Frio Rio

Has it really been over a week since I posted last?! I apologize. I can't believe how fast time is going lately...

So. Over the weekend Kyle and I went on a little get-away to the Frio River near San Antonio. It is a 100% spring-fed river, so it was impressively clean and cool (I didn't feel like I was in bathwater all weekend!) It was a GORGEOUS river, and I have pictures to prove it! We took Tucker along with and he had a BLAST. Seriously, I have never seen that dog swim so much. The pictures pretty much explain the weekend, so I will let them speak for themselves!

This is where we spent most of our time, sitting on and around these rocks in the cool water.

I still can't get over how crystal-clear this river was. That is about 5-6 feet deep.

The puppy dogs LOVED it.

Texas' largest tree was right where we stayed for the weekend. It is 96' tall. Circumference of 438". Crown spread of 112'. Seriously HUGE.

The pups look so tiny!

Our group for the weekend.

We were quite impressed with the set-up behind us. Do you see that tent? Those chairs? They had obviously done this a time or two. Don't worry, I took notes.

When we weren't sitting on our rocks, we were floating! .

So relaxing and so refreshing

 Overall it was a super fun weekend outside the city with some great friends! I would definitely go back in a heartbeat. It still was not quite like the lakes in MN, but it was as close as we are going to get I'm afraid! Cheers to the summer!
 

Mulch.

On Monday night I experienced cruel and unusual punishment. Ok, not exactly, but I don't think anyone in their right mind would do what we did. And we did it.

We had 6 cubic yards of mulch delivered to our house. We then carried it back to the backyard, a wheelbarrow load at a time, and then proceeded to spread the mulch along our property line. In 96º heat and 90-something humidity. Yes, we are insane.

This is how much mulch was delivered. It doesn't look like a lot, but that is why I had Tucker sit next to it. He looks TINY compared to that massive pile in our driveway. 

Of course one load with our garbage can to the back confirmed our thoughts. We needed a wheelbarrow. So, off to Lowe's Kyle ran, and that is when I learned how to assemble a wheelbarrow.

I didn't even know they came diss-assembled!

Here are a couple before/after pictures. What do you think, does the black mulch make it look better?

Before

After

After

 And, of course, Tucker did his part to help. He sniffed the mulch here and there. Jumped from shade spot to shade spot, and found the coolest section of freshly laid black mulch to supervise us from. He literally runs this house.

And, to accent the fresh black mulch, my flowers are blooming! Seems like everyday a new one opens!

Hibiscus.

My car has finally read 100º a few times which confirms that summer is here officially. How is YOUR summer going? Hopefully no labor-intensive yard work in 90-something degree heat!

At the Lake

This past week there has been thunderstorms every few days (totally fine with me, fill up that aquifer!) so when the weekend was beautiful hot and sunny, Kyle and I took full advantage. Even though I had to work Saturday morning, we still got loads done around the house so Sunday was literally a fun-day.

Since summer has come later than past years, this was the first time we took Tuck to the lake. I swear he knew where we were going...he was whinning and barking the entire car ride (he usually just lays down and sleeps.) He was so excited that when he first ran into the water, he swam to the middle of the lake! Ok, not the middle, but for sure 300 to maybe 400 yards in the middle (with boats cruising around him). Let's just say I was freaking out, I could barely see his head, so I literally screamed his name and covered my eyes until Kyle said he was swimming back. The little stinker! 

So, without boring you with details, here are some pictures!

This dog can't get enough of the water, and I LOVE taking his picture! Canyon Lake June 2013.

He gets so much air going out after the ball!

When we stopped throwing the ball, he barked and whined until we threw it again. I think he liked it. ;)

Just keep swimming...

The lake is still super low, despite all the recent rainfall. It is the lowest I have ever seen it. So low, in fact, that it has a new "beach" that we hung out on. We had to wade in about 20 feet before the water got to our shoulders. So sad.

Despite the low water, it was still a beautiful day!

This wasn't exactly how we wanted to end the day, but a life-lesson on how to change a tire never hurt anyone, did it? Thankfully we found it on our driveway that night rather than on the side of the road headed to work in the morning!

Photo Dump

As I sat here trying to figure out what to write about, I look back on our past few weeks. I can't believe it's June already. I have NO idea what I did in the months of April and May. Whenever I get this feeling, I go to my phone to see what my snapshots have been of. There is no rhyme or reason to these, and if you follow me on instagram I am sure you have seen most of these. Just a few images from the past couple weeks! (I do realize most of these have Tucker in them, but when Kyle is gone he usually gets 110% of my attention) :)

Some of the flowers mom and I planted. Love how tropical they look!

This was a drink I had at Hofbrau. Sweet Tea, Lemonade and Vodka. Simple, tasty, and seriously quenches your thirst on a HOT day.

This dog LOVES to play fetch and does. not. stop. Constantly putting a ball in your hand or by your feet.

  

The sites of summer! Patio lights, green grass, grilling, and Tucker of course!

When Kyle is away Tucker and I bond. A lot. :)

Hope your June is off to a fabulous start!

Parents Come to Town

I think we ALL know how we managed so much rain down here...my parents brought the rain WITH them! Of course! Luckily, they arrived the night before the monsoons fell, so their flight (even though delayed 5 hours) arrived safe and sound. On Friday, just as we were walking into a store, I happened to look at the clouds. It literally looked like doomsday...wish I would've snapped a picture!

Even though the rains persisted through the weekend, we did not let that hinder our fun. Kyle and I learned how to play Sheephead (it's actually REALLY fun), we talked and laughed and grilled and saw some sights! Even though it was soggy, the temps were still high allowing us for shorts.

Take a look at some of our adventures!

Mom and Dad at the Buckhorn Saloon.

The saloon part of the buckhorn saloon.

 The Buckhorn Museum features wildlife from all over the world; including fish from the seven seas, animals from every continent and strange animal oddities which have been collected for over 100 years. The exhibit halls are comprised of over 520 species of wildlife—many of which are record holders.

Established in 2006, The Texas Ranger Museum, houses hundreds of Texas Ranger artifacts including revolvers, automatic handguns, sawed off shotguns, badges, photographs and much more. They also have a "ranger town," which is a recreation of what San Antonio looked like at the turn of the century. 

 

We managed to walk along the riverwalk in between spouts of rain.

While dad and Kyle checked out Cabelas, mom and I stayed back and planted flowers!

Heavy rains brought beautiful sunsets.

...they also brought out CREATURES. Seen in the grass is about a 4 foot SNAKE. Kyle almost stepped right on it's head while out for a walk at the park. SCARY. I screamed bloody murder (literally the scream heard 'round the park), mom jumped up and ran to the front of the path, and Kyle leap-frogged in front of me with Tucker. That was the first snake I have seen down here and HOPEFULLY the last!

May 2013

All in all it was a wonderful and relaxing weekend with the parents! So good to have them visit! Can't wait for the next time...I know Tucker is looking forward to it...he LOVED dad's "snacks" from the table!

Hope everyone else had a safe and fun Memorial Day Weekend!