Texas Bluebonnets

We were snapping pictures of each other in the bluebonnets on a spectacular spring day and were fortunate a fellow picture taker passed by and asked us if we wanted a photo of all of us together. Bluebonnet photos have been a tradition since before the kids were born. My love for wildflowers started my freshman year in college when I was attending Texas Woman's University in Denton, far from home. Classes were Mon/Wed - Tues/Thurs, so we had 3 day weekends which would ordinarily be awesome. But all my friends went home for the weekend, and I didn't have a car. The campus was dead, and I was very bored. So I was either studying (I got 4.0 that year), playing golf on our 9 hole course, tennis with the wall, or walking around town. There was a lovely garden near the chapel on campus, and I spent a lot of time there. In the spring, wildflowers were bountiful and beautiful. I bought a wildflower nature guide from the bookstore. I found out TWU had a wildflower course in the spring, and I would have loved to take that class except I did not attend TWU the next year. I met a fellow student from Houston who made trips home and took me along for the ride. She was taking the class, and one of their assignments was to collect and take pictures of various wildflowers. They are plentiful on Texas highways, so we made many stops on the drive there and back. I was hooked! The next year, when I went to Sam Houston in Huntsville, I took my friend Kelly with me to go flower hunting, and we took pictures of each other in the Bluebonnets. That's when the tradition began. I met Dan during wildflower season; our first date was on April 7th, 1994. (He took me country western dancing at the Jolly Fox). So for our anniversary the next year, we took pictures of each other in the Bluebonnets and then again the next year, the year we got married. We missed a couple of years but then started back up again when Dallas and Noah were toddlers. Those were the pre-digital years, so I need to scan them in. How much they have all changed! Here's the last four years of Bluebonnet photos. This is an extensive collection, so you might want to grab a snack or a cup of tea while you peruse the pictures...

April 18, 2004

Savanna was 3 weeks old.



This is one of my favorites:







March 25, 2005

Bailey is an embryo. I did not even know I was pregnant here!

Savanna is 1.


Dallas is 9.

Noah is 8.



I'm thinking 2006, if we took pictures (I can't remember), might be on disk because our old computer was getting very full from all the picture files.

April 1, 2007

This was a long day for us. We took these pictures after having gone to the Capitol in Austin, up Mt. Bonnell, and to the "Round Rock" that our town is named after. Naturally, Bailey does not look very pleased to be taking pictures.

Noah is 9.

We took Flat Stanley with us that day. I like the detail on the flowers in this picture.

Dallas is 10.

Savanna is 3, & Bailey is 1.




April 8, 2008

UPDATE: We had to skip pictures in 2009 It was a bad year for Bluebonnets in 2009. There were only sporadic blooms, =-( not enough for good pictures. But we got amazing pictures in 2008 and 2010 to make up for it. Check out the October post for a great group shot of my beautiful family!

Bailey is 2; Savanna just turned 4.

We took over 100 shots! Lots of good ones, too.


I love the kissing pictures. So precious!

My babes.

Dallas is 11.

Noah turns 10 on April 12th.

It wasn't easy getting posed for this shot. Bailey was done taking group pictures on cue.

Bailey said, "Pow!" His hand is a five-shooter. He likes to shoot us and has says, "Pow!" or "Pow-pow!" for a double whammy. We did it once a few weeks ago, and it has become his favorite game to play. When he shoots you, you have to moan, "Oh!" and then play dead. If you shoot him back, he will fall to the ground wounded. It's hilarious. He can't get enough of this game!

A sweet moment between Dallas and Savanna - so very rare!


I love this picture of Dan and the kids.

Look! A bird!

Dan and the boys. Pow! Bailey got you - Oh!


Daddy kissing sandwich.

Noah and his silly face. Bailey is shooting again.
Pow!

Savanna loves her sunglasses. Bailey loves sunglasses also (he wears mine a lot), but he breaks them. He needs the Flexons!

Dog pile! Dan rough houses with the kids all the time, so we have dog piles pretty often. If you count the feet, you can see they're all in there. Bailey's usually on top, but he got sandwiched in this time!


Bailey caught on that we were posing for pictures, so copped a squat right in a pretty patch of flowers. So cute!!

But after I took the picture, he was right back up again!

Uh-oh. Ummmm. Bailey's breaking the law here!

Seriously though, it is actually not illegal to pick bluebonnets, but it is highly discouraged because Bluebonnets only grow back if the seeds drop after the flowers are done blooming. Bluebonnet patches only grow a little bit each year when they re-seed, so if everyone were to pick the flowers, the numbers would dwindle. It is devastating if they get mowed down. We should do like Miss Rumphius (a really good picture book); she's the "lupine lady" and spreads lupine seeds all around to make the world a more beautiful place. Indian Paintbrushes are pretty lupines as well. I especially love when there are a few Indian Paintbrushes sprinkled about in a huge Bluebonnet field. I've only found those along the highways so far. Here's my bunch scattered about the Bluebonnets.

Noah took pictures for us here.

Bailey decided to join us.

Noah snapped a pic of Savanna, a good shot, I think.

Then Savanna came over to join us.


And then she left.

Bailey is bringing me a flower. How sweet =-)


Dallas is taking pictures now.

Bailey decided to join us again. The kid can't stay in one place for more than 2 seconds!


Noah and Mama.



Dallas and Mama.




That's all, folks! Until next Spring, that is....
=-)