Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Sand Dunes at South Padre



This countrygirl truly loves the beach! I took a drive going North on the island on Sunday morning. There's nothing but sand and dunes out there. No buildings in sight! OMG! It was sooo gorgeous out there.



There were several people camping out on the East side of the dunes. I was wishing I was one of them!




When we were little, my parents used to take us to camp out on the beach in Port Aransas, TX. It was the best stepping out of the tent onto the beach in the morning, seeing and hearing the ocean just a few feet away from us and smelling the breakfast cooking. I will never forget those good old times.

Sunrise in Port Isabel, TX




I went for a walk this beautiful morning in Port Isabel and took several shots of the sunrise. I kind of liked this one.

Friday, July 21, 2006

Sunshine and Summertime





Just love that old tub of flowers and metal flower garden ornament. It's fun to go to nurseries in towns like New Braunsfels, TX and market days in Gruene, TX to look for these sorts of things!

Lantana




My lantana finally decided to bloom! I was having a little trouble with it. We finally got some much needed rain. I think it just needed a little drink of Mother Nature's water.

Live Oak



My live oaks are growing slowly but surely. My sister lives on 17 acres in the outskirts of San Antonio, TX and her property is loaded with enormous oak trees. I'll have to take some pics of them someday soon and post them here. We had to plant ours. There are mostly mesquite trees in this area. It's only so obvious how much I love my plants and my trees, huh??

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Nice Evening in Texas








I was feeling a little down yesterday due to the fact that the time left being able to spend the whole day with my children is limited now. The stress level is a little high right now thinking about all of the things I need to do and prepare. So I decided to take a stroll in the front yard and play with my camera and take some snapshots of the landscaping and the way it looks in the evening. It made me feel much better. I don't know what I'm doing but I kind of liked the way these shots turned out. Today maybe we will head out to the island to take some more snapshots and maybe go on a dolphin watch or something. Hopefully we will be able to visit San Antonio, Elmendorf, Gruene, or maybe even Boerne, Tx sometime soon! Enjoy!

Monday, July 17, 2006

More of My Favorite Pics




Me at 5 years old at Six Flags in Dallas, Tx. My mother used to love sew. She used to make all of my outfits. The other is of me by my Dad's brand new '67 Ford F150 pickup truck. That's my Grandma Amada watching over me. I've always loved these pics!

More of Those Texas Skies




I just thought the sky looked sooo pretty again today. I really need to get out more! I'd really like to get myself to Gruene, Tx. There are a lot of picture perfect sights there.

Saturday, July 15, 2006

Can You Tell I Don't Get Out Much?




My little girl wears me out so I spend a lot of time at home. The first pic is of an old garden ornament that I used to be able to stick in the ground. My poor froggie has been through heck! So I decided to hang him on an antique sprinkler that I purchased from Gruene, Tx. The other is a shot that I probably shouldn't have taken but I took it anyway and I kind of liked how it turned out.

My Abuelita Amada



My Dad's Mom...we used to call her "Vuelita Mada" (not sure how it's supposed to be spelled). She used to have the longest hair and barely any gray at age 86. She would roll it all up into a bun. She lived with us for over 17 years. Here she is at my Dad's place in Elmendorf, Tx with my older brother and sister.

Friday, July 14, 2006

Beautiful Day With Mom on My Mind





As I mentioned in the Southside Cardinal blog, I love to pass the time fussing over my plants as my Mom used to love to do. My Mom passed away 12 years ago but I smile everytime I walk out my backdoor and I see some of her favorites growing in the backyard. She especially loved the crape myrtle. Here it is shown with the beautiful clouds in sight. The clouds were exceptionally gorgeous yesterday! My favorite oak tree of all the one's we've planted is shown here on this beautiful day. Just sharing some pics of summertime. Enjoy!

South Padre Island, Tx




It's really beautiful at South Padre! Pictured here are some of the seashells that we have collected so far. My friends were really amazed with the size of some of the ones we collected. We love to spend time at South Padre Island, Tx during the summertime. Both of my children love the water. Last summer my son refused to plunge his face in the water but he's come a long way with his swimming since then. He can swim underwater all the way across the pool now. My daughter loves to splish and splash around on the steps of our pool but she's still not too crazy about getting in the ocean water yet. She prefers to spend her time playing in the sand on the shore. She's learning how to swim. I have a feeling she's going to learn a lot sooner than I ever did.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Not afraid anymore




Here's a pic of the waves at South Padre Island, Tx from a weekend trip recently. The other pic is one of my most favorite pics of me at 5 years old when I used to be extremely afraid of the water. I took swimming lessons as a 5 year old and never learned to swim because I refused to plunge my face in the water. I didn't learn to swim until I forced myself to finally take a Swimming class in college. Although, I am not afraid of the water anymore and I did learn to swim, I am still afraid of swimming in the ocean while at the beach. So, I choose to just hang out on the edges of the shore....still just as enjoyable for me. My son James who is 6 years old, on the other hand, is not afraid to swim in the ocean at all. Now that's a whole different story I'll have to share later.