Spaghetti Swimming

The summer is almost over and my days of random, crazy play with the kids is quickly drawing to a close. 

Scott will start kindergarten this year, I'm going back to teaching so then Sydney is going to Pre-K.

We all get to go to the same school together so it's the perfect situation!

Who knows, it may not be considered cool for Scott next summer to take part in these wild ideas so I've got to cram in all I can while they are still willing to participate.

Last week it rained and rained and rained = no swimming outside.

When that happens we turn to the tub for some fun.

Scott's water was blue to begin with but the dye on the spaghetti bled off into the water creating this lovely shade of purplish/gray.

Sydney didn't want to get in so I got ALL the spaghetti out of the tub for them to play with in the bathroom.  Then...

I dumped it back in so she could swim with spaghetti too :o)

4th of July

It's been a few years since we ventured out to see fireworks.  I think I was pregnant with Sydney so Scott was 1.  Eric and I went down by Clear Lake the very first year we moved to Houston so we ventured back to that same spot again this year.  We were on the water so there was a nice breeze, minimal bugs and very close parking.  This will probably be our go to spot every year.

Played a little War, Battle, Higher/Lower or whatever is the correct title these days...

Had some glow stick sword fights.  If I remember correctly Sydney threw out the line, "I'm a natural born fighter..." in her deep fighting voice.  

Injury!

And these pictures...they remind me of the quote that is all over the place these days,
"Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a super hero."

snake bubbles

Snake bubbles is all over the web.  I read about it on someone else's blog.

Cut the end off a plastic bottle, tape on a sock, dip in soap/water mixture and blow!

We tried adding a little bit of food coloring after awhile to see if the bubbles would change colors.

Pinkalicious

Tuesday started off like any other normal day...

A little breakfast.  

Can I make a side note.  For awhile now I have not dressed my stubborn daughter.  So the outfits she wears in pictures are pretty much all her choice.  I have tried to make suggestions.  For example, it's not necessary to wear a skirt under a dress or your butterfly shirt doesn't match the butterfly skirt just because they both have butterflies.  Did I also mention she refuses to wear shorts.  Oh and most days call for an outfit change mid way through.  I have gracefully stepped aside so she can make her choices and we can all have a calmer morning :o) Maybe one day she'll look back at her pictures and say, "Mom, you were right."  Sorry, that was more than a side note.

When I look at the whole picture I can't complain too much because she does put it all on herself.

A little painting...well that's not a normal day activity.

And a little pink!  I treated the kids to a play at the theater, Pinkalicious!  It's based on a book where the girl eats too many pink cupcakes and then turns pink.  Everything about the experience was great.  The theater was small, kids could see, kids could snack and the play/musical was fun to watch. Yes, even Scott really enjoyed himself.  You see Pinkalicious has a brother named Peter so Scott could relate to him.

You even get autographs and pictures after the show.  Here's Sydney with Pinkalicious.

A Happy 32

Eric's birthday fell on a Saturday this year.  We didn't have plans and that turned out to be the fun plan.

Scott has been wanting to take daddy putt-putting ever since he went with a friend from school.  It was a rainy day but the course was in Galveston so we took a chance.  Turned out to be cool, slightly drizzly at moments but free from crowds.  Good times.

Sydney needed a bit of assistance at first.  There were several powerful swings by Sydney resulting in a near miss of another family member.  

This course is not in the best shape but it sure is fun!

So after that we drove down the coast in the opposite direction we normally go.  Actually we had never been down this way before.  It proved to be well worth our time. I guess this is where you would rent a place on the beach so the beaches were nicer and less crowded.  We bought some kites and took advantage of the windy day.

McDonald's for lunch and Eclair cake for dessert.

But wait...the day wasn't over after that.  We then headed to Eric's work to see his office and BBQ for dinner on the way home.  It was a fun family day!

Congrats Eric!

One day we got the call from work...Eric got his promotion!!

The kids and I decided to make a cake, well not exactly a cake.  I honestly don't remember how we decided on rainbow cupcakes but we did.

We mixed...

and frosted...

and finally attached a sign.

A couple weeks later on his birthday we visited his new office.

Scott and Sydney left their mark.

Museum of Natural Science

We all made a visit to the new hall of paleontology at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.