Hamilton Pool Preserve

This jewel of a swimming hole takes a bit of work to get to, but it's well worth it. It's about a 1/2 mile slightly strenuous but beautiful hike from the parking lot to this natural spring fed pool near Bee Caves. The scenery reminded me of the forests in Kentucky. We enjoyed swimming in the refreshingly cool water, and hiking around the stone enclave where hundreds of swallows are currently nesting in the roof.

End of Kindergarten Party

James ended his fantastic Kindergarten year with a fun Hawaiian luau themed party which featured two wonderful plays put on the the class, yummy food and singing and dancing. James will miss all of his Kinder friends and especially his teacher, the wonderful Ms. Wentworth. She is retiring this year after 30+ years of teaching ... what a great class with which to finish off her career!

Pedernales River and Falls

As things are starting to heat up a bit down here in Texas, and since we don't currently have the responsibilities of home ownership, we've taken advantage of some extra free time to explore some scenic spots to cool off. Here are a couple of photos of the Pedernales (pronounced "PER d'NAL es" River where we enjoyed swimming and picnicking one day, and also the scenic Pedernales Falls.

Soccer

The boys earned medals at their last YMCA soccer game. Way to go James and Andrew -- well deserved!

Johnson City Exotic Zoo

To celebrate Andrew's preschool graduation, we spent a morning at this most unique petting zoo in Johnson City. There were hundreds of domestic and imported animals from around the world which included: deer, antelope, elk, zebra, ostrich, camel, ksngaroo and more. We road all around the ranch in a trailer and the animals would come right up to us for food. Some were quite aggressive and would steal the feed cup right from our hands. Definitely a worthwhile experience!

Andrew's Graduation

Andrew graduated from the Shepherd of the Hills Preschool on May 19. When each child went to the front of the stage to receive his or her diploma they were asked what they wanted to be when all grown up. Andrew responded with great enthusiasm, "an alien". That got some chuckles from the audience, but he was serious! Too much Ben 10 I guess -- a popular cartoon where the main character turns into aliens to fight the bad guys. Well done Andrew! May this be the first of many diplomas for you!