A Day in Brenham, TX

We knew that we would have just one day with Fr. Tom. He has visited before so what should we do? We decided that it might be fun to take a short drive to Brenham. If we had been one month sooner the wild flowers would have been all over. As it was there were still some Brown Eyed Susan's and Indian Paintbrushes left. We narrowed our adventures down to two activities:

Blue Bell CreameriesForty-five minute tours include a film and a dip of
your favorite ice cream flavor. Nominal fee, call for tour times. Reservations
required during Spring Break and for groups of 15+. Closed most holidays. 1101
Blue Bell Rd., Brenham. 800-327-8135. http://www.bluebell.com/

Monastery of St. Clare Miniature Horse Farm The Monastery is home to a
group of Franciscan Poor Clare Nuns who support themselves by raising miniature
horses and by selling their handmade ceramic items in the "Art Barn" gift shop.
Guided group tours available. 9300 Hwy 105, Brenham. 979-836-9652. http://www.monasteryminiaturehorses.com/

We set off early enough in the day to get there and back in time for their planned Capture the Flag adventure and the arrival of our California Family. It isn't always easy to find a little place like this. Fr. Tom thought he would be able to sniff it out. We also had an iphone going with a maps application running and at the GPS. It wasn't the easiest to locate. I phoned a friend who phoned another friend who called back with very specific and direct instructions. After her advice we found it right away, thanks Janet.
We pulled in behind a sister in full habit getting the mail. She was gone before we unloaded and we never saw another nun after that point. It looks as though there are just two that live there (judging by the books and chairs in the chapel.) So in was a very small monastery with very small horses.

The sisters did have a sense of humor. All of the notes around were fun.It was fun to visit the miniature horses but I must admit that even a Poor Clare Horse Farm smells like a horse farm. Cute little ones.
I love the giggles on Jumba below.




I loved watching my little ones get very excited.

Then we made a visit with our Lord in the chapel. That was the best part.The chapel was small but pleasant. It was simple and loving. I still miss the elaborate alters from the mid-west Catholic churches but this was very nice. Next it was on to the ice cream factory. We signed up and went on the official tour. It is just a little piece of our Texas history. The part that taste yummy.
As we walked in we did not know what we would see but looked forward to the reward of a scoop of ice cream at the end. It was very interesting. But in the end gave each visitor a scoop of the flavor you asked for. That was our favorite part.

After our drive back to Spring we needed to decide what to do for dinner. The big kids wanted to swim but instead we stopped at Denny's for a quick meal.
Pooker ended up leaving practice and joining us for the first time all day. (She had been at school all morning.)
The food wasn't to die for but the company sure was.
To be honest I don't think we were this settled again until Sunday night after the Confirmation. (more on that later)