Mike Zip Lining

Go Mike! For a guy who says he may be slightly afraid of heights, he did a fabulous job!!! Not once was he concerned about flying 190 feet above the ground and he even enjoyed looking down into the canyon! What an anniversary!

Happy 10th Anniversary!

Mike and I thought we would celebrate BIG for our 10th, and we decided to go zip lining in Wimberley, TX. Great fun. Look carefully at the world events written on the locker door at the zip lining place, last is Mike and Liz's anniversary...FUN!!!

Great days!

What a great Father's Day we all had. Here we are taking a picture with the jalepeno mascot! Happy Father's Day to all.

The Piesman Family Competition

And guess who should be called out onto the field for the family competition? The Piesmans! Of course we were against a family with an 8 and 6 year old boys, so the competition was rough. We lost by only one beanbag, but had a great time being on the field.

Father's Day at the Missions Game

We enjoyed a lovely 104 degree game (luckily in the shade)to celebrate Father's Day. As you can see, Mike is really enjoying himself. Sam kept asking, "Are they better than the Red Sox?" I tried to explain the difference between major and minor leagues, but the concept was lost. Their mascots were a taco and a jalapeno pepper...only in San Antonio!

Father's Day Brunch

We had a lovely brunch with our family and we invited our friend, Mark, who is now a single dad while his wife is deployed to Iraq. First we swam and then enjoyed some eggs and french toast.

Good Job, SAM

I love this video, and love the "Good Job, Sam" that Tyler screams out right at the beginning. Sam had a great two weeks at the San Antonio Academy and it is so exciting that he can now read. As he embarks on Spanish immersion in just two months, and learns to read only in Spanish, his English reading will certainly serve him well.

My Golden Cup

Sam was so pleased to receive his first Golden Cup for completing two weeks at Early Bird Reading Camp. He is now reading "real books" (Levels 1 and 2) which is great!!!

Learning Phonograms

Here is Sam in his camp class learning phonograms and origins of words. I am so proud that he knows what a 'chandelier' is, despite not having one in his home. Go SAM!

Ferry Boat Ride, A.K.A SAM

Sam is becoming quite the swimmer, now he even enjoys shuttling his brother, who is also an excellent swimmer, from one end of the pool to the other.

Snakes at the Zoo

Chilling

Tyler was enjoying watching Sam's swim meet the other night. As you can see, he is very relaxed, legs crossed and all!

Tyler at Zoo Camp

Here is Tyler at his Zoo Camp last week. He had a great time exploring the zoo with Ms. Mina, the educational director. He made footprints, bird feeders, binoculars, and many other crafts. He also was able to get up close and personal to many of the animals, including a snake, frog, turtle and macaw. He is already asking to go back again (every day).

Backstroke...OOPS, Wrong Lane!

Here is Sam's backstroke debut, as you can see, he had some trouble staying in his own lane. Even so, he ended up performing well and coming in second. Thankfully, the boy's lane he jumped into was a bit far behind and didn't notice a thing.

My Hiker and I

Here we are nearing the end of the hike, enjoying the cooler North Carolina weather and the green scenery.

More RIver Photos

The boys found a 'see-saw' and enjoyed sitting on it and floating on the river. They also found the crawdaddy and here you see them showing it off.

To the River...Slippery

At the end of the hike, we got to the river. Jocelyn, Ben, Tyler and I were searching for a "CRAW-DADDY", Ben's cross between a crawfish and Steve. Well, I found a dead crawfish at the bottom of the river, fished it out with the net and voila, "Craw-daddy". Ben was beside himself, smiling from ear to ear.

More Hiking

Here are the boys enjoying each other's company and enjoying the bugs and the wonderful hike.

Cicada Finding

Here are the boys jumping over dead cicadas, catching a few caterpillars, worms and flies. They were both very happy, Sam would have loved it...so many bugs.

Hiking in North Carolina

Jocelyn planned a great trip for us hiking with the boys to a wading river. We got to cross over this suspension bridge, which the boys seemed to actually like. Ben and Tyler were expert hikers, not an ounce of complaining, enjoying the scenery and stopping to pick up bugs and caterpillars on the way...real nature buffs.

Making Music

At the museum, the boys got to make music with household items, like dustpans and fire extinguishers...they really loved it. We then got a back stage seat to the North Carolina Symphony outdoor performance that night to see how real musicians expertly played their drums and other instruments.

Trip to North Carolina

Here are Ben and Tyler enjoying some time at the Life and Science Museum. We saw butterflies, fish, ants (my favorite) and beetles. Ben and Tyler had a great time together (and I did too)! Great museum, great kids!

Last Day of Preschool

Here is Sam for the last day of preschool, he was VERY excited, however this picture may show a bit of anticipation. Way to GO, SAM!!!

Texas State Aquarium

We visited the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi on the way to the beach. We watched the dolphin show, followed a tortoise around and enjoyed the beach, thanks Stoney and Doug for lending us your beach house!!!