Texas History

On a recent date, Joseph and I went to the George Ranch Historical Park in Richmond, Texas. It is similar to Nauvoo in that the people interact in costumes and place themselves in a certain time period. The park includes four homes that the family had while they lived on the ranch. The ranch was passed down for four generations so each home highlights a different generation/era. It was fun to learn some more about Texas history. However, only two buildings were air conditioned so it was hot in the other homes and we went in the middle of the afternoon.

The newest home from the early 1900s. Had a cool lighthouse feature.

A fun patio/deck that was built for entertaining around an oak tree.

The first generation's barn

A dining room from the late 1800's.

Pantry from the late 1800's

Then we went to the beach near our house the next day with a family from our church. I didn't take any pictures so just use your imagination. We did not see any sharks, despite the recent shark attack that happened there. We had fun trying out our new beach equipment like our beach tent and chairs.

We've also been busy re-staining a dresser. We received a crib from my parents and I want a dresser that matches. It is one thing I really care about. I also want a nice hardwood dresser as opposed to the store bought ones that are made of MDF boards and cheaply made. So this meant we either spend hundreds of dollars buying a brand new all-wood dresser or I scour garage sales until I found one. Luckily, I found one at a garage sale that came with a matching nightstand. However, the wood is mahogany so not quite the dark stain to match our crib. Joseph nicely volunteered (meaning I used my big brown eyes and begged him) to re-stain the dresser. Here are some pictures of the project so far. The drawers and nightstand are done and now he's working on the dresser. I am unable to help with it due to the fumes of the stain so he really has been spending a lot of time on it. We'll show pictures of the completed project hopefully this weekend.

The beginning of the drawers before staining. Joseph hadn't sanded them yet either

Picture of a drawer that is done. We had a difficult time drilling new holes for the drawer pulls but we figured it out.

Joseph busy sanding in Houston summer.