Jump Camp

So Riley went for his second sleep away camp this summer, this time to Jump Camp with our church, and when I went to pick him up from the church, I got real nervous, because his camp counselor said he wanted to speak to me. Uh-oh, that's not usually a good sign. So I go over and prepare myself for the worst, and he tells me that they told their bunk at the beginning of camp that they would give a prize at the end of camp to one of the kids who best exemplifies the fruits of the Spirit. They read the scripture, and they said they would be looking to see who they think met those qualifications, but they weren't going to keep reminding them, and telling the kids about "rules" and stuff. And at the end of camp, they picked Riley to win the prize. The counselor said that Riley showed an amazing amount of growth this week at camp, and truly demonstrated the fruits of the Spirit.

Of course, at this point I'm thinking they have the wrong kid (not really) but I thought wow, that's nice, he will probably win some candy or something, but no, check out his super awesome prize:


It's an Enjoi Skateboard, a really nice one! He was stoked! His counselor has even called the house again to tell us again how great Riley was at camp. I'm so proud of him! And he hasn't let that board out of his sight either, he's been practicing his Ollie's. He even tried taping his feet to the board to see if that would help him. But he loves it and now wants to spend any free time at the skate park. Thanks to Raphael and Travis, you guys rock!!

Last Week of Summer Break

I can't believe it's over. It does go by so fast, but we are more than ready (I should say, I am more than ready) for school to start back. The constant fighting and with gas prices so high and not leaving the house as much, it's like being on lock down, and we're all irritable.

So this week Riley went to Jump Camp with our church, Celebration Church. He comes home today and I'm excited, we missed him. Regan is spending the week at Camp Doublecreek, and she is thrilled, but it's SO hot she is more than ready to get in the air conditioning when I pick her up.

Yesterday David and I spent a grown up day together which as usual, consisted of us sitting around going, "What do you want to do?" "I don't know, what do you want to do?" And I hate that, so we ended up seeing Hancock.

Tomorrow we go to the school for Meet the Teacher night, both kids have new teachers, so we'll get to meet them and see old friends from last year and catch up. Then one last party weekend before it's time to resume our madhouse schedule on Monday.

The Hottest Coolest Time in Texas!

Yes, we went to Schlitterbahn today! We got free (semi-free) tickets from HEB a while back, and decided to go on the spur of the moment. The kids had a great time, this was our first time to go in a few years, since Regan was old enough to actually do some things, and she gave Riley a run for his money today! They rode some rides together, mainly they surfed, and Riley kept getting upset that she could stay up on the Boogie Board longer than he could. They did one that comes off the roof of the entrance, and the Soda Straw body slides, we did some tube chutes, and just had a great family day. They are already asking when we can go back.

Toobin' and Wii'ing

Trista and Chris got here on Thursday night and we stayed up late visiting and catching up. We got up on Friday morning and as usual, what was going to be just a small group turned into a massive outing! Pete decided he wanted to go with us, Tristan and Merissa came, so then it was time to pick everyone up, get gas and head on out of town, and try to find the same tube place we did last time, cause that one was pretty good.

We hit the Comal River around 1 and that water is COLD!! But, it was 101 outside, so it felt great. Riley found a rope swing and jumped in from that, and he was practicing his gymnastics by standing up on his tube most of the day. Regan ended up with tube burn on her stomach and arms from all the getting in and out she did all day. We did the chute a couple of times, they liked that, even though we lost 2 hats. It was fun though, the kids all wanted to go again, it took about 4 hours, but the grown ups were pretty wiped out.


We headed home, showered, and then we all went to Chuy's for dinner, where Alex tried to pay us back for taking his kids all day by getting us drunk on Mexican Martini's.

On Saturday, Daniel came over to spend the day, and we spent most of the day playing video games! It was a Wii-a-palooza!! Trista brought her Guitar so two could play together, and we played Raving Rabbids 2, WarioWare Smooth Moves, and the WiiFit. We grilled burgers and hot dogs, and again, had a houseful, and Alex tried again to get us all drunk by bringing over stuff to make Margaritas! We made Pete honorary bartender and tried to play Cranium. Although, it's hard to hum "The Girl from Ipanema" with a buzz on (just ask Jesse).

Tubing and Wiiing

Great weekend, sorry they had to leave so soon, and can't wait to go back to the river, and DRAG David next time...he says it sounds boring. Okay, maybe we'll leave him at home again.

Capital of Texas Zoo Show

Zoo Show

We have been going to the library for their summer learning series, and this week was the Capital of Texas Zoo Show. We've seen this guy around at many birthday parties over the years, and seen a few of these animals too! The kids always love this show. The Zoo Man is always very informative and loves to teach the kids about all the rare animals he brings with him. This week he had Kiki the Coati, a crowd favorite, then Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches, which he had a hard time finding volunteers to hold! Then my personal favorite, the cutest little baby wallaby, he was so snuggly and adorable, and I could just hear David telling me "NO!" cause he knows I would want to smuggle one home.

Then Sausage, the Blue Tongue Skink, who stuck his blue tongue out to show everyone, quite interesting. We found out that Mrs. Sausage is due to have baby sausages any day now. Then there was Wee Willy the Bettong, an endangered rat, I mean, marsupial, from Australia, he was kind of cute, in a rat type of way. Then Jambo, the porcupine, something you don't see everyday, that's for sure! He was very fascinating, the Zoo Man put him down and let him walk around a bit and he was a very curious porcupine!

Then, the Grand Finale, Julius Squeezer, Riley has gotten to hold him at a party before, but this time, Regan got to go up and let him check her out, he sniffed her hand and I guess she smelled pretty ratty, he got right in her face and sniffed some more. She didn't back down or freak out, she stood her ground. They really enjoyed learning all about these animals, even had some good questions for the Zoo Man, and want to go visit his zoo someday soon.

Another Fun Picture

Just playing around, again, cause I got plenty of time on my hands...

Phil's Ice House (YUM)

This is one of our favorite places to eat in town, ALL of ours!! The big people like the food, the little people like the playground, all of us like the ice cream. It's a win-win type of place. So if you live in the Austin area, and haven't been, shame on you!! Since it's been so hot, we waited until a little later to go, it's not as crowded then either, and had our usual 78704 burgers, which Riley even ate some of mine, and liked it, good boy! Then headed out to the playground so mom and dad can actually have a conversation and the kids can play, and they had a great time, met some friends and chased each other around, and I didn't have to hear, "Mom, he's copying me" or "Mom, she's following me" all night, it was great! They played shuffleboard, climbed the cows, rode the fake horse, and we stayed till after 10:30! Great place to go, they were worn out by the time we left.

That's the Way Riley Rolls...

As if I needed something else to kill time, right? But this is fun. I started making one of these for Regan the other night but it crashed my computer and David got an ear full the next day. You know the saying, "The cobbler's children had no shoes"? Well, the updated version of that is, the IT guy's wife has a crappy computer. BUT, I won't get into all that now. Except to say I think I might be the only person left in the world that owns a computer and NOT a printer. But that's a whole nother story.

Anyway, here's a scrapblog I made for Riley. It's short, because so is my memory (my computer memory that is) so when my computer gets upgraded, I can do more. So, don't hold your breath or anything.

Park, Gymastics and Skating, Oh My!

We've been trying to keep busy close to home lately, so we haven't done a whole lot this past week. Ran some errands, went to the free movie to see Water Horse which was much better than I was expecting it to be, I even teared up a bit towards the end.

And then, the thing I've been so excited about for weeks and weeks...one of my friends is a professional photographer and I finally managed to get it together and have her photograph the kids. I have wanted to do this forever, and you know how it goes, something always comes up. I can't WAIT to see the pictures she took, she's REALLY good, as you can see at her blog, Mollie Kendall Photography, so we met up with her at this really awesome park in Georgetown and she took off with the kids to get some pictures. I think Riley was a little confused about it, he thought this was his first paid modeling gig, he asked her how much SHE was paying US to take his picture. He doesn't have a big head or anything does he?

I had to bribe the kids with McDonald's lunch and time at the park if they behaved, so we went to the playscape after, which is like this wooden fortress, it's really neat, and we ate and ran around while I took my own, very inferior pictures. But we had fun for about 1 hour, then it got about as hot as the surface of the sun, and even Regan said, "Mom, my hair is sweating, I want to leave."

San Gabriel Park

So we went home to rest up a bit before gymnastics and then after gymnastics we met up with some of Regan's Girl Scout friends for Family night at the skating rink. Now, Regan has never liked skating too much. I bought her those kiddie skates that fit over your shoes and she never wanted to wear them, and when we've gone skating in the past, she would do one lap around the rink and be done. This time was no exception. Only she was mad that she didn't know how to skate. I told her, it's not like something you're just born knowing how to do, you have to practice, but her friends were quite good, and she was upset that she couldn't be out there going fast with them, but she spent most of her night holding the rail and taking her skates on and off.

Skating

They were wiped out by the time we got home!

Happy 4th of July

We had a fun, crazy 4th of July. It's been a little odd, normally I am very into holidays, we make shirts and desserts for the 4th, but this year it kind of snuck up on us. The day before, Pam called and asked what our plans were and I was like um, whatever! So they wanted to come over and we started planning what food we would make, and she wanted to know who all was planning on coming so we would make sure to have enough food. Well, at that point, I hadn't given the day a second thought so I said well, it's just going to be us. David headed to a meat market WAY on the East side of town to find some ribs and got a HUGE brisket and got started on that when he got home from work on Thursday. Then Daniel called and wanted to come spend the day with us, and I was so happy he was able to come out for the day, we happily added one more place at the table.

Then, Alex's kids are both gone, Merissa is still in North Carolina and Tristan is at Disney World with some friends (we're Superman jealous, like Regan says) so of course, he had to come, add one more place to the table.

I was talking to my stepmom Linda and she said Pete was supposed to work, and Jessie and Ashley were going to be alone for the 4th, and we can't have that, so I called her and she said they would come over, and Pete wasn't working that day after all, so set THREE more places at the table!

Then Alex calls on his way over and says he's not alone...he has his girlfriend, is that okay, at this point, what's one more? Add another place to the table!! So as usual, we had a house full, and a great time.

David made the huge brisket, some beef ribs, some type of sausage, Pam brought this awesome smoked mozzarella pasta salad from Whole Foods, and a fruit torte and yummy carrot cake. I made corn salsa rice and boiled potatoes and Pete made his Asian chicken wings again. And as usual, there was plenty of food, and plenty of leftovers!

We sat on the deck, the weather was great, and then we loaded up and went out to Lake Pflugerville to watch the fireworks display there. We didn't get anywhere near the lake, the traffic was pretty bad, and it took us about 30 minutes to make it the 2 miles or so back to the house. Crazy! We got home and had cake and ice cream and Ashley wanted to spend the night, so we had a late, fun night.

The next day, Pete and Jessie came back over and we all went swimming and they came to church with us, and then we went to eat at Pei Wei with Pam and Dave. It's been a relaxing weekend and a fun time with family. I got more trim painted in the kitchen and hung up more cabinet doors, so it's slowly coming back together. I'm hoping to have it finished before the next round of company comes in a couple of weeks!

Fun with Stickers

On any given Sunday night you will find a small army at our house. We love to have people over and hang out, have fun, let the kids run wild. It really can get crazy, and we LOVE it! So, this Sunday, as usual, Alex and Tristan (we miss Merissa who is in North Carolina) and my brother Pete, Jessie and Ashley came over and we grilled yummy hamburgers, hot dogs, veggies, corn on the cob, Pete made these chicken wings with some kind of spicy Asian sauce, and then, we made FUNNEL CAKES!! It was like being at a carnival, we had a blast. David got his new smoker/grill so he loves to use it, so I love to let him.

So, since most of my cabinet doors are still off (most of them are painted though, I just need to paint the trim) Ashley and Regan found some stickers in my craft cabinet, and had some sticker fun. They looked so cute with stickers for finger and toenails. They had a good time. So...Sunday nights at my house everyone!

Haircut Time!

For Riley this is like pulling teeth, he HATES having his hair cut. Maybe cause there are not a lot of people who know how to trim a mop?? He just wants a tiny bit cut off but by the time we get into the salon, he always needs more than a tiny bit cut off. When we go swimming, it's hard to tell he's a boy when his hair is wet, all the curls straighten out and his hair is nearly halfway down his back. So, we went to Cool Cuts, at least I don't have to drag them kicking and screaming in there, and they both got really cute new 'do's. Regan wanted hers short again, but thankfully not as short as last summer! So here is our mini modeling session after the cuts. This is also the next morning so Riley has a slight case of bed head going on. But just like the lady said that cut his hair..."Look at his pretty eyes!"

New Bicycle

This is Regan on her new bike she got for her birthday from Mimi and Papa. She loves it!! She hasn't been able to ride it because she needed a new helmet, and so we finally got one and she couldn't wait to get home and try them out. This bike is an 18 inch, which is much bigger than her 14 inch bike that she had, so it takes some adjusting for her. She can ride in a straight line but has to get off to turn the bike around, it's so cute. So here she is showing off her new wheels.

Week of the Movies!

It's been too hot to do much outside, so this week we caught up on movies! First we saw Kung Fu Panda, which is total awesomeness. The kids enjoyed it, and for some reason, Regan couldn't remember Master Shifu's name, so she's been calling him Master Ebay. Whatever works for her I guess. We went to a Sports and Toy Science demonstration at the library, got the kids haircuts, and then...you guessed it...
Another movie! WALL-E! It was really good too, the kids loved it, Pixar can do no wrong in my eyes. For a movie with very little actual talking, this one had some great moments. And then we headed to the pool in our neighborhood for movie night! Cats and Dogs this time, an oldie, but the kids don't remember ever seeing it, so they had a good time, and are pretty worn out from swimming, so it's all good. I promise to get them outside more next week.

Honor the Texas Flag!

The last act of Daisy Troop 131 was to say the Pledge of Allegiance and the Pledge to the Texas Flag in front of a Pflugerville City Council Meeting to earn their Courageous and Strong Petal. The girls did a great job up there! AND, they were televised, and it will be on local access TV for the next few days, for those few people who get Pflugerville cable. It was a mad rush to learn the pledge to the Texas flag, as short as it is, we didn't know until the last minute that we had to say that one too, so we were standing outside going over it, and they were so confused, getting the pledge, the Texas flag, and the Girl Scout promise, all rolled into one big pledge! Then someone gave me an email and asked me to forward my pictures on to the newspaper with the girls names so they will be in the Pflugerville newspaper too, our very own local celebrities. Then we headed out front for some photo opps with the City of Pflugerville sign. And just because I know you're curious, the Texas flag pledge is: "Honor the Texas flag: I pledge allegiance to thee. Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible."