New Year's Camping Trip

 The Kids at the tennis courts

 Christa walking down to the lake

 The lake is way down this year.

Greerson and Daryl decided to go camping with the Gill's the week after New Years. We headed to Lake Whitney Thousand Trails for  couple of days. The weather is unseasonably warm, highs in the 50s and 60s and lows in the 30s and 40s. Perfect weather for camping. We met the Gills and had camp set up by mid-afternoon and then decided to go grocery shopping. We had tacos for dinner and stayed up playing Skip Bo. The next morning Jessica made biscuits and gravy which was a real treat. Then the kids played around the campsite and we all went up to the lodge for miniature golf. Jessica had to go back to Waco for an interview, so Mike and Daryl held down the fort. Christa came out that evening and we enjoyed another round of Skip Bo. It was a little cold, but the furnace in the camper worked great along with the heated mattresses. The next morning we ate waffles and then went down to the lake to go fossil hunting. There were a lot of them visible since the lake was so low. After that we packed up and headed back to Waco. It was a great escape for the beginning of the New Year.

New Years 2012

 This is a Bobcat we saw last week next to the house

It was a pretty good sized cat, but there is even a bigger one out there. Glynda saw a Mountain Lion a couple of weeks ago.

 Go Bears!!!! Baylor won the Alamo Bowl this week!

Greerson waits for his prey

 The hunters return

 Bill and Rhetta check out the Elk

Caroline checks out some tracks left behind by the hogs

 Greerson is prepared to take down a hog or mountain lion if it attacks

Caroline drove the bad boy buggy back to the house

We travelled back to the ranch for New Years Eve with Christa's parents and her aunt and uncle Bill and Rhetta and their daughter Melanie and her family.  We enjoyed soup and a variety of appetizers all evening and played Mexican Train. About 10:30 Caroline, Melanie's daughter was tired so they headed to the house and shortly after Uncle Bill followed since he planned to get up and hunt the following morning. The rest of us finished the Mexican Train game until after midnight and then cleaned up the kitchen and headed to bed. Daryl stayed up and watched the Lincoln Center New Years Eve Concert featuring the New York Philhamonic. They played the dances from West Side Story and Rhapsody in Blue. New Years Day Greerson and Grandpa Woody went Squirrel hunting early and then about 10 am the rest of the gang showed up to go look at the animals. We saw several Elk and then headed back to the house for target practice. Rhetta hit the center with the first shot, she didn't feel the need to continue after that. We had a traditional New Years lunch mid afternoon featuring cabbage and black-eyed peas. After lunch we settled down for a movie while the hunters prepared to go out again.