Summer 2015

Our summer started off with a bang with a trip to South Padre with my family.  We planned this trip to celebrate his retirement.

When we came back to Houston, Audrey had a dance recital on Saturday, June 6th.   It was also my mom's birthday.

 Audrey LOVED wearing her costume with makeup

Happy Birthday Mom!

The next week was the best week for Matthew but the worst week for me.  I signed him up for a basketball camp at Jesuit Strake High School that met from 9-12am and then he had a cub scout twilight camp from 6-9pm.  Matthew enjoyed learning about basketball for the first time.  His friend, Andy, was there, too.  And he LOVED the archery, BB guns, and cub scout projects that he learned at the twilight camp.  It was a hard week for me because I was busy driving him around to all these camps at various hours of the day.  Plus, trying to keep Audrey busy and get dinner ready.  I was so happy when Friday rolled around.

Andy & Matthew at basketball camp

On June 15th, Audrey and Matthew both went to Vacation Bible School at our church.  They really enjoyed it.  It was 9-12 noon and I was worried that Audrey would not go into a separate classroom away from Matthew but she actually surprised me and she did very well.  After VBS, I would treat them to lunch and then we would get into the apartment pool around 4:30pm when it was shaded so we didn't have to worry about sunscreeen.

 Andy came on Friday to watch their performance

We had a picnic on Friday after their performance

For the week of June 22nd, we didn't have any camps lined up so we decided to drive to Dallas and go to our old church's Vacation Bible School.  We stayed with our friends that bought our previous house there.  It was fun to be a guest in our old house again.  We celebrated Father's Day on Sunday and my parents drove into town and then I drove 4 hours with the kids to Dallas for the VBS that started on Sunday evening.  I also met up with some friends and took the kids to the dentist and got a haircut.  

 Happy Father's Day

Eating popsicles with Marisa

Swimming with Bailey and Mason

The week of June 29th, Matthew went to the All Saints kids camp in the Heights neighborhood.  There were 3 other boys that he knew from school.  He loved the camp and Audrey begged me to take her there but I felt that she was too young for that this year but I will certainly sign her up with Matthew for that next year.  

On Friday, July 3rd, we caught a flight to Michigan for our annual 4th of July trip.  

 Playing a game with Papa Tom

 Watching the parade with Mimi

 Matthew learned how to ride a bike without training wheels

Hanging out with grandma

Walking and petting alpacas

On the tractor with Pa Bru and cousins Ty and Nola

Going to Lake Michigan with the Righters (Morgan, Meredith, Marley, and Matthew)

Over the July 11th weekend, I headed to Sonoma to celebrate Jennifer's 40th birthday.  I flew into SFO and then drove to Sonoma on Friday.   We went dancing Friday night and had so much fun.  Then we went on a hike Saturday morning and enjoyed breakfast afterwards in the square.  We went wine tasting during the day and then ate a delicious dinner at an Italian restaurant to celebrate Jennifer's birthday.  It was a lot of fun.

wine tasting with Jennifer and Linn

When we came back to Houston, Matthew started the U of Houston soccer camp on July 14th.  He enjoyed playing soccer and he came home exhausted at the end of the day.  The camp was from 9-3pm.  He played with his friend, Brant, from school.  Mike stayed at our place and watched Rusty for us while we were gone to Michigan.  We were so thankful that Rusty didn't have to be boarded.  On Thursday, July 16th, we drove down to meet my parents for dinner and snowcones for my birthday.

Snowcones

 Soccer camp

 Swimming in the apartment pool with Mike

Loving on Roxy a little bit longer until she goes back home 

For the week of July 20th, we took a break from the camps.  We tried to go to the park one day but it was too hot and everyone was ready to go home.  We got into the pool everyday.  Thank goodness for this apartment pool!

For the week of July 27th, the kids went to a gymnastics camp from 9-3pm.  Audrey begged to go with Matthew because she knew one of the girls there in the kindergarten class.  She had a great time being a big kid.

The following week (Aug 3rd) we went to the mall, movies, and anything else we could find indoors. And the week of Aug 10th, I took Audrey to school so that I could spend some alone time with Matthew.  He enjoyed that.  We went to the exercise room, played board games, and went out for lunch.  We told Audrey we just did boring stuff so she wouldn't feel like she missed out on anything.

 Audrey went ice skating for the first time at a friends' birthday party

 This is how I would shop at the grocery store.  Everyone gets a cart!

 The kids enjoyed sleeping in and watching cartoons in the morning.

 The rock wall at the mall

 swimming in the apartment pool with daddy

Menchies Frozen Yogurt with Mike

The last day of school

Matthew's last day of school was supposed to be a half day on Wed, May 27th.  However, there was a major flood in Houston on memorial day, May 25th, so Tuesday was an inclement weather day, causing the last day to get extended to Thurs, May 28th.  We already had plans to leave town on Thursday to drive 6 hours to South Padre so Matthew missed the last day of school.  He was ready for summer to begin and they were watching movies at school at this point so I don't think he missed much.  Thankfully, we were not impacted with the flooding like much of Houston.  Our apartment sits up on a hill so the closest the water made it to us was a couple of inches in the parking garage.

The buffalo bayou park across the street from us was completely flooded.  I have been buying some clothes online and I was happy to have new rain boots so that I could walk Rusty without getting my shoes wet.  

Before the flooding happened, we were staying busy looking for houses in our free time.  The kids are getting tired of looking.

Rusty loves to go to the park

The kids are playing at a park at an elementary school.  We bribed them with playing at the park after looking at a house.

The week of May 11

On Monday, May 11th, I had a fever with a sore throat and cough. I felt so bad that I didn't want to drive Audrey to her school. I let her watch a lot of TV while I rested. I picked up Matthew and we went to a park. The kids are not used to me feeling bad and they kept wanting me to chase them. I just struggled through the day. On Tuesday, the fever went away but I still couldn't do my normal routine so Audrey happily stayed home again. By Wed, I started feeling better and took her to school. My dad came into town on Thursday and we had a nice lunch at Pappasitos. The hot sauce helped my sinuses. Matthew was supposed to have his last game on Thursday but it was rained out. Papa was hoping to see the game but he was there to see the award ceremony- pizza, trophys, and cupcakes.

I took Audrey to school on Friday and then shortly after Andy and I took a trip to Sonoma, California for my friend, Maria's birthday. I still had a terrible cough but we had a great time! We also saw Andy's cousin, Jennifer, since she lives there.  This was our first trip alone together in a while and we thoroughly enjoyed it.
My dad picked up the kids from school and then my mom and Mike drove into town Sat to help. The weather was rainy but they still enjoyed the pool and buffalo bayou for dog walking both Rusty and Roxy. It is a lot of work to watch the kids and Rusty so we were very appreciative of the help! We are thankful that Papa is feeling better and that his diagnoses was not stomach cancer. Thank God!

Award ceremony

Matthew was excited about getting a trophy

And Audrey loved the cupcake

Hanging out with Jennifer in Sonoma

 Happy Birthday Maria!

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The week of May 4th

Mike stayed in town for the first part of the week and I drove him back on Tuesday. I met my Dad for lunch and we ate bar-b-que. Dad is looking better and walking around now. He seems to have a good appetite after his surgery. Audrey was sick with a pink eye on Monday and she made it to school on Tuesday but then relapsed Wednesday with a cough. For Cinco de Mayo, I made tacos and cranked up the Latino music. The kids enjoyed this.
My good friend Maria came into town on Thursday and we attended a charity lunch together. I had fun getting dressed up and doing something special for lunch. I normally just eat something at home in between errands.
Matthew had a baseball game on Thursday and then the kids met Maria at dinner later.
On Sat morning, Matthew had a Cub Scout meeting while Audrey had ballet. Andy took Matthew to the U of Houston broadcast communications building where they learned about radio and TV. We met up afterwards and played at the memorial park for a little while. And we went to mass later Saturday where Audrey fell asleep on me. Andy and I went out for dinner as a special Mother's Day dinner. The kids made necklaces out of pasta for me while we were gone. I wore them proudly the next day.
On Sunday we met my parents and Mike at a restaurant in Sugarland for Mother's Day brunch. It was a buffet at The Lasagna House. We were stuffed the rest of the day!



Audrey took this picture. Rusty loves soft blankets and pillows.


Scooters in the park


Matthew wanted to give Maria a "high" five.

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The week of April 27th

It was a busy week.  Matthew had a baseball game on Tuesday and Thursday night.  I was a guest reader at Matthew's school on Thursday and brought a craft to go along with the book.  The kids loved it.  I picked up Audrey early so that she could go with me.  There was an empty seat next to Matthew's because a kid was absent so Audrey sat there and did the craft with the class.  It was so cute. I wish I would have taken a picture.  On Friday, we went to the Pengu swim for family swim night.  Mike came into town so he went with us.  The kids LOVE swimming and they look forward to it every week.
 
Audrey had ballet on Saturday morning while Matthew had baseball practice.  We start early but then we crash by noon time.  Mike played Scavenger Hunt with the kids and they enjoyed running around the apartment trying to find random items.  Andy and I went to a crawfish boil Saturday night.  We were excited to know 3 people at the event.  It was a fundraiser for the school so we knew some of the parents.
Andy went to early mass Sunday morning while we worked the bake sale for the cub scouts.  Matthew dressed up in his uniform and he looked so cute.  He enjoyed selling the baked goods as people came out of the church.  I made homemade chocolate chip cookies and I'm still offended they only sold them for $2 for 3 cookies. I think they should have been priced higher.  LOL!
Matthew went to an Astros game on Sunday for a friends' birthday.  Andy and I joked that Matthew has done more in Houston than we have since he has been to a game and we haven't.  Matthew enjoyed hanging out with the boys for the day.  Audrey missed Matthew but I think she also liked having us all to herself.

 Audrey asked me to take this picture right before we picked up Matthew from school.

We took this at Millroy park after school one day

The week of April 20th

I have been scheduling a safe-environment training for the past 3 months but it always seems to conflict with something.  But on Monday, April 20th, I finally completed the training.  I was so happy to finally get this one marked off my list because it means that I can volunteer at Matthew's school now.  I kept thinking about all the great things I wanted to do once I quit my job (volunteer at the school, participate in church activities, workout, etc....) and this training was a requirement before volunteering.  When I picked up Matthew from school on Monday, he was acting funny.  He fell down at the park because he said he was dizzy.  When he fell, he scraped his leg.  He started crying and saying that he was scared it was going to turn into cancer because the dirt would get into his wound.  I calmed him down and assured him it would not turn into cancer.  We have been talking about Papa's tumor lately and we are still waiting to hear whether he has stomach cancer or not.  I am happy to report that my dad was dismissed from the hospital and recovering from his stomach surgery.
Matthew complained of a sore throat and since several of his friends had strep throat, I took him to an urgent care place that same night.  He tested positive for strep so we started antibiotics right away.  Matthew stayed home Tuesday and Wednesday.  We were preparing for a family camping trip so Matthew went to REI with me to buy the tent.
On Friday, Matthew had International Day at his school.  He dressed up as an Irish lad and danced.  He looked so adorable!  Audrey decided to skip school and go to the International Day Festival with me.  We enjoyed Irish food as well as Chic-Fil-A nuggets, fruit, and other foods after the show.
After the International Day festivities, we headed to Matthew's 7 year old well visit at the doctor's office.  He did a hearing test and vision test.  Everything turned out great.

On Saturday, we went to the Sam Houston Forest for a Boys Scout/Cub Scout camp out.  The Boys scouts greeted us when we arrived and helped setup the tent.  They showed the cub scouts how to tie knots.  Matthew and Audrey LOVED it!  They went swimming in the lake and they went fishing with a net.  We enjoyed a delicious pig roast.  There were several sightings of snakes that kept everyone on their toes.  Andy saw a copperhead snake and the Boy Scout Troop Leader drew his knife and cut off the head and took off the skin for all the boys to see.   Then there was a rat snake that nobody messed with.  Andy went to the bathroom and saw a coral snake.  He was shocked to find out how poisonous it was!  And while the boys were swimming, there was a water snake swimming in the lake.  WOW!  I tried to not think about it while sleeping but I have to admit that I woke up once during the night in a sweat thinking I felt something slithering on my leg.  It was all in my head.  The kids made s'mores around the campfire and then later listened to ghost stories.  We looked up at the stars in our tent and then listened to the tree frogs croaking.  It was so much fun.

On Sunday, we headed back into town.  The forest was only one hour and 15 minutes out of town.  We stopped at the cracker barrel and ate a big breakfast.  We took showers as soon as we got back and we all took a long nap.  Matthew's nap was 4 hours long!

 At the park after school on Monday

 Audrey is helping mop the floors

 Matthew is helping Audrey get a drink out of the water fountain

The week of April 13th

Late Sunday night, April 12th, Mike called me and told me that dad was rushed to the emergency room.  He was having stomach pains and he fell down.  Mike and Mom thought he was having a heart attack.  It turns out that my dad had a bleeding stomach tumor.  My dad was in the intensive care unit for several days while they took a biopsy and tried to figure out what to do next.  On Wed, he had an emergency surgery to save his life.  They gave him a blood transfusion since his blood count level dropped down to a 5 and they cut open his stomach and removed the tumor.  I checked Rusty into a doggy day care/boarding place and then drove down to Victoria to be with my family.   Luckily, everything went well with the surgery.  I was able to see dad after the surgery and visit with the family for a short while before heading back to Houston.  I'm so thankful that I live closer to them to be able to take day trips like that.  Andy had to pickup both kids after school so he left the office early, picked them up, went to the park, and then Audrey talked him into going to Munchies Frozen Yogurt.  She even gave him directions on how to get there.
My siblings came into town to help out my mom.  She spent many nights at the hospital and didn't get much sleep.
I turned on my music in the car and one of the kids vacation bible school songs came on, "Don't worry, just pray".  It was something I needed to hear and we all kept praying for my dad throughout the week.  Matthew had a baseball game on Thursday.  I had a much-needed hair appointment on Friday.  Mike had a training in town so he drove up on Friday and he joined us at the indoor pool place with the kids.  On Saturday, we had our first cub scouts outing at the history museum.  Matthew and Audrey enjoyed learning about the times of our great grandparents.  My parents were supposed to take Audrey to Frozen on Ice but due to the health circumstances, they were unable to go.  I took her to it and she loved it!  I felt bad they didn't get to be there with her.
We headed to Victoria late Saturday and stayed the night.  Andy and I visited dad in the hospital.  We brought Soduko and crosswords with a mechanical pencil.  Rusty was surprised to see Lori at Nanna and Papa's house and whined when he saw her.  It was cute.  And the kids had fun with Aunt Lori and Uncle Mike.  We took the kids to the hospital for a quick visit with Papa.  He enjoyed seeing them.

 Audrey was excited to go to school after a week off

 Audrey's pointing to her artwork

 Audrey brought cotton candy back for Matthew from the Frozen on Ice

 Audrey took this picture at the hospital