Kittens! (should start calling them Puma's)

And it's time for the animal updates!!  No big updates except that I think the kittens are part puma... they are getting so big!!  In most of these photos they are between 5 and 6 months old.  They are so lovable to us and the dogs.  They have their own way to say Hi to everybody and like to cuddle.  Sure it can get annoying when they want to cuddle at 4am and head butt you until you start petting them, but after a few head rubs they tend to lay down next to you for a bit. 

Slinky on the left and Jelly on the right enjoying a blanket that was just taken out of the dryer

Slinky

Long  sleepy Slinky :)

Jelly and Abbey. 

Jelly will lay next to Abbey a few times a day.  Some days it is next to Abbey, some days he is laying across Abbey's paws, and some days he just goes up, head butts a few times and walks away.  Either way it is cute as hell and I'll never get tired of watching the interaction between these two.

I posted a few of the bluebonnet photos of Chewie and Abbey a few months back, but felt a little guilty that I didn't have any good photos of them on my computer. 

Slinky in front, Jelly in the back, hanging out in the front window

I bought them this toy a few months ago, and they love to hang out it in.

Isn't this cuteness overload? 

Jelly Belly

Visit to Bastop State Park

Bastop State Park

A couple of months back I drove up to Bastrop State Park to see the park after the wild fires that happened last Labor Day weekend. At the time of I went there was only a small section of the park open to hike around.  A few weeks after I went they opened up a larger portion of the park, and I need to get back to hike around it.  The park was eerie yet still very beautiful.  It was so peaceful and quiet.  Most trees that I saw where charred without any life sprouting, but when you looked at the ground you saw the growth.  There was also some type of coating on some of the trees.. perhaps it is the fire retardant the planes dropped?  

I was very happy I made the trip out there to see the destruction and the blooming plant life.  Hopefully I can make it out there soon to hike around the rest of the park. 

Day Trip to the Hill Country

We try to visit the wine country around Austin at least once a year.  It is a fun day of trying new things enjoying the weather and having fun with friends!   For this trip we headed out with our friends Nicole and Steven. We love those two and always have a great time when we hang out.  Our first stop of the day is a bourbon distillery, Garrison Brothers Distillery.  They have a couple tours a day of the distillery with a tasting after the tour.

Nicole and Steven

Jim and I

The Ranch Hands dog.. can't remember his name but he looooooved his frisbee

I wanted to steal this pup and bring him home to our zoo.  He was so damn adorable and just wanted to love on everybody that walked by.  Right after I took this picture he ran up and gave me big wet sloppy kisses.  

This was the yeast room where it smelled fairly sour from the yeast fermenting.  I believe they said this mixture bubbles for a few days before moving on to the next step of the process. 

The bourbon samples laid out

The patio off of the barn that held the bourbon had a fabulous view. 

I would love to have that porch with the view on my house.

I wish I could remember the name of this winery but it was a converted farm house into a winery.  They used old doors to decorate one of the rooms ceilings, it was an awesome concept.  

Nicole, Steven, Jim and I after the 2nd stop

We had a couple other winery stops that day where we had good and bad wine tastings.  To finish our day we decided to listen to a local and head over to Johnson City Pecan Street Brewing for dinner and beer.  The beer was tasty but they were out of the beer that I really wanted to try to I ended up with a light blonde beer.   The food was good but the ambiance was more of a family/touristy diner place. I was hoping for some type of a local restaurant with good down home cooking.  

Our day was an excellent adventure with great friends.  I hope to do it again soon!!

ONE ENTIRE MONTH

Seriously folks, I have no excuses for the lack of posting.  I have been busy, so I have plenty of material to talk about so let's just call it a case of the lazies... now time to get to it and play catch up!