out to the outlet mall before the crowds to get some sunglasses to replace the ones I lost in Cozumel. We also needed a new vacuum cleaner & some more pillows.



When I returned home from shopping, H was eager to get outside and enjoy the awesome weather. I'd been wanting to go walking down on the Buffalo Bayou Trail & take some photos. I'll have lots of pictures coming up of our adventure along the bayou.



We actually wandered down to the skate park & couldn't help but enjoy all the kids playing and skateboarding. I've got some hysterical photos from there too.

Saturday night, we grilled up some pineapple salmon and had some broccoli with feta for a perfect meal.



Sunday, I was able to get some chores done after church & swim a few laps in the pool before we headed over to H's mom's house for an early dinner. They had cooked up enough food for an army!! After that delicious meal, we had to head down to the duplex and finish paving the porch area that we'd started almost 2 years ago! It looked like this before...



...and 2 dozen more pavers later, it looked like this!



I also saw some adorable strawberry plants at Home Depot that I just had to have for the garden. It will give me something to tend to until the rest of the plants really start growing.



They already had a few little baby berries on there! (Excuse the flash- it was dark when I was done planting them). Now the planter box is full- I've lost a few little plants that didn't survive the transition, but we should get plenty of sun this week to get the rest of them growing.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Going to be a great week- lots of good stuff going on!

Art Downtown

I've got a few older shots from downtown. Our "Main Street" is still really struggling and going through a transition phase. Lots of bars/restaurants/clubs are still coming and going.



There has been a nice emphasis on putting neat & unique artwork downtown, but we still need to work on the random litter.



I have such a fascination with clocks- I can't help but photograph them everywhere I go. I probably should seek some counseling for my time obsession.



Our old city courthouse is surround by some beautiful old trees.



I have no clue what these pillars are supposed to be, but they are very neat.



I wonder what secrets all these old downtown lofts hold. Although the top floor looks pretty abandoned, there appears to be some activity on the floor just below it.



Just a few of our big skyscrapers.



I love all the intricate wood-work on this building & how it is sitting on the bayou. If anybody is looking for a cool place to open up a restaurant downtown, I think this spot would be perfect.



The old courthouse is quite a solid structure & made from limestone from the hill country.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Off to Corpus Christi today & then my (re-scheduled from the Hurricane) 10 year high school reunion tonight.

Zoe & the Indian Paintbrushes

I took Zoe out to our local park last week to take some photos of her in the Indian Paintbrushes. There were some gorgeous bluebonnets, but I was too hot & tired to bother to walk around the lake.



It's starting to get very hot here & it didn't take much running around for her tongue to be hanging out.



I took her favorite toy & threw that around a bit just to get her running & retrieving (for a carrot).



That look of determination on her face is priceless.



Her skin is doing about the same (maybe slightly better) on her new all-natural drugs. Hopefully we can start re-introducing some protein back into her diet soon.



Gotta love the floppy ears- she's doing some military maneuvers to get ready for action.



Aren't these pretty little flowers? They are wild & (I think) native to Texas, so they pop up every sprig and paint the fields a gorgeous pink/red color.



Too bad I was too lazy to carry my macro lens out into the field that day.



Portrait time- you can see the fur on her right knee is still pretty thin.



It took a LOT of carrots to get these pictures!



And she's off again!

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: I *LOVE* having a park near us with a great jogging trail.

SpectroMagic Parade

One of the big things I didn't want to miss was the totally cool SpectroMagic night parade at Magic Kingdom. It was one of the few memories I had from my Disneyworld visit when I was 8. I also remember the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad & Space Mountain.

There are tons of parades all throughout the day in most of the parks, but this nighttime parade with lights is really spectacular.



The parade opens with much fanfare....



And starts of with Mickey conducting the whole orchestra! I loved all the music and Disney songs that accompanied each float.



Who doesn't love a giant metronome? And Goofy playing the timpani drums!



It's a bit hard to tell, but that's a saxophone and a violin.



Next up was a grand piano- I can't remember who was playing!



After the musical introduction, we started getting into floats from some of the movies. I have no idea where this peacock was from!



Again, like everything Disney, so much attention to detail and over-whelming visuals.



This fish were adorable- they'd go back and forth across the streets & "visit" little kids.



Some type of fairy princess or maybe a godmother?



And more of the Aerial from the Little Mermaid.



Cinderella came out in an all-white carriage, but within a few seconds it turned into a colorful float with lots of fun lights.



The light-bright carousel ponies were actually moving around in circles on the float.



Some of the dwarfs made an appearance.



From Peter Pan, Captain Hook was there.



And, closing the show was Minnie Mouse on her all-white float, that suddenly changed into....

A multi-color float. This parade was probably one of my favorite things at the park.


After the parade ended, we made a beeline through the gift shops to get great seats for our Wishes fireworks show.


We had the perfect spot to watch the fireworks show & see Tinkerbell fly through the air.


As the show progressed, the castle would change colors to match the mood of the music.



I thought this fireworks show was much better than the one at Epcot!

We are officially finished with Disney posts! :) I had a great time- and it was so nice to go as an adult & enjoy the parks before having kids. I didn't think I'd have as much fun as I did, but I'd highly recommend it at least once for all adults.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Lots of traveling this week for work- San Antonio, Corpus Christi & McAllen.