Logan at the Children's Museum

There are many reasons I love being a teacher, and having the summer off is one of those reasons! Logan and I made a trip down to San Marcos to visit "JuJu" and "PawPaw." We had a wonderful visit, and Logan especially enjoyed the New Braunfels Children's Museum. Here are some pictures of our adventures:

Logan and JuJu enjoying some fun time at the water tables. Logan could have spent ALL day here!

Logan with his "baby." McKenna Hospital sponsors the Children's Museum, so they had a wonderful play nursery set up. It literally brought tears to my eyes to see Logan being so sweet towards the doll. He was so sweet, and even asked me to fill the bottle with milk when he noticed it was empty.

Logan was all set to pet the baby alligator until it decided to move it's leg. Once that happened, he began to scream. However, JuJu was able to get him close enough to look at the alligator without being too afraid.

Nice look at the longhorn, son! We are not a huge fan of longhorns either. ;)

They had the cutest grocery store set up! Logan enjoyed shopping for groceries with his pint-sized grocery card, and then he even put all of his groceries on the checkout lane to pay for them. I think someone has been watching Mommy and Daddy at the grocery store!

Paging Dr. Logan

We will definitely go back to this children's museum! It was so fun to watch Logan explore and emulate what he observes in our everyday lives.

Secret Shopping

Goodbye to the days of shopping for Logan's presents (or other children's gifts) while he is in the shopping cart. For his birthday and Christmas this past year, we were able to get all of his presents while he was with us. He would play with them in the cart and then we would "hide" them when we got home. Logan was not phased one bit, and seemed quiet surprised when he opened those same gifts.

However, this clever plan no longer works. We purchased these bears for sweet Caroline and Carson. I had them sitting on the counter so that I would remember to take them with me as I walked out the door that morning. I honestly thought Logan wouldn't even notice the bears...wrong! Not only did he notice the bears, he reached with all his might to get them off the counter. And here's what happened....

Luckily, we were able to distract him with another toy while I snuck the bears out to the car!

Farmer Logan

Old McLogan had a farm, E-I, E-I, O...

Tyler Zoo

Thank you Forney friends for information on the Tyler zoo! This is probably one of the neatest set-ups I have seen for a zoo. They incorporated plexi-glass into certain areas, so if feels as if you are up close and personal with the animals. This is a real plus when it comes to taking a little one, like Logan, to the zoo. Logan enjoyed riding around in his wagon checking out all of the animals!

Burger Tour Update

Well, we have conquered 15 out of 50 burgers on the Texas Monthly Burger List! We have checked off all of the places in Dallas/Fort Worth, one in Austin, two in Houston and a variety of other burgers that did not make the list, but were just as yummy!

Alamo Springs Cafe (Cheeseburger on a jalapeno bun)
This was the first burger we tried from the list! This was a special weekend as we headed off to Fredericksburg to celebrate my new job as a teacher. We have recreated this burger many times at home...the jalapeno bun makes the burger!


The Grape (Classic cheeseburger)
The classic cheeseburger here is only served during Sunday brunch! Honestly brunch for us usually consists of steak and eggs, however there is nothing like a delicious cheeseburger to start your day. We also ran into several others who were on their own "burger tour" from the Texas Monthly list. Plus Logan had SO much fun on this trip. He was flirting with the young ladies sitting next to us. It was a very special day.

The Porch (The stodge - topped with a fried egg!)

Ah, the stodge. We have tried this one many times since! I will admit that when I read that this burger was topped with a fried egg, I was seriously considering ordering something else. However, the joy of a fried egg on a greasy burger just cannot be explained. As you can see, Logan posed with this burger.

Dutch's (Bacon and Bleu cheeseburger)

Dutch's is a great TCU place that we enjoyed with Derek's parents. Logan had his first taste of Orange-cicle shake, and we had the opportunity to welcome others on our tour.

Beck's Prime (Bacon cheeseburger)
Derek enjoyed this burger during a business trip to Houston - Unfortunately no picture.

Burger Fresh (1/2 lb burger)

This was another burger Derek enjoyed in Houston. Derek describes it as "juicy, greasy, goodness!" I can't wait to make a trip to Houston to try this giant burger for myself.

Twisted Root (Just a hamburger)

Twisted Root is known for their homemade rootbeer, but unfortunately their burger left much to be desired. In the past, Twisted Root was outstanding, however this must have been an off day. However, we did enjoy some wonderful conversation with some other Aggies also enjoying a Saturday afternoon burger.

The Love Shack (The Dirty Love Burger - topped with a quail egg and love sauce)

My students are very interested in my burger tour, however I just could not say the name of this burger in my classroom...imagine the laughs and giggles that would follow! However, this burger was pretty good. Again, another one with an egg on top. Strange, but delicious. We also enjoyed the company of Dianne and Reagan on this stop of our tour. Following the burger, we headed to a Christmas musical for the kiddos. It was a fabulous day!

Kelly's Eastside (Southwestern burger)

This is where an Aggie feels at home! They even sell "Maroon Out" shirts here, and we were surrounded by a sea of maroon while enjoying our burgers. What a great place to spend game day and a fun environment for Logan. We have to brainwash him early, right? :)

Chicken Oil Company (Snuffy burger)
Derek and I have to think back on our college days for this one. Chicken Oil is an Aggie tradition, however we have not made it back to College Station to re-try this burger. But we already know it is good!

Mighty Fine (Hamburger - Served in a brown paper sack full of fries!)

Off to Austin we went for a Mighty Fine burger! We also had the great company of my parents on this stop. You can't beat a burger that comes in a grease-soaked brown paper sack. Logan also enjoyed this stop as it was the first time he tried a french fry thanks to Grandma Aswell. It was truly a treat and we all enjoyed seeing his smile.

Snuffers (Green Chile Swiss burger)
Again, this is another burger we have had in the past and it is delicious! Green Chiles remind me of New Mexico and the mountains.

Fred's Texas Cafe (Diablo burger - spicy!)

Oh, this was the first time we had to quickly ask for our food to go and rush Logan out of restaurant due to a screaming fit. Luckily this place was loud so few people noticed the loud child in the corner booth. So, we got our burgers to go and stopped in a Target parking lot to enjoy them in the car while Logan was happily napping in his carseat

Speedy's Burger (Hamburguesa Mexicana)
I have to say that I was tempted to try the tacos at Speedy's, but I stuck with the plan of a burger. We enjoyed this burger with the Aswell side of the family on Thanksgiving weekend!

Jake's (#1 Jake's special)
Unfortunately, we did not get a picture of this stop. However, any of Jake's burgers are highly recommended!

The following are other burgers we tried that were not on the list, but delicious!

On Whistler mountain in Vancouver, B.C.. You can tell I enjoyed this one by the picture of the empty plate!

Derek enjoying a burger in the Olympic Village in Vancouver, B.C.:

Five Guys Burger and Fries should really have been on this list! However, they are pretty new to Texas, so I will say that is why they missed making the top 50.

Logan had fun on this trip!

Enjoying an American Airlines' burger a few thousand feet up in the air, and in first class thanks to Derek's miles.

This tour has been really fun so far! We do not know where the next list will take us, but we will continue to enjoy as many burgers from the list as possible. We started our "tours" with the Taco Tour in 2006, then the BBQ tour in 2007 and now the Burger tour started in 2009. We also found a list for the best small town cafes, and you better believe we are working on this list now too!

A boy and his dog

It goes without saying that a dog is Man's best friend. However, I must say that Polly is Logan's best friend. There is nothing like the relationship between a boy and his dog. When Logan was fist born, I was as nervous as a long-tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs when it came to Polly and the baby. However, those two have built a unique relationship. He feeds her from the high-chair, and she loves his company. Polly enjoys running around with Logan outside as well as getting pets from him when we are relaxing inside the house. She even goes with us to check on him before we go to bed each night. And this morning we saw her protective side when another dog got a little too close to the stroller during our walk. Polly is now Logan's dog, and big kisses prove it. However, we did get a laugh when we saw a horse a few weeks ago and Logan said, "dog." I bet if we saw a chihuahua he would "meow" thinking it was a cat, because in Logan's eyes dogs are not that small. Polly is a unique dog with a sweet personality, which is perfect for our little Logan! Below are some pictures (from varying times) of Logan with Polly.