Labor Day Weekend

This weekend we made a trip out to Grapeland with our favorite Olive's. We left after work on Friday, and took the minivan so we could all fit in one vehicle. After squeezing six of us in with our luggage and kiddie paraphernalia we were on the road!

We made a pit-stop at a little diner in Trinity for dinner. We tried Deacon in his very first restaurant highchair, and he was excited to sit up like a big boy, and stayed that way for the entire meal.

We made it into Grapeland after 10 pm that night. Ashley and I went to bed at a decent hour, while the boys, including Carson, stayed up way too late hanging out and playing video games.

The next morning we got ready and headed out to Salmon Lake Park in town, where they were having their annual Blue Grass Festival. I went to Salmon Lake as a kid and always had a blast. They have a decent size swimming lake in the middle, surrounded by old time cabins and a play ground. We were a little surprised to pull up and find the cost was $15/person, but we paid it anyways. We had fun, but I'm not thinking it was worth 60 bucks.

We spent the majority of our time swimming in the lake.

We enjoyed the background noise of blue grass music (if you don't know what that sounds like, think O Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack), but these people took it SERIOUSLY. For you Houston folks, it was like Buzz Fest for senior citizens. They sat in their lawn chairs captivated.

Afterwards, we went back to the house and did a little shooting.

Carson shot the gun for his first time too!

We were excited that the weather cooled off a little, and we were able to pull the playpen outside for Deacon to soak up the sun. Carson thought he would keep his little brother company.

I love going to Grapeland, but sometimes it can be a little too much nature for me. I like being out in the country, but I do NOT do bugs. Conversely, Carson LOVES bugs and has no fear of them. He discovered a GINORMOUS banana spider and drug us over to see it all weekend. Then he would get entirely too close to it and freak me out. He insisted I take this picture of him posing like he is going to catch it with a net.

Being teachers, we had to at least show him the science behind spider webs and how they are used to catch food. We spoiled that stupid spider by catching grasshoppers to throw at the web so we could watch it attack. By the third grasshopper the spider was over it and no longer wanted to mess with its meals. Brandon then proceeded to tap the spider and its web in attempt to entice it to move. All it did was give me a panic attack.
That night we laughed at the boys while they got down to business with Mario Galaxy.

Yes, they are dorks.

Our last full day we did the typical toy riding. Deacon rode on his first 4-wheeler too.

After re-packing all of our stuff today, and a miracle of God, we made it off the property at exactly noon. We even had time to stop for lunch at Texas Burger in Crockett. Carson ordered the messiest vanilla ice cream on the face of the earth, and was sweet enough to share with Deacon.

This trip was a fantastic way to kick off the school year! We are hoping by our trip next year we will be bringing another child with us, courtesy of the Olive family! :)