A Bunch of Banta's: July recap

July was PACKED with fun, family and food!

July was a full month with many events. The month started off with an unexpected
trip to Monterey - Ryan's father (Chet) passed away. It was a good week of celebrating
Chet with family and friends.

Grandpop and William in April when they came up to help us pack before moving
to San Antonio.
It was fantastic to see Grandma and Grandpop the week prior to his passing
in San Antonio. We will miss him and his smiles.

One morning included a visit to the beach - one of William's favorite places.

So we packed up some sand toys, a snack and hit the beach. Yes, we have
sweatshirts on in JULY. It was cold when the wind picked up.

Daddy chasing William

William LOVES the beach!
We love his smile!

Running from the waves

Annabel is NOT too sure about the sand between her toes.

Cousins come for a Visit!
We were thrilled to have Uncle Brian, Auntie Amber, Timothy and
Caelyn come for a week to play. We had to get creative with sleep arrangements.
Ryan and I gavethe master to them so they had more room.
Timothy and Caelyn each took a
closet in the master. (we have 2 huge separate closets) This way
everyone had their own space and door to close which made for happy kids
and parents. We knew sleep
would be key with everyone and much to our surprise our goal was
accomplished!

Uncle Brian reading to the kids before bedtime.
(Timothy's room aka Ryan's closet)

Afternoon playtime. On a HOT and HUMID day

New Braunsfel Children's Museum-
This Children's Museum was awesome! It had: dress up, campground, hospital,
space center, HEB, art center, etc. The kids had a ball. It was totally worth the
hour drive we will be going back.

A campground
William canoeing

dress up

Slip and Slide= giggles and FUN

The Boys had so much fun just sitting at the end of the slide.

Aspen joined in the fun as well. In the back you can see the girls watching.
The little ones did not like it as much as the big boys.

The boys had so much fun that the slide ended up popping and the
fun came to an end. :(

Then we came inside to relax before dinner.

San Antonio Zoo

The girls in yellow polka dot dresses having a snack.

Gearing up for fun at the zoo

Trying to see

After see saw many animals we went to cool off in the "Tot Land."

Sharing Popsicles

Notice that the kids do not have shirts on- MESSY!

Annabel has to get every last bit!

Down the her diaper- no blood just raspberry popsicle

Sweet Caelyn

Enchanted Springs Ranch-
Amber found this great ranch for us to enjoy on our last day together.
Enchanted Springs Ranch, a western movie set and animal park, is rated
by Oprah as one of the best “Wacky Family Attractions“ for 2008. It is about a
working ranch with about 86 acres of rugged, natural beauty, collection of exotic animals,
and authentic time warp - a Western town right out of the 1800's with real live
cowboys and cowgirls. If you are ever in the area you should try and go.
We had the best time!

The wildest cowboys on the ranch.

Of course we had to get the kids cowboy/girl hats that matched.
Sadly this was the best picture with the four of them
wearing their hats.

Second try...

Last try
Notice Annabel trying to get off the bench.
She. is. about. to f-a-l-l

And the result....
fat lip. :(

Now being comforted my mommy

Wild bull ride

Fun tire horse

JAIL time

Pony ride

Annabel's first pony ride. She loved it!
Thanks guys for coming, playing and seeing our new life in San Antonio.

Baking Day
It was a rainy day so after naps we decided to bake brownies. It is always fun
and entertaining with both kids helping. I have to be prepared ahead of it.
I spent their naptime measuring everything out so all we had to do was
dump, stir, pour and bake.