Dino Park or Great Scott We Finally Made It!

Alas, a wonderful day came on Tuesday that was cloudy and perfect to spend a couple of hours in Bastrop, at The Dinosaur Park. I know it sounds odd that a cloudy day would be a perfect day, but with it being the norm this summer for the temperatures to hang out nicely above 100, clouds make it less burdensome. It was a 30 minute drive for us, but with the back seat full of books, the kids didn't really notice. Sneaky. I know.

When I pull into the driveway for the dinosaur park there were three small PrimeRose buses, which is a daycare out here. I was a little bummed, but then I noticed that they must have all come about 15 minutes apart because they were separated pretty well in small groups. Not too bad. The first place you walk in is the gift shop, which of course is bursting with dinosaurs in every corner. I about lost it. It was incredible. I might have to remember this place for Christmas presents for little man. Devon had to drag me past all the shelves of dinosaurs so we could pay to get into the park.

The park really consists of two parts. One is a 1/2 mile trail where you see the dinosaur sculptures and the other has a playground, picnic tables and a dino-dig area to dig for dinosaur "fossils." When we headed over to the trail to start the tour, we had a clipboard with scavenger hunt clues. I wasn't sure if Devon would get what a scavenger hunt was, but of course she found everything but one, and I couldn't even find it. It just gives us a reason to go back another day.

So here are the pictures I know you are dying to see. :)

Here are the kids with a Stegoceras. Once Matthew saw this he started squealing "di-di!" Too cute! And then as we walked on he was eagerly looking around the woods for more "di-di's." It really is a great place, as you walk through the trails it gives you the feeling of being on a dinosaur safari.

This is the kids with one of the most recognizable dinosaurs, the Triceratops. These statues are built to scale, so seeing just how big these creatures were is incredible. Or I'm just a big dino-dork.


Along the trail there were a couple of statues for photo opportunities and interaction. This is the kids with a baby Apatosaurus. After playing with this dinosaur Matthew didn't want to keep going. He wanted to stay and play with it. It took a little convincing, but finally I said "I see more dinosaurs" and he got back in. :) More sneakiness. I should write a book called, The Sneaky Mom.
Here are the kids with my personal childhood favorite, the Stegosaurus. It was huge!

I know the kids aren't in this picture, but you can't ignore the T-Rex. He is actually placed along the trail to where you go around a corner and BAM! there is a T-Rex. Very clever Dinosaur Park.
After the T-Rex, was its' nest with a baby T-Rex. The kids loved climbing all over it.


After finishing the trail, we had some lunch and the kids played on the playground and in the dig pit. But before we left, because dark rain clouds were headed our way, I snagged some pictures of the kids playing with this random T-Rex head. It thought it was awesome that there was a place in the back to climb in the mouth. Super funny.

Overall, this is a really neat park. If we are ever to win the lottery I would donate lots of money to this park. This is the only dinosaur park I have ever heard of. Oh and I forgot to mention most of the dinosaurs at the park, have been found in Texas. I thought that was cool. Of course I didn't show them all. I wouldn't want to spoil all the fun.

Hooray for Backup Plans

So this morning started out a little cloudy, and I thought "what a great day to go to the Dinosaur Park!" I've been wanting to take the kids there all summer and finally I found a day when we could go. We had no errands to run, no traveling, housework wasn't pretty caught up, and no one was sick, all perfect conditions for a morning trip to the dino park. This morning I was able to pack a picnic lunch without the kids even noticing. Once we were all dressed and it was close to time to head out I told Devon where we were going. She started bouncing up and down. Then Matthew started bouncing because Devon was.

At around 9:30 we head out to the car, because the park opens at 10:00, why they don't open early in the summer is beyond me. So the car is all packed and I am buckling Matthew when it dawns on me that when I was looking at there website the other night it said they were CLOSED on Wednesdays. I wanted to cry! All that work and good timing gone to waste. Bummer.

So I gently tell Devon that they are closed today and she actually took it very well. I still got in the car and started it. We had packed a picnic and the stroller, by George, we were going somewhere. So the next best thing was Zilker Park, because it's free. We head out and when we get there I see daycare buses. Uhg! Luckily they weren't on the playground and the kids got a good 30 minutes before the daycare kids came over to the playground. After that we walked around Barton Creek, and watched the train pass by about four times. It's a shame I didn't have any cash on me, I could see Matthew was pleading with his eyes to ride it.

After we had all the fun we could, we ate lunch and headed home. We left at 11:30 and we were all sweating. This summer has seemed much more brutal than usual. A few weeks ago I tried to take the kids to a park nearby and even when arriving at 8:30 the equipment was hot to touch. So here is a small replay of the kids time at the park.

Ever since Matthew was about 10 or 11 months old he has always gone down slides backwards on his belly. It's so funny to watch. There was even a tube slide that he tried to wiggle onto backwards, he wasn't able to make it though because it was not flush with the platform.

Here the kids are driving the firetruck together. I somehow managed to get them smiling at each other. They really are some sweet kids.

This one is funny. Matthew looks concerned because I snapped this picture right after the Zilker train had tooted it's horn. He had never seen the train before, but he knew there was something interesting coming.

They stood up on the fire truck to get a good view of the training passing by. I really wish I could have taken them on the train. Next time I'll bring cash for sure. Matthew was pointing at the train.

This is of course my favorite picture. They were building a "pebble castle." That was Devon's term for it. I really am blessed to have some sweet kids. Even though they are four years apart they still play very well together and truly love each other and I think this photo really captures that. Of course they have their spats here and there, but that just helps them grow closer in the long run. Right?

First Harvest

Well, the tomato plants my neighbor gave me have really taken off. They are about 4 1/2 feet tall now. And there are lots and lots and lots of yummy tomatoes coming in. My Roma bush has about a dozen green ones and the two pear tomato bushes have about three dozen tomatoes on them. And I have learned a valuable lesson, gardeners need patience. Silly me thought that shortly after a tomato sprouted out on the plant I would get a yummy red tomato. Wrong. It takes about three weeks for them to ripen on the vine. So right now I just have to keep watering and waiting.

I have harvested two Roma tomatoes. They were yummy, but tiny. I haven't figured out why they are so small. I need to google that. The first tomato I chopped up and put in some guacamole, mmmmmh. The second tomato I let Matthew hold, and I toook a picture to show just how tiny it was.

Well, it wasn't but a moment after I handed the tomato to him that he put in in his mouth.

He wasn't a big fan of the green stuff.

So he gave it back to me seeming disappointed.

I took off the leaves and gave it back and he chomped down on half of it.
Then a few seconds later he stuffed the other half in his mouth. Once he was done chewing he started walking towards the back of the yard. He wanted another one. Cute huh? Too bad there wasn't any for him to pick.
I also pulled up one of my baby carrots too because I thought it looked ready.

I'm pretty sure they need a bit more growing to do. But it's getting close. Maybe in a month I'll try again. It was really bizzar. The carrot was bendy like a rubber pencil. So I'm only guessing they need to sit longer. Maybe I should google that too.