Houston Oddities

We have been braving the record breaking heat to get out and see some the sites around town and getting us some culture. The first place we went is called the Beer Can House and we stumbled upon it when we took a wrong turn on our way to our favorite gelato place. We thought it was extremely cool. . . 

The guy who lived here, John Milkovisch, had lived here for 20 years when he decided to repave his driveway and put some marbles in it for decoration. He liked it so much he decided he'd do his whole yard like that and then he wouldn't have to mow his lawn any more. 

When John got that done, he decided to make use of the apparently many cans of beer that he drank, so he started cutting them up and using them for siding. He figured he'd never have to paint his house again. After he got that done (his wife told him the INside of the house was OFF limits) he decided to do a little decorating around the yard. . . 

Much to Johns surprise, after they had covered their house up, their electrical bill went down! Who knew? And no part of the can went to waste. He put the tops and pull tabs in chains hanging from the roof and it makes the prettiest sound in the wind. 

We decided to head to another Houston Landmark called the Orange Show next. Across the street there is a tall pillar with plaster cars all around it that the kids could have spent MUCH more time looking at if it hadn't been 105 degrees (thankfully it's not very humid because we have had NO rain). 

This place was interesting, but in a . . . Psycho sort of way. The guy that built this was obviously "out there" and had a peculiar love of oranges. You might even say he was obsessed with oranges and thought that if he built an amusement "park"/shrine for oranges that it would eclipse Disneyland in entertainment value. He was so sure that millions would come, that a month after it opened, and only a handful of people had come, he basically died of grief. 

It's got a Fun House maze-type feel . . . 

And there are mosaic sayings on all the walls having to do with oranges. So in the words of good ol' Jeff:

Life . . .

is interesting. These past few weeks have had some good news and some sad news: One friend finds out she's pregnant after years of infertility, another has a miscarriage halfway through her pregnancy, a brother of a friend (who is waiting for a heart transplant!) gets killed etc. I know all these things are for our good and experience but sometimes, it's just really hard and sad. Thank goodness there is some smooth road in between the bumps. 

Scout Day Camp '09

Well, we survived another year of Cub Scout Day Camp, I think. (I feel like I aged 15 or so years since last June. I don't remember being so tired at the end of Day Camp last year!!) We had a great time, did lot's of fun activities, learned new things and made new friends. Collin was a first year Webelo so he got to do a lot more this year than last. I went as a Webelos session leader, teaching and instructing them in some of their projects and belt loops and Grace got to go as a Sibling again and have fun all day.  Let's get on with the pictures . . . 

Collin making Mount Guacamole, based on Balanced Rock in Moab, but with much more foliage around it . . . 

Grace hogging the "trike" in the Siblings group. (I kept hearing, "Grace it's someone else's turn now!)

See Collin in the middle of the picture? The one in the black hat? (You can click on it to blow it up) This is his reaction when they pulled out the 5 foot rocket at the end of rocket launching. The kid loves explosives!

One of the leatherwork projects he did - a keychain. 

He loves archery, but doesn't have a great aim, so he gets frustrated. His new best friend Sean is next to him. They were inseparable! We found out at the end that he is LDS too. 

BB guns is Collins favorite part of day camp. He got the 2009 Jr. USA Shooting Team Patch by getting 45 points out of 50 on his target. 

We can't wait till next year!!

Getting old?

Would you label this a 50's Greaser? A Flock of Seagulls wannabe? A mullet in training? Who knows . . .  I just know that my baby boy is getting older every day!

Grace has given us some great quotes lately. She was telling Jon that he "isn't old man old, but he's gone through a lot of numbers." Then someone sent me an email with what the cast of The Sound of Music look like 40 years later. Grace couldn't get over how much different the youngest, Gretel, looked. So we were talking about what we would be like in 40 years. I said, "In 40 years I'll be . . . "(figuring out how old I'll be in my head) and Grace pipes up, "DEAD!" Thanks Grace!

Spicy Grilled Shrimp

3 cloves garlic, minced

2-3 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1/4 c. tomato sauce

2 Tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil (or about 1 Tbsp. dried)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4-1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you want it)

2 lbs shrimp peeled and deveined (I only used about 1 lb.)

skewers

Put all ingredients in a bowl or ziploc and marinate in fridge for at least one hour (I ended up doing it over night). 

Lightly oil grill. Thread shrimp on skewers and grill for 2-3 minutes on each side. 

The original recipe says to discard the marinade, but I cooked it while the shrimp were cooking and we had it over rice. SO tasty! So, I suggest doubling the sauce.  We also used this for tilapia fillets but used lemon juice instead of the vinegar.  This recipe is really easy and one of our new favs. GO TRY IT!!