Birthday's and Independence!

Alan had a great Independence Day Birthday party. We had several friends over and played outside, bbqed and had cake. He loved playing on the water slide and getting to see his friends. After the party was over, some friends from Houston stayed around to watch Alan open his presents and just relax. The kids were exhausted and fell asleep well before fireworks were set to go off. Definitely the mark of a sucessful birthday!

Random June Pictures

We ended June with some random fun. We took the kids swimming at Adamson Lagoon, had an early birthday celebration for Alan and just goofed off.

Catching up

Ok I know I am seriously behind on the blog. Once I start catching up, it will be apparent on why!

The last time I posted Ashley and I were getting ready for our Sea World trip. We headed down to San Antonio on June 20th and got to spend the night with other Girl Scouts in the aquarium area in fron of the sharks. The girls got a behind the scenes look at the park on Saturday evening and special seating at the Shamu Nights show.

The girls learning about the whales before Shamu's show.

Waiting for Shamu to make an appearance

The next morning we took a tour of the medical area where they keep the sick, young and retired animals. We got a chance to pet stingrays and a small shark. Ashley had a great time learning about the animals and really enjoyed going on the rides Sunday at the park.

Unfortunately, Ashley and I realized that this was not the troop of girls for us. We both decided that it would be best for her to find a new group of girls to join in with in the fall. Lesson learned! But, we still had a great time!

Father's Day and Firestations

David got to have Father's Day two days early because Ashley and I were leaving for a Girl Scout sleepover at Sea World. He made out like a bandit with an egg fry pan and spatula, Misto, sink mat and a back massaging chair pad. Yes, I know it seems werid to give him so many kitchen related items, but is just the kind of stuff he likes. Plus, I get to use them too so its a bonus for everyone.

David had been hinting about the massaging chair pad for months and the kids (well Ashley) were really excited about giving him this gift. David pulled it out of the box and got it all set up on the couch. The kids took turns enjoying the Shiatsu action before bedtime. Once they they were in bed, he enjoyed the massagin action in peace. Unfortunately, hours of relaxation comes at a price. At around 5am, David woke me up to tell me that he wanted me to take the pad back. It had beaten him up!!! His back was sore for days from the "relaxing" Shiatsu action. All I can say is that it was a better gift than a tie.

The kids' friend Matthew had his 3rd birthday party at the local firestation followed by waterslide fun at his house.

Rowan wasn't sure what to think about the firefighters jacket. She and Ashley loved exploring the trucks and the ambulance. Alan convinced the firefighters to show him the motor in the fire engine. He was very excited to see the inside of that big truck engine. I could see the gears in his mind working to figure out how to take that thing apart.

They had a great time playing on the waterslide at Matthew's house after the firestation. They loved the cake. As we were leaving Alan and Rowan found the cat door into the office. they couldn't figure out what it was for, but had fun trying to get through.

10 more to go!

This last week was a killer! We had Girl Scout Day Camp, Vacation Bible school, Pixie camp and Orientation. Throw in birthday parties and work picnics and you have the perfect recipe for an insane week.

Ashley loved going to Camp Howdy for Girl Scout Day Camp. This years theme was "All the World's a Stage". They had an opera singer come, puppets, a presentation from an animation lab and dancers. All of this plus crafts, campfire cooking, wilderness and 100 degree days. I volunteered out at the camp on Tuesday and Thursday. On Tuesday I was with a group of girls that were going into the 3rd grade. I have never been with such a group of whiners!! Seriously, by the end of the day I ended up telling a little girl that she needed to just suck it up and quit crying. Man I am glad that my kids aren't wimps. I understand being hot and miserable, but my the time you are eight years old you should be able to carry a garbage bag without crying. Just my opinion though! On Thursday I worked in the craft shack. Talk about a cushy job! I think I will be volunteering for that one for the entire time next year. There were fans and they bring you lunch. Of course, I did have a close encounter with a clothespin decorated to look like TicTock from Peter Pan that resulted in a red watering eye for a few days, but it was still better than dealing with the heat and whining little girls.

While I was volunteering, Alan and Rowan went to Pixie Camp. It was set up for the kids of volunteers. They had a wonderful time playing in the sprinklers and making crafts. they keep asking when they will get to go back. The other days when I wasn't at camp, we stayed busy with picnic lunches at the park, open house for Alan's summer school and getting ready for the weekend. Alan and Rowan love having lunch at the park and playing with friends.

We ended our week with David's yearly departmental picnic at Veteran's park on friday evening. There was a castle bouncer, a clown and a big inflatable slide along with the playground for the little kids. All three of the kids had a great time. Ashley got her face painted, but Rowan was terrifed of the clown and wouldn't go near her.

On Saturday we had two birthday parties and dinner at our friends Wendy and Arthur's house. Sunday we went to Houston to celebrate Al and Savana's birthdays. It was a really busy weekend, but everyone had a good time. 2 weeks down, 10 more to go!

Summer fun - Week One

The first week of summer vacation was a busy

one. On Saturday we had a graduation party, birthday party and a girl Scout backyard campout. That resulted in Sunday tummyaches and tiredness. Monday morning we had big plans for our first day of summer vacation, but they were delayed by a stomach bug that hit Rowan. By Wednesday, everyone was back to normal and ready to go though. We went to the Bryan library to see the Big Rigs. The kids got to go inside the different trucks, honk horns and eat popsicles. We have gone every year, but this time they were all really into it.

Ashley is participating in several reading clubs this summer, so we got a good start on those. They have been swimming in the pool in the backyard as much as they can and we have had a few park picnics.

One week down- eleven more to go!

Cookies and the End of the School Year

The last week of school was short, but busy around here. This is the last week for both Ashley and Alan at their schools. In August they will both be starting at a brand new elementary school close to the house. I am excited that they will be at the same school and we will no longer have the long trek to take Alan to College Hills, but it was sad to say goodbye to their teachers. Ashley is going to miss Forest Ridge, but I am sure next year will be exciting for her.

During the last week we needed to bake

something for Ashley's 6-week project. She studied Saudi Arabia, so we decided to make some Al Mamool cookies with a mold and recipe that her Nana provided. First you had to fill each dough ball with some date puree, then place the dough ball in the mold.It was time consuming to mold each individual cookie, but the kids liked them and Alan had a good time helping us knock the cookies out of the mold.

The finished products! They were both very proud.

The last day of school was extremely busy. Ashley had a pig out party for her class and then Alan was destroying his classroom. His school is being torn down, so they were letting the kids paint and do some demo of their own. It was a mess and he ruined his clothes, but I am sure he had a great time.