More pics from Ft Worth

I forgot my camera more than once, so I have some pictures on my phone from our trip.

Waiting for the cattle drive to start. I promise Jacob brushed his teeth that morning! He was drinking a blue Powerade. :)

Oh goodness. I'm pretty sure the name Stinemetz is on the black list for Fairfield Inn!! ha! We had some time between lunch and our next activity...well, let's be honest. It was a bunch of Stinemetzes trying make a decision! And a bunch of restless kids that either needed something to do or needed naps. So Uncle Alan gave them something to do!

No children were harmed in the making of this photograph. ;)

Teresa and Ike found a great train ride. It was $3/person and it was at least 30 minutes! The kids loved it!

Little Asher...what a CUTIE!

We went over 2 bridges, each way, and got to see a ton of turtles sunning on logs.

Of course Jacob, lover of all things Thomas/train, had an absolute blast on the train ride!

Asher loved Isaac and thought it was so hilarious to see him crawl! He wanted to hold Isaac, too...Isaac obliged, for just a moment!

In-N-Out Burger!!! This one hadn't been open very long and it was BUSY! There were no open tables when we got there, people standing everywhere. A booth opened up, but only enough room for the kiddos. So we decided to change our orders to go! I love In-N-Out Burger. It's so good. I told Aaron-it's not like amazing, over-the-top burgers (the fries are pretty good), but they're good and what makes it even better is that their ingredients are fresh, made in each store, AND it's a Christian chain. I wish there was one here!

Mr. Cheeseball! :)

The Stockyards

If you ever visit Fort Worth, I highly suggest visiting the Stockyards! It is so neat and lots of fun for everyone!! They have twice daily cattle drives, so Saturday we made our way down there to catch it. Let's just say I don't like Sally anymore! (Sally is what Scott named our GPS. hehe) In her defense, I'm sure she needs an update. Anyway, for several reasons, we were late for the cattle drive. We did walk around and went to the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame and Anna had her first field trip (impromptu as it was!). It was actually really interesting...even Aaron liked it. Jacob had a hard time keeping his hands off all the wagon/carriage wheels, though!
So before we left on Sunday, we tried again. We made it in plenty of time...I had the time 30 minutes early! So we took advantage of the extra time and relative emptiness to let the kids explore and have fun.

Daddy gave Anna her pick of anything in the stores...new cowgirl hat, new shirt, new hat, new hat...and what does she pick? ANOTHER little horse! :) I shoulda known!! This one she named Callie and she came in a super cute little purse. (Isaac scratched her on the nose...ouch!)

In what used to be the cattle yard at the railroad, there are now shops, restaurants, and kiddie rides! Only a quarter each! :)

Yeehaw!!!!!

Poor Isaac. He didn't get a whole lot of good sleep on this trip between being in the same room as all the rest of us and his few-and-far-between naps getting interrupted. But he was still usually in such a good mood. Such a good baby!

Before the cattle drive started, the cowboys were hanging around visiting with people. One of them we talked to (his horse's name was Charlie) said they only have one of the original steer from 1999 when they started doing the drive! There were about 15 steer in the drive that was about 1 city block long.

You could tell these dudes have done this a few times.

It was such a fun experience! This was our first real family vacation and it was a blast!! Laid back, not a lot of scheduled plans...it was fun.

Maverick's Supreme Extreme Makeover

Oh boy...it's a little crazy taking a vacation with so many little ones!! But it's been so much fun! We're still trying to catch up on sleep...we all took a several-hours' long nap today.
Maverick struggled to perform. He was nervous and just kind of distracted by everything around him. He placed fairly low in both rounds yesterday and didn't do great on the cow horse round today. We won't find out for sure until morning what his score is for this round, but we're fairly certain he's not in the top 20, therefore won't be in the finals tomorrow night. Which is kind of a bummer because we wanted to see Scott's final show with the Top Gun theme!! :)
Anna has, not surprisingly, been having the time of her life. She thinks Maverick has done GREAT! "I'm so proud of Maverick!" she says. We're so proud of Maverick and Scott!!!

Watching Scott and Maverick practice.

Working Maverick between rounds.

Aaron made the comment that he was probably the only person in attendance wearing Birkenstocks. Amy pointed out that she was wearing sandals, too. :)

Checking out the vendors at the arena.

I finally retired Anna's green boots. They were SO HARD to get on! But, these are still CUTE with pink this time. :)

Jacob was wearing his jeans and boots, but after naps he said he was too hot with jeans on (it was all of 75*!).

This cutie pie has done really good. He loves the sling and I always chuckle to myself at the looks I get when he's in it.

She would have sat out there all day watching the horses.

Of course I couldn't get her to pose normally! Silly goose.

No one is surprised that this one wouldn't pose normally!!

Playing hide-n-seek with Uncle Alan.

Maverick and Anna already have a special bond (have since practically day one). He's never turned away from her and you can just tell that he really loves her already.

Cousins, cousins everywhere! It's been fun seeing all the little cousins (2nd cousins) play together. Lots of little ones!! This is sweet, sweet Addison.

Unbeknownst to Scott, Anna had a dream just a couple nights ago that she got to ride Maverick bare-back with no bridle!! Scott has definitely secured his top spot in Anna's heart!

Jacob now thinks he needs his own horse. He asked Scott, "Tan I have one of yuh howses??"

Oh goodness...Little Miss Priss! Leah showing off her birthday bling! :)

I think Addison decided it was either laugh or cry...she wasn't too sure about being up on Maverick!

It's been such a fun vacation so far! Can't wait for the rest of the adventures! Win or lose, we don't care...we've given God the glory and are having a great time with family, making memories!