What we've been up to

The summer is winding down. Only a little more than a week before Megan and Jared will both be in school full time. I have mixed feelings. Part of me is SO excited for them to go to school. Poor Kate gets dragged all over town. It seems like every time she falls asleep, we wake her up to buckle her into the car seat. I am struggling to get things done - I have a class that I've been trying to get finished all summer. If I could just have a few hours of uninterrupted work, I could finish it. Things like that will be so much easier when they are in school. The routine will be a lot more consistent.

On the other hand, I have really enjoyed this summer. We haven't done anything major, mostly we've just stayed home and spent time together, but the Megan and Jared have become such good friends. They love to play together. And they both adore Kate. It's been fun to help them learn how to take care of her, how to play with her, etc. As much as I have complained, this really has been a fun summer.

This week, we have gone swimming a lot (like always!). We've also gone to the splash pad. Megan and Jared complain that they are too old to have fun at the splash pad, but they always have a blast when we go. And I enjoy it too - it's nice to sit in the shade and talk to the other moms, without worrying about the kids in the pool.

Megan has been learning to cook this summer. She can make a mean salad, without any help. And she's been helping Travis make a lot of other things as well. Sunday afternoon they made a three layer chocolate cake. It was fabulous. (I ate waaaaay too much.)

 

Since it's been so hot, we aren't spending much time outside unless we're at the pool. Instead, we've played a lot of xbox and computer games, and a lot of board games. Including Extreme Jenga. (Jared makes up the rules as he goes along.)

Cousins by chance, friends by choice.

We LOVE it when our cousins come to visit! We had such a fun weekend!

We went to the splash pad, went swimming, ran through the sprinklers and played on the slip-and-slide. What else is there to do in July in Houston?

(Sorry for the poor quality of this photo - my poor camera on my phone is pretty lousy. This night at the Boyers was the first time that Megan jumped off the diving board. Once she tried it, she went crazy, jumping 15 or so times.)

We ate yummy food that Travis cooked for us...

And we introduced Eleanor's kids to some fun new ways to eat dairy...

I didn't get pictures, but the kids all had a blast playing together. Josh and Ethan were especially nice to play with Jared. He LOVED having his big cousins spend so much time with him, playing Xbox.

And best of all, we had ice cream at Ritters. But I didn't get any pictures. Had other things (ie. eating ice cream as quickly as possible) on my mind.

Here's a picture of the newest cousins - they are 4 months apart in age. Aren't they adorable?

4th of July Celebrations

We had a WONDERFUL 4th of July. Fun from sun up to sun down (and beyond). Lots of yummy food and good friends. Couldn't ask for more.

We started the day at the church for a pancake breakfast. Travis made quiche (which was gone in about 30 seconds). Before we left for the church, I made everyone go out and pose for pictures - I knew we wouldn't make it through the day in our festive clothes. :D

After the breakfast, we went shopping for a couple things we needed for dinner later, new sandals for Megan and Jared (how do their feet grow so quickly?!?), and a swimsuit for Kate.

Then we dashed home to start cooking. Travis had big plans for things to take to the Boyer's bbq. Bleu cheese burgers, homemade buns, pasta salad, corn on the cob, and red, white, and blue almond cookies.

Aren't they GORGEOUS? They were really yummy. (although I think they needed more chocolate. ;D)

We had a WONDERFUL time at the Boyers. Someday I hope to be as gracious a host as they are. Everything was fun and relaxed and welcoming. The kids had a blast eating and swimming and playing with their friends.

Even Katelyn got into the pool for about 20 minutes. She absolutely LOVED it.

Crawfish Boil

I WISH I had brought my camera. What was I thinking? My poor little camera on my phone just didn't do the event justice.

'Tis crayfish season in the south, and that means Crayfish Boils. One of Travis's coworkers hosts an annual Crayfish Boil party, and we were invited. For the uninitiated, a Crayfish Boil is a party where you eat crayfish. Hundreds of pounds of crayfish. You buy them live in giant 50 pound mesh bags, wash them, season them, and dump them into giant pots of boiling water with potatoes and corn and sausage. When the crayfish are done cooking, you drain them, and dump them in a giant mound on long tables covered with newspaper. Then everyone gathers around, and digs in. You grab a crayfish, snap it's head off, suck the meat out of the body and tail, then suck the brains or guts or whatever out of the head. Toss it on the table and pick up another one.

I may never be the same again. For a Utah girl, who is accustom to church potlucks and zucchini exchanges, this was quite an eye opener.

Travis was in heaven. Jared liked them, except the seasonings were a little spicy. Megan was grateful for the tray of chicken nuggets. Although crayfish aren't really my thing, it was a beautiful day and a lot of fun to be out, mingling with people.

When we first got there, the kids were scared by the buckets of live, snapping crayfish, but by the time we left, Jared was picking up the escapees and dropping them back into the buckets. He was pretty proud of himself.

More Proof

In case you needed it, here is more proof that I shouldn't be cooking.

My first thought was that I had forgotten to poke holes in one of the potatoes (4 others cooked just fine), but if you look closely at the skins, you can clearly see fork marks. I think it's just a sign that I shouldn't touch the oven.

On a bright note, my oven got cleaned. :D