On day two of the Big Birthday Bash weekend, we picked up our "Fairy Godmother" Miss Marie at the airport and headed straight for the castle! Who knew there was a castle you can visit in Texas!
These two princesses and their prince (or jester, you decide) enjoyed the castle grounds and the pathways around it.
In the small town of Bellville, TX there is a bakery called Newmans. The bakery owner built himself a castle in the woods to live in. He built it himself over the last 10 years. It's available for tours and is lots of fun. With your tour is a bakery lunch included.
It has a working drawbridge around the moat! You use a wooden "hamster wheel" to lift the bridge although it takes 2-3 adults to pull it up.
When it's your party weekend, you can pout if you want to! I wish I knew what she was pouting about but there are just too many wishes that go ungranted for this little princess.
Feeling a little like Duchess Kate as I wave to my people. My little "princess charlotte" by my side! I really think I could do the whole royalty thing!
Except the part when they start criticizing what I'm wearing, my chin, hair etc. Or when they question the way I'm raising my children. Ok, ok, I get it, royalty probably isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Bippity-boppity-boo! Lillian runs for her glass slipper as the clock strikes NAPTIME!
These little cousins have the BEST time together! Allie Grey has waited all year to come to "Quston" for Lillian's birthday party. I hope we showed her a royally good time!
Avalon stole the royal show! He was nearly as tall as the girls standing up. I have rarely ever seen a dog so big but also so sweet! He's clearly used to children "loving" on him. I wonder if Lucy would fit in as a royal pup? Oh, wait. She already is!
At the end of the tour "King" Newman, tells a story to the children of his trip to Ireland and meeting a tiny leprechaun who gave him some magic gold nuggets to give away in his castle. He's clearly told the story hundreds of times as the children were mesmerized. They loved their "gold" they picked from his tiny treasure chest. We left feeling like we were party of his royal family. It was very neat that no parts of the tour were considered "off limits" including the Kings sleeping quarters. The kids loved checking out the "royal throne" aka, bathroom! We hope to return to the castle again when we have new "royal guests" to bring.
We were lucky enough on the way home to stumble upon these early bluebonnet blooms. They bloomed 3-4 weeks earlier than normal and I was so happy to be able to show my family the heart of Texas through the bluebonnets!
They thrill me EVERY single year when I see them. Maybe I was meant to be a Texan.
The castle has a working bell tower that you can climb to the top of. From below, you can pull the rope and ring the bell but it's LOUD to anyone that is climbing in the tower. Of course Lincoln scaled to the top and I went to follow him but I could only get to the second window before I had to come back down. Why do you get afraid of heights as an adult?
What castle is complete without a dungeon? The kids had to try out all of the torture devices.
Bed of Nails
Hanging jail
and, well, whatever this thing is called.
Goodbye, Newmans Castle! We will meet again one day!
