a sunday drive down memory lane

This morning, we woke up and Chris said, "Let's go on a Sunday drive..." And so we did! It actually turned into a nice family outing, complete with a walk down memory lane. We took the scenic route to where Chris and Mimi lived in the country when Chris was in 4th and 5th grade...to me, it is always so wonderful seeing these places...it really makes me feel like I learn about a whole other level of Chris.



Along the way, we saw a ton of these windmills. They are so massive, so impressive! This is the best shot I got (and we took quite a few good ones!)...love how this is such a closeup, with just that glorious blue sky behind it...these are really cropping up all over Texas, it's insane how many there are now...



This was Chris' school for 4th & 5th grade...one big building for grades K-12! There were less than 10 kids in his grade. They were telling me stories about how they had just moved to the country from the "city" and Chris had a hard time fitting in with all those country kids. He got into a lot of fights...they were all in their cowboy boots and hats, and he was in his parachute pants and tennis shoes! :) He finally worked his way into their circle and had some good memories there...



Here is Chris at the entrance to the school...I especially like getting pictures of him in settings like this, because he just doesn't have a lot of pictures from his childhood...



And this is where he ate lunch everyday...homemade meals that were cooked by the lunch ladies...Mimi used to eat with him frequently, since the food was so good!



After stopping at the school, we went across the street for some lunch...a very tiny place, with homegrown cookin. The owner's family was in there, eating their lunch...and we got to chatting with them. Turns out the woman had a key to get into the school (which is now closed down and is used for community stuff like concerts, etc.). She offered to take us over and let us in to look around...which of course we jumped on!! They were such very nice people...



This is the outside of the Nolan Store and Cafe...good burgers and hand-cut french fries!



Along the drive back, we saw beautiful fields of wild flowers, with windmills in the distance...



And the cacti were in bloom...aren't these gorgeous??



This is the adorable little stone house where Chris and Mimi used to live...it was so quaint!



I had to get some pictures of the cows...Mimi was doing her cow call to get them to come to the fence, though it didn't work too well! So we drove a little further until there was one already at the fence! :)



This is one of my favorites from the day...love the composition of this one...a field of wild flowers and the row of cacti fading into the distance...



More wild flowers...one of the best parts about Texas!!!



We stopped at a little antique store on the way home...and couldn't resist getting a shot of Aspen on this colorful painted bench...she's always willing to oblige! Oh yes, and check out those stylin' new sunglasses she got...she wanted BIG ones!



If this isn't a pure "Texas" sight, I don't know what is!!! Cowboy boots hanging on a fence with flowers planted in them...



These floweres are beautiful...I see them all the time and finally made the effort to stop. I love that they bloom on the OUTSIDE of someone's fence, for people to see as they drive by. They come up every year and I always look forward to seeing them...

So, that was our day...such a lovely one, I must say. It was nice to just meander about. No plans. Nowhere to be. Just stopping wherever our fancy took us. Life doesn't get any better than that!!

(Now, be sure to read on to the next post, to see what else occurred over the weekend!)