Bergen in Tiny Town, TX

While Travis and I got to ride the dirt bikes, Bergen took turns riding on the dune buggy with us. He also was in heaven just being outside with yards and yards to run, play, and explore!

He could've stayed there all day long. And if it hadn't started raining as we were packing up I don't know how we ever would've gotten him into the car.

The property we were on had lots of old farm items tossed to the side, getting nice and rustic. Being there could be like a treasure hunt in that who knows what you could find. Pieces of equipment, parts of buildings, rusty bikes, tubs, all kinds of fun stuff. Some of it reminded me of the things I saw all the time as a kid...maybe that's why Bergen liked it there so much. He was feeling my roots :)

Tiny Town, TX

All year Travis has been buying and selling motorcycles and making a little money off each one. He came across this dune buggy and decided to do the same. In the meantime, our neighbors invited us to take it an hour away to their property to spend the morning playing.

And playing we did!

Our neighbors have dirt bikes and let Travis enjoy them a bit. They suggested I try. I've never ridden a bike before and was trying to get out of it but finally caved. I started with Travis sitting on the bike behind me until I got the feel of it. It turned out to be much easier than I had been imagining all these years. And guess what? It's REALLY fun! :)

Murder Mystery

Travis and I got to go to a Murder Mystery dinner at the Brownings. It was set in the 50's and I had a lot of fun getting dressed up for my part of Penny. Curled hair and pin curled bangs, pearl necklace and bracelet, sweater, and pumps. Course I've always been into clothes so it's no wonder I had fun doing that :)

Travis also did a pretty good job playing the kid who never grew up (hmmm, was that intentional?). He sprayed his hair black and slicked it to go with his leather jacket.

It was a lot of fun spending the evening with the Brownings, Lillywhites, and Dinkels!

A Halloween Sneak Peak

Pumpkin Patch

Last week we went to the pumpkin patch (ok, it's really just a bunch of pumpkins placed in a field, but you get the idea). I had a hayday taking pictures...as you will see. It is finally starting to cool off and we can really enjoy being outside and seeing all the fall colors.

Timers are great...except when they take longer than Bergen is willing to sit for it :)

This time Bergen decided to do some jumping :) I love how this captures what he really likes to do...jump! He practices it quite frequently. The other day I think he actually got both feet off the ground, because on his way down his balance was pretty off and he ended up on his back. He seemed quite surprised by it, but got right back up and continued to "jump".

Don't know why but I just LOVE this one.

This excited face is an expression that is SO Bergen! Even though it's blurry how could I not share :)

This one looks like a pretty good one!

There was a big haystack for climbing, and perfect for jumping off!

A pumpkin house.

And the jail. Bergen could've played in here all day! Maybe daddy should build him one...but maybe we will call it something other than the jail :)

Hmmm, I wonder what's over here?

There's that expression again. It sure is a contagious one!

Jail #2. Not quite as fun, but a happy picture with mom.

A few animals to see. Bergen wasn't at all afraid of this BIG horse (well, big compared to little Bergen).

And a hayride. I think Bergen had fun, but he probably would rather have driven the tractor himself.

We caught a quite moment at the blow up pumpkin. Once he was in there I was wondering how we were ever going to get him out. Much to my surprise after playing for a while he decided that was enough and came out willingly. Phew!

Well, I guess that's it. Time to go home.

It was a super fun outing to do all together, and a good reminder to us to get out and make some memories!

A Summer Full of Swimming

We spent a lot of time at the pool this summer. It's amazing how big of a difference 4 months can make!

At the beginning of the summer (last week in May) Bergen wasn't even walking as him main mode of transportation yet. He mostly stood next to things and splashed a little, or clung to us as we hung out in the deep end. We could dunk him under the water while he held his breath, and he didn't mind it too much but only wanted to do it 3 or 4 times in a row before he was done with that swimming activity.

Lots of time in the water together, lots of snacks on the pool deck, and 4 months later (last week of September) we get this...

A little boy that is running around the pool, in and out for hours at a time, filling up buckets and dumping them, throwing water bomb balls, and climbing the crab that squirts water out him mouth. How fun! Oh yes, and the holding his breath to go under the water activity...well now he's good after 1 or 2 dunks :) It will be very fun to see how he likes swimming in another 7 months from now.

Wants to Ride and Drive

This kid loves anything that moves! Travis found this little bike at a garage sale for $4. I think it's been well worth our $4...and we will get even more of our moneys worth when Bergen figures out it not only has a reverse gear, but a forward one too :)

(Apparently sneaking around the corner doesn't even work to get a good video)

We had dinner with my cousins one summer night. They have a fantastic backyard that you could sit and play in all day long. They also have this fancy car. I'm pretty sure Bergen was in it the ENTIRE time we were there! Travis even feed him his dinner while he was in it. Who cares that's it's pink or that it says Barbie on the side. It goes forwards and backwards and even has a radio with lots of buttons to push.

Here's another thing Bergen LOVES to ride...and drive. I have to budget 10 extra minutes for getting in and out of the car because this thing is in our garage and as soon as we go out there Bergen makes a bee line for it!

Hmmm, I see the progression and I know what you're thinking. Bike, Barbie car, dune buggy. What's next? Our car? No, Bergen will not be driving that any time soon...at least not with the keys in the ignition :)

Hogle Zoo

Pictures are worth a thousand words right? Since that's the case I'll just say we went to Hogle Zoo in August. It was a beautiful day and not very crowded. Bergen liked seeing the animals, but what I think he really liked the best was walking around and exploring on his own! See for yourself :)