Grace Goes to Clayton, OK (Apr 9-11)

Once again, the Greens are on the road! We (meaning Mike) host the "Mike Green4x4.com sponsored Jim Parker Memorial Run" to Clayton, OK. The original intent of getting novice off-roaders on the rocks has expanded to include almost 100 rigs and even more people!

Our group had 13 rigs on Saturday and we headed out about 9AM.

As you can see, Grace had plenty to keep her occupied if the jeeping got a little boring. :) She loves being outdoors! If she wasn't sleeping, she was usually just talking away.

Of course, any time we stopped, we had to get out and socialize! There were plenty of opportunities to watch other jeeps going over rocks and we had to help them make it.

Our jeep did have a couple of issues this trip.... we had a broken bolt in the steering box on Friday and a broken u-joint in the front, passenger axle on Saturday. Nothing a few spare parts couldn't fix and get us back on the trail!

Until next time!

Grace Meets the Texas Bluebonnet

Welcome to another Great Green Adventure! On Thursday, we decided to take a drive to Ennis, TX for the annual bluebonnet bloom.

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon with only a few clouds in the sky. Grace took a little siesta during the drive down so she was all ready to explore the bluebonnets. After a quick stop at the chamber of commerce to get the "official" driving tour route, we were off.

As you can see, Patrick is just as excited as the rest of us to see (and smell) the tour.

There are just fields and fields of bluebonnets and Indian paintbrushes. The lady at the chamber of commerce said they are the best they've been in years!

And, of course, would any tour of Texas be complete without a longhorn?? :) We're not sure what the yellow flowers are but this pasture was filled with them!

As instructed, we stopped in the designated "photo" section of the drive and snapped a few shots. The bluebonnets are also very fragrant so we had a few "achooo's" along the way.

For anyone that has not done this trip, we would highly recommend it. There is an official annual event in Ennis but we'd recommend an off-day to avoid the crowds. Truely scenic views, beautiful flowers, and an aroma that's amazing.

Until next time!

Napping on a Warm Spring Day

Spring is officially here in TX. The trees are blooming, the birds are chirping, and Grace is sleeping on a blanket in the front yard. What, you ask? Yes, Grace decided to take her mid-day nap in the front yard while dad pulled weeds and mom cleaned the car. Taz & Patrick both took turns on the blanket with Grace.

Could you think of a better nap to have? Mr. Monkey in one hand, her frog rattle in another, the flower rattle on her face and the pacifier near by. One sock on, one sock off.... Now that's the life!

The next big step to preparing for spring.... planting our garden! Stay tuned!

So why not welcome our daughter to wheelin at 11 weeks ? Lenda,Grace,Patrick,Taz and I take off for Clayton. Destination is Clayton lake state park and ultimaltely the off road park I started commonly known as Green acres. Lenda and I both being avid off roaders gave us the perfect opportunity to get Grace not only wheeling but camping too.

From Wednesday to Friday all of us marked a new trail on the top of Green Acres appropriately name Grace Greens Great adventure trail. Friday night and Satuday morning the troops arrived to help clear tree's brush and get the trail broken in.

The weekend was fantastic. :)

Waiting for Mom to Shower

Since Mike has gone back to work, our morning (after lunch & afternoon) schedules and activities have had to adjust. One such thing is showering... As parents know, finding a time and way to shower when home alone with the little one can be a challenge. Grace seems to do very well in her bouncy seat. We just talk through the shower and she gets very excited when mom's face pops around that shower curtain now and then.

Here's a short video of Grace talking to me after a shower this morning. She's getting so much more vocal. And before you say it, you're not surprised given her parents. :) We know!

Until next time....

Why not buy a house in Davenport?

With 3 weeks left before Mike goes back to work, we decide to purchase a rental property in Davenport, IA... and it needs lots of cosmetic work before it can be rented. Some would think this is an insane thing to do but we laugh it up to a normal decision in the Green family. :)

We decide to purchase a fridge and stove in Dallas and take it up there... so we are traveling with a truck full of appliances and tools for the upcoming work. The trip was going very well (despite getting up at 3AM to leave before 4) until we stop at a Love's truck stop and obviously get something "extra" in our gas that caused the fuel to start clogging up on the filter. But we make it that night and Grace is back at Aunt Jodee's!

We closed on the house on the 29th and Mike attacked the house in full force. At times, there were 6 or so people working at stripping wood work, removing debris, installing ceiling fans, etc. Here are some before & after pictures of the kitchen (missing the redone plaster below the chair rail).

Then, we did major work in the bathroom but the plaster had to dry before we could paint & put stuff back together. Here's a before picture and we'll have an "after" when we go back up.

In two weeks, we stripped all the woodwork in the house, redid all the polyurathane, installed ceiling fans, painted the interior of the house, had linoleum installed & carpet. The bathroom has been completely redone and some of the plumbing was redone. It was a VERY busy two weeks! Just ask Mike about the 12 - 15 hour days he was putting in...

Hopefully we'll have it ready to rent in March and then we'll have to paint the exterior once the weather permits in the spring.

We wrapped up the trip with another long drive home on Friday ... just missing the 12 inches of snow in Dallas but not missing the 5 days without electricity! What a couple of weeks. :)

Grace Green's Great Adventure trail cutting

Grace has officially had her first jeep trip and her first trail cutting weekend. I'm sure this will be one of many such weekends in her future. We started out on Wednesday by setting up the camper at the state park. As you can see, Grace is raring to go and Dad is still trying to decide if he's ready to get up or not.

Then we headed off up the mountain to scout the possible trail locations. Okay, so Mike did the scouting and the rest of us followed in the jeep. As you can see, the weather was a little foggy and cool.

Days 2 and 3 (Thurs / Fri) brought more fog, rain, and cool weather. By the end of Day 3, we had a great trail marked and were just waiting for the cutting & cleaning crew to show up on Saturday.

Our evenings spent in the pop-up camper. Our weekend guest, Nevin, was a lot of fun to have around. Even though Grace really enjoyed her make-shift mobile, Patrick wasn't really sure what to think about it. :)

Until our next adventure...