Leisure Activities Fill Second Half of Summer

During the four weeks from mid-July to mid-August, houseparents and children plan goals of their own, as individuals and as family units.  Often, a group will decide to raise money through extra work like car washes so that they can afford to travel to a theme park, sightseeing along the way and purchasing gifts, souvenirs, or personal items with the money they earned on work crew earlier in the summer. Sometimes their goal includes doing volunteer work for one of the area's many charities, or taking day trips to recreational sites in the nearby hill country. 

This is a period of  less structure and a lot of free time.  With the Texas heat bearing down, time is often spent near water, just sitting, fishing, or watching the river flow.