Art Park

It's been sooo hot this summer that we decided to limit our outings to the Children's Day Art Park. We're only going to brave the heat for our favorites such as Joe McDermott, Staci Gray, and the Biscuit Brothers.

Today we were lucky enough to get there early and we were first in line for the balloon animals... which means we got the cool balloons before the clown realized those were going to take way too long to make for everyone! Aren't they cute though??

Then we stayed until the bitter end so we could all get faces/arms painted.
I really liked the clown who painted Peter's face - he had the minimalist technique working. It was still really cute but didn't take near as long as some of the others.

Water Balloons!

After we got back from Houston, Lincoln had a couple of friends over for a little belated birthday party.

We had hot dogs and lemonade,
tossed around some water balloons,

and played in the sprinkler

and then finished it all off with brownie sundaes
Yum!

Fun in Houston

This past week was Andrew's annual business conference (in San Diego this year). Since he was going to be gone for most of the week, we decided to spend a few days in Houston with the grandparents...

We kept the kids busy in an attempt to wear them out a little - starting with a trip to the zoo on Thursday. We went early so we could leave before it got too hot... even so, it was a sweaty trip. Even the elephants preferred to be in the water!
It was a lot of fun to see the "little" baby elephant too :)


Most of our trip was spent indoors... at the aquarium
and the reptile house.
This guy was a favorite - and he was actually awake and moving around!


The cuban crocodile kept snapping at the kids reflections


And we couldn't miss a trip to the piranha tube...
We headed for home after lunch and vowed to go somewhere cooler the next day.



So we headed out to the Children's Museum.

It's changed a LOT since the last time I was there... there's really too much to do in one day,

so we spent our time in the Cyberchase room and building parachutes and lego cars

before heading upstairs to rescue Grandma and Eli for lunch...
and even then we got sucked into Kidtropolis (the kid-sized town) for a good 30 minutes.

On Saturday, we vacated the house for a cool splash park that Grandma found so she could get things ready for a family dinner. It was great playing with cousins and seeing everybody that evening. The kids were thoroughly worn out from a week of playing so we were ready to hit the road the next day and get back to our own beds.

Thanks for putting up with us Grandma and Papa!
We love you!

Our Garden - Week 7

Our tomatoes are coming along beautifully - these were planted from seeds we bought in those little pots at the One Spot in Target, so we don't know for sure what kind they are, but they are starting to look like beefsteaks.
We're trying to be really patient while we wait for them to turn red!


But what we're really excited about is this...

OKRA!!!

Have you ever seen an okra blossom???
They look sort of like hibiscus flowers - really beautiful!

More okra - they really are the prettiest plants...
and for those of you who think you don't like okra, try blanching it in boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Then scoop it out and sprinkle it with salt and eat as finger food.
Delicious!!

Lincoln is 6!

We celebrated Lincoln's birthday tonight to much joy and happiness!

He was so excited to finally be six years old!

Opening presents is always the most anticipated event of the evening...
especially because Lincoln is so sincerely enthusiastic about everything he gets - it makes you want to find more things to give him just so you can enjoy the reaction again and again.

He asked for a watermelon cake this year -
it not only looked like watermelon, but it tasted like it too!


It has been such a blessing to have this little boy in our family.
He can be so considerate of others and the little boys really love it when he plays with them.
He does everything wholeheartedly, reminding us all to enjoy the moment fully.

We love you Lincoln!!!

Corpus Christi

As our first official vacation of the summer, we packed up the car and headed for Corpus Christi. We've been talking for years about driving down to see a Hooks game - the Corpus Christi Hooks are the AA affiliate of the Houston Astros. A couple of months ago we mentioned this in passing to a friend of Andrew's who also happens to be a big baseball fan - and it was decided that we would meet them down in Corpus to finally take in a game.

Of course, we couldn't be that close to the coast without spending some quality time on the beach! In fact, we just stopped at the hotel long enough to change into our suits before heading out to Padre Island on Friday evening.

And we headed back first thing Saturday morning as well! The water was beautiful although the sand does take some getting used to...
Leah found tons of tiny clams and got stung by a beached jellyfish, and Mom tried to feed her toe to a crab for breakfast, but it was great fun anyway!

Saturday afternoon, we made a quick stop at the Texas State Aquarium, something I only recommend if you have a reciprocal membership somewhere else that will get you a discounted admission. They do have some cool shows though, so be sure to check the schedule when you go.


Next up was an ice cream break, and then we headed out to Whataburger Field to see a little baseball!

The team wasn't playing so well, but these little ballparks are always a lot of fun - and since our friend was able to get us tickets through his Astros contacts, we ended up sitting right behind home plate with all the big league scouts.
What a great kickoff for summer 2011!

First Day of Summer

I can't think of a better way to start the summer.... Can you?

Last Day of School

It's hard to believe another school year is already over...

Both Leah and Lincoln had a wonderful year and learned so much,
Thanks in no small part to two fabulously amazing teachers!
We love you Mr. Brandon and Mrs. Brandt!