Scout Day Camp

We had our Rising Star District (for those of you Scouters) Day Camp last month and it was one of the funnest experiences we've had. We were so sad every day that Jon had to work while we went. Can I just say how much we all love the scouting program? Collin of course went as a Bear scout, I was a Bear teacher and Grace was a "sibling". Grace would love to become a cub scout if she could. The boys did requirements and belt loop projects all day. I got to teach some of his classes and Grace got to have fun all day. One of the classes I taught was different knots so here are some pictures of that. 

Grace and the other siblings with Miss Debbie (Grace is the one looking at the camera). . . 

All of us with a thick coating of sweat at the end of the day. It was held in a rodeo arena, so no AC. (Not sure what that is on Collins face!)

The kids practicing their Archery skills . . . 

Collins favorite part of the week - all the building he got to do. Especially the Pirate Ship he made. 

This was one of the highlights for Collin - the Rocket Launch. He got picked for good Den behavior to shoot one of the rockets the Webelos had made. His was the last rocket, so he got to shoot off the biggest, fastest, most "rockety" one. He was in heaven. It's kind of hard to tell, but Collin is on the right in a black hat and the rocket is on the left in between the two light poles. 

We had so much fun we can't wait till next year!

Adventures in the Boondocks

 Yesterday we headed Southwest of Houston to a town called Blessings. We had been there before when we lived here and Collin was little, and on the spur of the moment decided to visit it again. Blessings was originally Thank God, Texas but the postmaster didn't think it would be appropriate, so the name was changed to Blessings. There is an old Hotel there that serves "home cooked" meals. You fill your plate up with fried meats, vegetables with meat cooked with them (think green beans and ham), home made rolls etc. and as the cashier told us, "if you go away hungry, it's your own fault". It's served buffet style on old ovens and was really tasty (from what I ate anyway, you'll have to ask Jon about the meats). You eat as much as you want and it's $6 a plate. Their cherry/pineapple cobbler was buttery, not too sweet and so yummy. 

We found out they actually still rent out rooms upstairs. We had a look around, but it was creepy in a Psycho sort of way, so we hit the road. On the way down we had seen "historic" Danevang. It was settled by Danes and since I have a lot of Danish blood in me we had to stop. Plus, the museum was too cute to pass up. They had a collection of the Bing & Grondahl Christmas Plates I collect that covers an entire wall. It was really interesting.

We read in our Day-trips out of Houston book that a little place called Wharton had a nice river with canoes etc. so we decided to head there next. While we were driving around, we found Collins St. so we had to get a picture. 

Wharton had a town square that looked almost exactly like the one from Back to the Future. We walked around, but it was either tacky Antique stores or Law offices but we did find a coffee shop that had some ice cream (Blue Bell of course) so we stopped before we melted away. 

Little did we know that one of the best things we have found so far was just a few miles away. We rounded the corner of the road after leaving Wharton and looked up to see  . . . Tee Pee Motel!!  We all immediately said, "It's Radiator Springs!!" (from the movie Cars, in case you're wondering). We really wanted to stay there but it was booked and I had to speak in church the next day, but we are definitely going back there some time. The kids talked about it the whole rest of the way home. 

Lest We Forget . . .

That we're in the Bible Belt . . .

There are a TON of things called Grace around. Grace's Taco Truck, Grace TV etc. and we always say, "Grace there's your . . . (fill in the blank)". This is one of our favorites - Grace Southern Baptist Church. Sorry for the not-so-great pictures, but we were driving on the freeway at the time. 

Hair Woes

To quote my sister Sarah, I don't wear make-up, I don't wear jewelry, so my hair is my one adornment. . . kind of my identity.

I'll start close to the beginning of this story. When Jon was trying to figure out what he wanted to do in life, he was choosing between: a chef, hair dresser, interior designer and graphic designer. And no, he really isn't gay. When I was pregnant with Collin he did an Illustrations internship in NYC (or "Yew Nork" as Grace calls it) and was around a bunch of single girls who were trying new things with their hair. They told him he would look "so cool" (said with a Valley Girl accent) with highlights and begged him to let them do it. He of course, couldn't let his fans down, and "reluctantly"consented. When he got home, he felt like he had graduated from Hair Design School and begged me to let him use his skills on my hair.  After listening to him beg for more than a year, I said sure, but if it doesn't work out I was going to go to a really expensive salon to have them fix it. . . . and that is how I met my first favorite "hair guy" of all time, Chris. Chris was a rail thin, slightly shaky, chain-smoking guy from Texas, who loved to tell me about his and his partners dog anecdotes (mostly about getting caught eating Hershey's Kisses, again!).  He also told me that I had some of the softest, best hair he had ever worked with (I don't care if I was pregnant at the time and 200 pounds, and he was trying to make me feel good. Let me live in my fantasy world!). By this time I had finally come to accept that the best style for my hair and face was an a-line bob. He did the best ones I've had and I was sad to leave him behind when we moved back to Provo when Grace was born. 

Through the 5 years we lived in Provo I tried so many different hair stylists and finally found one that could do an a-line (I finally had to ask for someone over 30 since the young "newbies" don't know that style - Why not?? It's a Classic!), but it was right before we moved back to Houston, so I only got to go to her once.

Last fall, I needed a hair cut and decided to see if Chris was still around, and to my amazement, he was! I was so excited to get back to him! He was still as skinny as before with the same partner, but no dog - too many Hershey's Kisses I guess. But I did notice his hands were somewhat shakier. I think that affected his hair cutting skills because when I got home and looked in the mirror, the stars fell from my eyes concerning Chris. My hair looked like a mushroom with a short stem on my neck, AND no a-line. I was SO mad! My hair grows about 1/16 of an inch a month, so this was going to be around for quite a while. 

Since then, I have been scared to get my hair cut, so I've just been letting it grow. A couple of weeks ago Jon wanted to test his "skills" again on my hair. To make a long story short, he actually did a good job of a bob, just not very a-line or stacked. He wanted to try stacking it in the back so last week he tried, and . . . butchered me. No photos of the accident, I was too busy looking for a salon around us.  Jon said there was a really good stylist - Kevin at the hole-in-the-wall he goes too, and that I should try him. I figured, what have I got to lose. 

I went the next morning and said I was there for Kevin. No one seemed to understand what I was saying (they are all Asian) but this short guy - I've got a few inches and a lot of pounds on him- comes over to the counter. I ask if he is Kevin and he still didn't understand me. Another lady yells to me from across the room "He's Kevin" and I'm thinking "Oh no . . . " Luckily I had brought a picture of an a-line and show it to him. He tries to tell me that mine is too short to look like that but he'll try. About 30 min later, 30 very quiet minutes, and some techniques I've never seen before, he is done. It looks pretty good from what I can see. I pay and come home to check in out in my mirror and "Wonder of Wonder, Miracles of Miracles" . . . it is a GREAT hair cut!! I have been so happy about it! It's much shorter than I wanted, but considering what he had to work with - YAY! 

So, how much did this miracle cost? $15 . . . $20 with a tip!! I've paid quadruple that amount for mushroom hair. I think Kevy is here to stay.

Favorites

Since I'm already at the computer, I'll post another blog today. I am going to start a new series about our favorites here. I'm sure 99%of the places will be eateries, since that's what we love most. Our first "Favorite" is . . . 

You pronounce it "Fuh We". It is just up Gessner from us and it is our Go To restaurant, especially take out. It has something for everyone. Bun (noodles) or rice with Lemongrass Beef and chicken for Jon and Collin and shrimp for me and Grace. 

 When we say "where should we go for dinner?" this is always Grace's first choice.  We pass this on our way to church every week, and every week WITHOUT fail, Grace says "Can we go to Pho Huy?" Akshee, on the way to church she says, "I love Pho Huy" and then on the way home asks for it. Last night as we were eating it she said, "This is the best food I've had in my life . . . at least so far".

Recipe Tag

I guess I got tagged last week to post a recipe so here goes. This is a recent one I found and tweaked that has come to be one of our favs.

Black Bean Pizza

1 Recipe Pizza dough (I use one for a 12" pizza)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small onion, chopped

1 Tbsp. Veg. oil (or for more flavor I use chicken broth)

1 -  1 1/2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

14 oz. salsa

Oregano to taste

Basil to taste (I probably use about 1/4-1/2 tsp. of these 2 spices each)

Chili powder to taste

S & P to taste

1 Can black olives sliced

Mexican Cheese blend

Fresh Cilantro

Press dough into a greased 15x10 (jelly roll) pan. Bake at 425 degrees for 4-6 min. until crust begins to brown. 

Saute garlic and onion in oil or broth till tender. Add salsa, spices and beans and bring to boil. Boil uncovered for 2 minutes or until most of the liquid is gone. (I have started slightly mashing the beans to thicken the mixture). Top crust with bean mixture, olives and cheese.

Bake for 8-10 minutes until cheese is browned. Sprinkle with cilantro before eating.

Only in Texas

We went up to Lake Livingston last month to check it out for future reference. I got my priorities straight and looked around the area for places to eat for dinner. All the referals said to eat at a place called Florida's, so we did. It was in an old house with a double wide attached. I wanted to get a picture of it, but there were some Bubba's on the "porch" watching us taking pictures of the signs and wondering what in the world we were doing, so I didn't, which of course I am regretting now, since I saw this sign right next to the steps. . .

In case you can't read the Florida's sign, it says:" Florida's Down Home Cooking. Home of the come back ribs". Somehow the two signs don't seem to go together. 

I also took a picture of one of my favorite Texas sightings, but with my phone, which I can't download. But it's a Ford truck ("Ford is the Best in Texas") with the license plate reading. . . BEER. I love it!

I think this might become a regular feature . . . 

Newest Additions

I guess the trauma I went through when we had Zebra Finches wasn't enough to deter Jon from reliving his childhood of running around the deserts of Las Vegas catching lizards shirtless and barefoot. Of scraping road kill off the highways to make Coon skin (if they were lucky) hats. Of raising Rex rabbits and then killing them for food. . .  Jon says "the kids need to learn responsibility and the facts of life" etc. but I KNOW he wanted any excuse to get pets. We spent the 4th of July weekend canvassing every Feed Store in and around Houston looking for some Rex rabbits and ended up at the nastiest, smelliest, hickish one out there. I was too busy trying to not step in anything, breathing as little as possible and trying to get us the heck outta dodge to take a picture of the place. I wish I would have though. 

Anyway, the point is, the kids picked out the ones they wanted (with some "help" from Jon). The black-spotted one is Collins, named Snickers. The grey-spotted one is Graces, named Hearty - oh wait, that was last week. This week it's name is Puddin'. We'll see what it is next week. Jon explained to them that they (I am having no part of this whole thing) are going to raise the babies for food. We'll see how Grace takes that when the babies are born. 

Jon also explained to the kids about the rabbits mating to make babies and this morning Collin announced that Snickers was on top of Hearty "vibrating" so I think rabbit stew is on the way . . .

A Day in Brenham

Yesterday I thought, forget that it costs $75 to fill my car up with gas . . . we need an Adventure!! So, we headed out to Brenham (AKA The Ice Cream Capitol of Texas). The kids didn't want me to tell them where we were going, so I didn't. We first stopped for lunch at Must Be Heaven and it really was a heavenly lunch. 

Next we headed to the Blue Bell Ice Cream Factory. For $2 you get a tour of the plant to see them making ice cream, ice cream sandwiches etc. and then get a cup of ice cream at the end of the tour. I always love how the Texas flag is everywhere here. 

This is while we were waiting for the tour to begin. And before we went around to the other side of the truck and saw the sign that said, "NO standing, sitting or touching the truck".

Tucking in to their ice cream . . . pre spill. 

After the FIRST spill . . . 

After the second spill, I was too covered in sugar to want to take any more pictures. You know you had a good Adventure when you are covered in gunk and need a nap when you get home. 

Dressed for any occasion

In case you're wondering . . . no, I really don't take pictures every hour of our lives! Monday,  I answered the door and a guy said, "did you know that limb had fallen?" I looked out and a limb had broken and was blocking our driveway. I called to tell Jon and he couldn't visualize it, so he asked me to take a picture and send it to him. That's why there is a picture of this fallen limb. 

So, what does a broken limb have to do with being dressed for any occasion? Well, Jon came home from work and went straight to work on getting the limb down. He didn't even change clothes which I thought was funny, so I did get my camera out for that. 

I guess since I was noticing clothes, I looked at what my kids were wearing and got a good laugh. Collin, the colorblind (red and greens) boy and Grace, the pattern girl with a striped shirt, plaid skirt and polka dot flip flops.