babies meet the alligators, alligators meet the babies

With family in town for Labor Day weekend, we decided to take the kids out for their first hike. There are several reasons we hadn't done this earlier: 1) Houston is REALLY hot this time of year, even at night. 2) Getting out the house with two babies is quite complicated. 3) Because the babies had a hard time getting started with breastfeeding, I was afraid of being away from the breastpump for more than 3 hours. 4) Making milk for two babies wears me out.

We were able to leave the house at about 9:00am. Surprisingly, the weather was not too hot. We went to Brazos Bend State Park, and we walked around 40 acre lake. It is a great park with lots of walking trails and trees covered in Spanish moss. It is also a wonderful place to bird watch and see alligators. The bigger alligators (10-14 feet) are easier to see in the spring, but we still were able to see several medium sized (4-6 feet) alligators and probably over 20 little ones.

Then while some of our group enjoyed touring the visitors center, I fed the babies under a big, shady tree on a park bench. (This mobile breastfeeding is great, it is ready anywhere and anytime.) After working up an appetite, we went to the Swinging Door and had great Texas BBQ. You gotta love a BBQ place that serves baked beans and potato salad as "vegetables".

When we got home, the guys watched football, I took and nap, and the grandmas and Zaley went to the mall.

It was a perfect Texas day.

Max in the carrier with mom.

Maya taking a nap with dad. The blankets were used to shield their fair skin from the sun, not to make them sweat more than they already did.

Small alligator lurking in the mossy water.

The lake was covered with huge lily pads and flowers.

gator adventures

Alisa standing very close to a large alligator.

Some photos from a recent trip to Brazos Bend State Park, where real alligators are on the loose and you can walk around their habitat. The gators were pretty scary at first, then we realized that even the little kids were walking right past them, so we gained the courage to stay on the path and keep walking.

We love going on adventures together.