Garner State Park 2010

It's that time of year again!  Every summer since Craig was a kid, he has gone to Garner State Park with his family.  I think this was my 6th time to go.  We've missed 2 summers since we've been married (one I had just started a new job and the other was last summer and Harper was just born).  We rent a house, play domnioes, cards, baseball, ride bikes, climb mountains, float the river, jump off rope swings, dance, eat and just have fun!

Around the house...
Our house has this really great patio that we sit on pretty much all the time.  The kids can run around, play a game, and ride bikes while we just hang out, read a book, and drink Iced Tea.  We didn't bring Sydney's tricycle with us but every other kid had a bike there so Granny and Papaw went to Wal-Mart and bought Sydney a new bike with training wheels.  She was soooo excited!!  She rode it all the time and looked so big on it. 

The morning she got her new bike!

With her little friend Sailor

Relaxing in the hammock with Daddy

Watching deer in our "backyard"

The Atkinson family

Down by the riverside...
This was the first year that we had Sydney actually float the river with us.  She went between my tube, Craig's tube and Granny's tube.  But in the end, a 2 hour float is just too long for a 3 year old.  Luckily we found a great spot down by the river where the kids could actually float all by themselves.  We also found a rope swing that Sydney first went on with daddy but then actually did it by herself (though I don't have any pictures of it).  She had such a fun time swimming in the river...she's our little fish!  Harper also loved going down to the river.  Everything is rocks and Harper loved picking the rocks up and then dropping them back into the water.  It's the simple things!

Coltin jumping off the rope swing

Dustin's turn

There goes Sydney and daddy

Harper's own little pool

All tuckered out!

Sydney about to float by herself!

Daddy sends her off

Don't worry, Papaw is down there to retrieve her!

Dustin

Coltin being daring...on his stomach and no hands!

Sydney goes again!

Two peas in a pod

Pretty Sailor

Harper is loving this!

The Steakhouse...

One of our favorite places in Garner is a steakhouse called House Pasture Cattle Company.  The food is great and this year that added movie night too!  They played Cars on a big screen oustide which the kids loved.  They also have a play area so all in all it's just a great, family-friendly place to go!

Cole and Sydney playing at the playground

Granny and Papaw with the girls

The fam

Aw!

Silly girl!

Watching the helicopter tours take off and land

The whole gang!

Cars!

The DANCE!
Everynight inside the park (we stay outside the park), there is a dance.  A true two-stepping country dance.  For those of you that know Craig, I bet you didn't know what an awesome two-stepper he is!  :)  Sydney had her first dance with a boy while we were there.  Sweet little Cole (a friend of Shane and Samantha's son) asked her to dance.  She was super excited.  I'm told she also danced with another boy who asked her (someone we didn't know) but Craig and I had already left for the night with Harper so we didn't see that one.  Sydney mostly just wanted to run around or twirl while Harper enjoyed walking the dance floor.  Good times!

Harper walking the floor...we got there early this night before it got crowded

Showing off her moves

All this dancing makes a girl thirsty

I think she loves her daddy!

Dancing so fast they are just a blur

Sailor and Sydney

Sydney's first boy/girl dance...look at that look on her face

Climbing Old Baldy...
Baldy is a mountain in Garner that has some really great trails that you can hike.  Okay, maybe it's not a mountain mountain per se, but for Texas that's as close as we get.  We got up early one morning and a big group of us went climbing.  About halfway up Baldy there is a cave called Icebox cave.  It got it's name because, well, it's cold like an icebox inside.  Great way to cool off after some hiking.  Somehow, I got to be the leader of our group back into the cave.  It's only a couple of feet wide but it goes really far back.  I had a flashlight to lead us and then I think someone in the middle had one too.  After Icebox Cave, we finished climbing to the top.  At the top, there is a hill made of stones and you are supposed to throw on your own rock to symbolize making it to the top.  Some of the rocks are even written on with names and dates which I thought was a cool idea, too bad none of us had a sharpie on hand!  Everyone made it up (and down) safely and we had a great time climbing Baldy this year.

Craig and Sammy

The George's

The Atkinson's (Craig's brother)

The boys at the mouth of Icebox Cave

Sammy found his own air conditioned seat

Me, the fearless leader with the boys

My attempt at taking a picture of our group inside the cave - it was pitch black so it took forever for my camera to figure out what it was focusing on!

Uncle Craig and Dustin

Me and Sammy

Taking a rest!

Craig straddling a gigantic crevice in the rock

Now, doing a pushup over that crevice...haha Craig.

Cameron and Coltin

We made it to the top!

On top of the pile of rocks

The boys throwing their rocks on the pile

The whole gang minus our photographer Cameron

Craig and I with the river below

What a great time we had this year!!  As the Garner song says "I'll be back again next year! At Garner State Park"