Look What Steve and the Kids Caught!

Steve has taken the kids fishing several times, but they never catch anything. On their last adventure, they caught a turtle.

The next weekend, Cabela's had a Kid's Day where the kids got to fish in a tank. They each caught 4 fish within their 5 minute turn. Steve bought them little trophies. :)

Kid's Camps

Shane went to Dinosaur Camp at the Lego Education Center in Southlake. He enjoyed his camp and it got him so excited for Lego Land in San Diego. It is hard to find summer activites for 4 year olds!

His pterodactyl.

He loved these little alligators so much, he chose a pirate kit from Lego Land with one.

Sarah enjoyed her time at Girl Scout Day Camp. We got rained out (campgrounds flooded) for the last day and a half, but it was still fun!

She got to trap bugs in a little bug house, make a tye-dyed shirt (Use 100% cotton to get the best outcome.) , fold oragami animals, and go on a nature hike.

She also attended several one day "Summer Extreme" activities to earn patches for her Brownie vest. She went to a spa day, painted ceramics, toured the National Cowgirl Museum in Ft. Worth, and she'll go to the Make It, Eat It event next week!

Lovely Days of Summer

Well, summer is finally here, and how I love it! Sarah finished 1st grade! Shane, though he enjoyed preschool, is excited to be out for the summer and to stay home with Mommy and Daddy. Staying home, however, tends to not happen all too often. In January, my 3-4 week long-term sub job teaching 4th grade Language Arts ended up lasting 19 WEEKS! It was longer than I expected, but it was fun. Overall, the family handled it much better than my return to work full time the year before. I already have a 1st grade job lined up for a few weeks this fall.

The extra money helped to buy Steve's COWBOY tickets for the upcoming season and to beef back up our short-term savings account...and we will all enjoy our trip to San Diego this summer. Shane is so excited about going to Legoland. He carries the map around. We often "read" the map for storytime. Last weekend, we went to the 1st concert in the new stadium --- (Reba McIntire and george Strait). It is beautiful. I was really hoping that there would be adequate ladies' bathrooms, but alas, maybe in heaven. ;)

After a busy spring full of softball and blastball, we are opening the summer with Girl Scout "Get Buggy with It" Day Camp and nights spent at the pool. Shane is enjoying his mornings with Grandy. Hoping for a day soon when we will get to sleep in and hide away the "alarm". We'll see...

Zucchini Bread

My dad dropped off a few veggies from his garden this past weekend when he came to help Steve replace our hail-damaged shed. I decided to use the zucchini to make some bread. Anything to procrastinate cleaning the house, right?

I got this recipe from a military friend during pilot training. Wow, that was ages ago, 10+ years. Wonderful recipe!! Thanks for sharing Cindy!!

3 cups flour (I use sneaky chef mixture--one white, one whole-wheat, one wheat germ)
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp soda
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder


3 eggs
3/4 cup oil (I use applesauce)
2 cup sugar
2 cups grated zucchini (2 -3 med-sized, or 1 big one)
3 tsp vanilla

Mix all dry ingredients, except sugar together with a fork, set aside.

Beat eggs until foamy, add oil, sugar, zucchini, and vanilla. Mix lightly, but well. Slowly add all dry ingredients. Divide intp greased and floured loaf pans.

Bake 350 for about an hour. Makes 2 big loaves, or 4 small. (Muffins bake in less time**)

Once baked, these freeze well. :)

Stubborn Shane

Shane did not like what I made him for dinner tonight, so he chose not to eat. At bedtime (9 pm) he decided he was hungry. He asked what he could have and I told him to go eat his dinner that was waiting for him at the table. He got so frustrated and told me "I am not going to eat that!" I told him he could have his dinner, a piece of cheese, or nothing. He came back to me with the cheese, a hot dog, and the box of deli meat. I told him he could have the cheese, but needed to put the other things back. He told me, "You are not the boss of me, God is." I told him that God gave me the job of making sure that he eats healthy. He said, "Hot dogs are meat; they are healthy."

Oh, we are in for it when he gets older. He has such sound agruments and it is so hard to keep a straight face and to not give in. Even though he keeps me on my toes, I am thankful that he already realizes that God is the Boss of him. Hopefully, he will never fight that absolute truth.

My GUYS and their TATS

To really tell this story, I have to start at the beginning...

For Steve's 22nd birthday, he decided to get a tatoo. (This was a little before we met.) He wanted a yellow rose over his heart, so that no matter where he was sent in the military, he would always show his Texas pride.

Shane loves temporary tatoos. He gets them from school, pinatas, birthday goody-bags, etc. For his recent birthday I got him spider man tatoos. We usually put them on his hands, but then he doesn't want to wash them because it will come off. Sometimes we put them on his upper arm, so they'll last a little longer.

This week, while I was teaching and Shane and Daddy were hanging out, they found a new spot. When I got home, both boys had funny smiles. Steve told Shane to show Mommy his new tatoo. Well, here it is...

Like father...like son. I love my guys!

But I do wonder what the future will bring. ;)

Princess our hamster

Here are a couple of cute photos Sarah has taken of her hamster.



She loves this cotton candy type bedding. We put it in different places, and she pulls it to where she wants it. She spreads it out and gets in the very middle of it, as if she is cuddling herself.


Here she is drinking from her water bottle.



Even though I was a little apprehensive at first, I now realize that hamsters may be the "PERFECT" pet. Here are the top 10 reasons why hamsters are great pets!

10. They eat very little; one bag of food will probably last 6 months.

9. They are easy to take for walks. You just put it in its ball, and it will run around the house for hours.

8. They potty in a litter box which you dump every few days.

7. Their poop is so small that it's not even a big deal. (It looks like a pen mark.)

6. Their little accessories are pretty cute. Ours has a pink Cinderella-type carriage / wheel.

5. You only have to clean the cage every 2-3 weeks.

4. Kids think it is a TREAT to help clean out the cage. Who needs family game night?

3. You put food and water in the cage and the thing can take care of its self for a week.

2. You really get to decide when to interact with it, or when to leave it in its cage.

1. It is a great little motivational tool to get Sarah to finish homework, or clean her room. She can play with Princess as soon as she ______... If I had known how well this would work, we might have gotten one years ago.