Mid-December we were in Dallas for the
White Rock marathon. Nick and Jennifer did the half together. On the way to registration, we found this amazing sculpture garden with an entire
LIFE SIZE cattle drive complete with a river to cross and cowboys on horseback herding the cattle. It was pretty amazing - and very extensive.
Laedyn wasn't quite sure what to think ... there's a little bit of fear lurking in her expression I think. It would be scary if the cattle were real!
Brandon, on the other hand, wanted to climb on the cattle like some of the other bigger kids who were wandering around the herd.
We found a nice flat rock for them to sit on for a sibling pose, but it had a steep angle and they kept sliding down it and laughing at me. Eventually I caught a decent shot!
Later we met up with Amy, Eric & Aubrey Cate for some kid time fun at a nearby playground.
Laedyn took to Amy right away, which isn't usually like her. Laedyn and AC kept us busy on the big curving slide for quite awhile. The kids all had a good time until we had to leave ... can you believe tears were shed???
After the playground, we went in search of dinner. We started at the
Old Monk for a cheese and cracker board appetizer. Our waitress left something to be desired, so we moved on to the
Blackfriar Pub, another place owned by the same people. It was a warm evening so we were able to sit on the patio. We had a really great time!! Aubrey Cate and Brandon were going strong to the very end.
Laedyn was out of the game as soon as we left the Old Monk, and she slept through the rest of the evening.
Brandon, on the other hand, wanted to climb on the cattle like some of the other bigger kids who were wandering around the herd.
We found a nice flat rock for them to sit on for a sibling pose, but it had a steep angle and they kept sliding down it and laughing at me. Eventually I caught a decent shot!
Later we met up with Amy, Eric & Aubrey Cate for some kid time fun at a nearby playground. 
Laedyn took to Amy right away, which isn't usually like her. Laedyn and AC kept us busy on the big curving slide for quite awhile. The kids all had a good time until we had to leave ... can you believe tears were shed??? 
After the playground, we went in search of dinner. We started at the Old Monk for a cheese and cracker board appetizer. Our waitress left something to be desired, so we moved on to the Blackfriar Pub, another place owned by the same people. It was a warm evening so we were able to sit on the patio. We had a really great time!! Aubrey Cate and Brandon were going strong to the very end.
Nick wasn't the only one who thought this yard needed to be photographed. There were two other people there taking pictures when we showed up! One of them was taking a bunch of close ups of the leaves on the ground. I wondered why until I got close enough to take a look. You'd never guess the leaves were such an unusual shape & the water droplets made it even more amazing.
Heather lives outside Dallas now and is finishing up her french horn studies. She brought her horn in to show the kids. Brandon thought it was really neat & had fun trying it out.
There were some large boulders that the kids had fun climbing on. 
Self portrait with Laedyn. I'm not so good at framing these shots...
There was a white fence all around the property borders and Nick suggested setting the camera on it to get a whole family shot using the automatic timer. What a great idea! I framed up a shot as best I could, set the timer & rushed over to get into position. Considering it's the first time I ever tried the timer, it turned out pretty well!
Silly boy!
After freezing our tails off in the cold and wind we headed back up the hill to get a closer look at the house. The look of this road going up a hill reminded me very strongly of 
