Summer Sports

The Locklears don't really know the meaning of lazy days of summer! As I write this in mid-July, I honestly wish our days were a little lazier since work is getting busy already, but back in June, we had a little more time to spend with the kids at their activities and it was a lot of fun.

Cade started off the first summer day with track camp! He waits for this all year and loves running, jumping, and competing. We were so happy Owen joined us all the way from Austin again!



Annie tried to participate a little more this year. She will be officially old enough next year, and I think she's got the hang of it already. She had one big stumble when going under instead of over the hurdles, but otherwise she loved it! We appreciate the coaches encouraging little runners, no matter their age.



Track meets are great learning experiences. Cade really does very well, and his competitive spirit is really growing. He is quite fast, but had to learn that he can't get first place every time, especially if he cuts someone off at the end of the race. His long jump was very impressive, and he also did very well with the softball throw.



Cade's Summer 2016 Results:
1st place in Long Jump with 10 feet, 6 inches
2nd place in Softball Throw with 72 feet
2nd place in 50 m dash
3rd place in 10U 4x100 relay (very nice that the coach let him run with the older group!)
3rd place in 8U 4x100 relay

Here is the 50 meter dash where Cade had to learn the fine line between being competitive and being a good sport. I love the look of determination on his face as he is cutting across the lanes, but Chance and the coaches had to remind him that he has to follow the rules. Due to my lack of running abilities and track knowledge, I didn't even know that this would have disqualified him in a real race. I just though he was being cunning! His disappointment at earning the red instead of blue ribbon stung all of us, but we would much rather him learn this lesson now than at high school track meets (which he fully plans on participating in)!



Right after track camp, we headed to Annie's swim lessons. She made incredible progress this year and we are so proud of her! Soon after swim lessons finished, she was swimming independently and able to kick to the surface after jumping in without floaties. Getting to go down the big slide was a big reward!



Cade decided he didn't need swim lessons this year, and while we agree, he did think it was pretty miserable to have to stay on the side of the pool! His annual fascination with sharks and dinosaurs returned again this summer, so he stayed busy by learning lots of facts about his favorite creatures.



Cade also did basketball camp with his best buddy Garrett. It was so special to see him coached by 2 of my former students.



And Annie started her first dance class! This is the calmest activity she's ever been involved in, and we are surprised at how much she likes it! She was so proud to master her plie last week and looks forward to each class. Parents cannot go into the class and the observation window is very small, so we do not have any pictures of her actually dancing. But how precious is Chance putting on her little dance shoes?!



7 on 7 isn't a sport that we play, but it does keep Chance and the Cougars pretty busy during the first half of the summer. We "celebrated" Chance's 38th birthday with pizza on the porch while watching a game. Kids weren't really feeling pictures on Daddy's special day.

Visit to the Big D

We love getting to hang out with the Locklears and Kunoviches each summer in Dallas! Papaw and Melly make everything so fun and festive for us, and the cousins just can't get enough of each other.

Our first destination was the splash pad next to Zoe's soccer practice field. The 3 younger cousins splashed all around while sweet Zoe sweated it out during her soccer workout. What dedication! And don't worry... Annie got up really fast after her stumble during the fun "run through the water as quick and happy as you can" picture.



Then we went to the playground to dry off before getting in the car. They were all so brave climbing the rock wall, and Annie tried her best to hang with the boys on the monkey bars! Chance had to rescue her pretty quick.



The next day, our big outing was to the Dallas Aquarium. It was awesome!



Chance's cousin Jason and his family recently moved to a new house with a pool so we invaded their beautiful backyard for most of the next day. 9 of Grandma and Grandpa Locklear's great grandchildren were all together!



We didn't have much energy for anything else after all that, so Papaw tried to perk the kids up with some sneaky ice cream on the back porch.



It was a wonderful time in Dallas, as always!

Vacation

We took our family vacation at the very beginning of summer this year, and it was great! We decided back at Christmas that we were ready to take the kids out of state, and brainstormed destinations with them. After several discussions, their requests were a beach and seeing alligators. High class :) So, Mississippi became our location of choice and we found a wonderful condo to rent. And on May 31, we headed out!

After stopping at the busiest Chick fil A in Texas (in Houston, of course), we made our way for an overnight stay in Lafayette, LA. We ate at the fantastic Blue Dog Cafe for dinner, where the kids tried their first crab cakes and had a great time playing on the patio while we waited for our food.



One of the funniest things about our trip to Louisiana is that Annie kept asking where Nana was. We didn't really understand why she was asking until we realized that she was pronouncing it "loisi- nana", and she thought that we were going Nana and Papa's house. We had some good laughs about this!
The next morning we burned off some energy at a playground before hitting the road again. I don't think some of the stuff at this playground would pass College Station safety standards, but it sure was adventurous!



Welcome to Mississippi! Each person in the family had a turn taking our picture.



After eating po boy sandwiches from a gas station (again, this is truly a high class vacation!), we went to the Infinity Science Center, which is part children's museum, part space center. The kids were super happy to get out of the car and had a good time exploring. Cade and Chance rode in a flight simulator and Annie especially liked the indoor playground.



Then we drove to our condo! It was in a perfect location, decorated very cute, and we were in the pool probably within 30 minutes of arrival.



After eating dinner at Shaggy's (absolutely delicious and a very fun atmosphere), we went for a walk on the beach. Evening walks through the sand are my favorite.



But I should have known that the 3 kids would end up in the water!



The next morning we headed to the main reason for travelling to Mississippi... the Gulf Coast Gator Ranch! We were thisclose to Alabama when we got there, but it was worth the drive. The owners were extremely friendly and informative, everything was as clean as possible (for a swamp), and it was exactly what the kids were hoping for.




Everyone had a chance to hold a baby alligator, and some were braver than others.



Chance and Cade got to ride an air boat through the swamp to see even more gators. Annie wasn't quite old enough to ride, and although we considered lying about her age so she could do it, her fear of loud noises won out and she decided not to go. She was perfectly happy to play with the cat that lives on the premises. We were assured he would never be fed to the gators!



The next day started off at the beach. The tide was a little too high to find many crabs or seashells, but we still had lots of fun playing in the waves and very briefly building a sand castle.


We can thank the Aggie Network for our family picture! A group of ladies who were walking down the beach noticed my A&M hat and started talking to us. Several of them have kids currently attending A&M, and of course they were nice enough to take our picture!

After cleaning up a little, we ate lunch at Waffle House. I have resisted going to this establishment many times because I thought it would be dirty and greasy. Well, I am more than willing to admit that I was wrong! It was very clean, the staff was incredibly happy, and the food was fantastic (but yes, a little greasy). Chance is so happy that we will be able to eat at these now when we see them!



Our next stop was the Institute for Marine and Mammal Studies. This was Mississippi's version of an aquarium, but it was more like going on a school field trip. The tour was very structured and educational... probably perfect for school age, but a little long for Annie. We made it through the whole thing, though, with highlights being touching the stingrays and watching the dolphin show.



Annie was a little tired and hungry when we left.



Cade chose Shaggy's again for dinner that night, and although Chance and I had hoped for something different on our last vacation night, we ended up agreeing that he chose wisely! The Shaggy's we ate at before was full, so they directed us to their back deck. This was the place to be! They had giant-sized games for kids to play, live music, and a very relaxed atmosphere. If Chance and I were alone, we could have stayed all night!



We left the next morning at 7:20 (quite early to me, but 20 minutes later than Chance planned) and drove through heavy thunderstorms almost the whole way back. Chance deserved a tasty snack at James Coney Island in Houston!



And we stopped at Frazier's Concrete in Hempstead to buy a pineapple for our front porch. Ours was broken in the move from our old house to the new one and I've been searching for the perfect one for the past 3 years. This place makes anything and everything possible out of concrete!



We were in our driveway by 4:00 pm and glad to be home! I'm so thankful for the memories we made and for the time off at the beginning of summer!