Fun in Houston with the Clarks

After our trip to San Antonio to meet our friends, they returned the favor and came to Houston for the week-end of the 8th. It was a fun week-end. We kicked it off at the Hunter's house, grilling, eating and having fun.

The next morning after Jake wandered in the the wrong room at 5 am, bumping heads with Topher who was sleeping in Jake's bed, Topher grabbed Tyler and Michael and the 3 of them went down to Galveston to fish off the piers. They had a blast. Things were biting, just not the fish. They caught a big blue crab, a stingray and a small shark. The pictures Topher took of the boys and their catches were really cool. I will post them as soon as we get them (no pressure Tana!).



That afternoon we cooled off by swimming at the Y. While we were inside, someone broke a window of the Clarks car but were scared off before they stole anything. I hate that. It leaves you with a sick feeling when something like that happens. After lots of phone calls, it was decided that they would drive it back to San Antonio the next day with the special white trash look and have it fixed there.



We couldn't let it stop the fun, so we all meet up with other old church friends at DoubleDaves for dinner that night. It was fun to get together and DoubleDaves is the perfect casual place for all our kids...plus the pizza is great too!



The next day we went to church and it was just like old times, having the Clark kids in Primary with our kids. Thanks to Cami for helping Jake finally go to his Sunbeam class with her. He hasn't wanted to go since I was moved from being his teacher. Hurray!

After some more playtime and late lunch, we had to say good-bye to our friends...until next year! Y'all come back now, ya hear?! (and that goes for all you other 'Zonie friends too!)

Wild Rides and Donuts

It's been hard to blog this summer, we are so busy having fun! The first week of June our friends the Clarks came to Texas to visit. First, the kids and I drove up one Tuesday morning and meet them at Fiesta Texas in San Antonio. It was so fun. San Antonio schools weren't out yet so there were NO lines! We had a great time at the park. I forgot my camera though, so you just have to use your imagination of us screaming on all the rides :) I think Michael and Tyler went on the Polergist ride like 5 times. It was great to have Tana's sister with us to wrangle the 8 kids in different directions. I am sure people thought we were nuts, but it was fun!



We stayed at the park until it closed. That night the kids and I stayed that night at a hotel, always an adventure! We went swimming and then cruised the nearby streets of San Antonio, looking for food. Lucky us, there was a Krispy Kreme just a mile down the road! So of course we had to get a dozen then...the HOT sign was on! Then we went to dinner and headed back to hotel. The next morning on our way out of town, we had to drive through Krispy Kreme again, and get some more for the road (just 2 dozen...really, can you have too many HOT donuts? Nah, I don't think so!). It was, as Jake said,"da-lishous"!

It was a short trip but full of fun memories.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the awesome dads out there. We love you, blue hair and all!

More Bread

Michael is a deacon at our church and passes the sacrament to members of the congregation each week. When they finish passing the sacrament, the deacons all line up in the middle between the sections of pews to walk to the front of the chapel together.

So this morning we were at church and had partaken of the sacrament bread already. Normally I sit on the other side of the long pews, closer to the doors to escape with Jake if necessary. Today we had friends visiting with us and we filled the whole pew, and so I ended up sitting on the inside end of the pew instead, right next to where the deacons line up after passing the bread to the congregation. I didn't think too much of it until Jake, who was sitting next to me, noticed Michael standing close by. He stood up and not so quietly hissed, "HEY MICHAEL, GET ME SOME MORE OF THAT BREAD, OKAY?!" It was hard not to crack a grin, but Michael's mouth just twitched and he shook his head "No" reverently, as I grabbed Jake and quietly reminded him that we only get 1 piece of bread for Jesus at church each week. Of course, Jake had to respond not so quietly that, "No, Jesus wants me to have more bread, so Michael can give me his." Our friends sitting around us were trying so hard not to laugh. Fortunately, Jake moved on to saying he was thristy and was able to sit quietly until the water was blessed and passed. Of course, once we got home, all requests for bread were forgotten...until next week!

Adventures in Dogsitting

The end of last month we had a chance to dogsit for our neighbor for 2 weeks. The kids love her dog, Chico, and always have fun dogsitting for her. Normally it is just for a week-end or maybe a week, so this was a new test of their declarations that they were ready for a dog of their own. There were somedays I didn't know if their favorite part was Chico or getting to use the neighbors garage door opener (I think it's probably time we get ours fixed!). It was especially fun to see Chico walking Jake quickly down the sidewalk. But true to their promises, the kids consistently walked the dog twice a day, fed him and played with him. They even convinced Don to come with all of us on "family walks" on the week-end. My favorite quote during this adventure was from Trevor, talking to Don one Sunday afternoon:

Trev: "Isn't this great Dad? It is so great to all spend time together. If we had our own dog, we could go on a long family walk every Sunday evening and have a great time with our family. Don't you think that would be great Dad?"...now how could you argue with that?



Other fun quotes and observations from our adventures with Chico (I will let you decide who you said what!)...WARNING, THIS IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART!

"Why are dogs noses wet?"
"Let him finish doing his business...that's a good doggie!"
"No, Chico can't go on the trampoline"
"Whoa, that is a big piece of poop!"
"I'm carrying the poop bag, hee hee"
"DON'T SWING THE POOP BAG!!"
"Man, he pees a lot!"
"He just has lots of business to take care of!"
"I don't want to carry the poop anymore."
"No, you can't put Chico on the trampoline"
"Gross, he is sniffing some other dogs poop!"
"Oh look, Chico is a boy dog!"
"His teeth look weird"
"His breath smells good, like dog food"
"No, Chico still can't get on the trampoline"
"His kisses tickle!"
"YOU LOVE ME DON'TCHA LITTLE BUDDY!"

Memorial Day

Memorial Day was so fun, it's hard to believe it was just last week. With everything else going on with the end of school, I forgot to write about it but there were some great times I have to document!

After doing some work around the house in the morning, I took the younger kids swimming while Don & Michael hung out together.




Don's parents came over for a fun dinner. Don grilled hot dogs and sausages and we had a great time visiting and playing. While the the food was cooking, the kids actually got Grandaddy up on the trampoline. What a great sport! I don't even think Don has braved that yet!




After dinner the kids spontanously started a big pillow fight.



Which of course ended with a huge pile of kids!








I LOVE IT!!!

DAD'S BACK!

Saturday night Don flew back from his week in the Netherlands. He had some fun adventures, ate some new foods, and brought us back some yummy new types of chocolate. He even took a few pictues for us to share!

KIDS PERFORMING IN FOR HIS GROUP - CHECK OUT THE FUN COSTUMES AND SHOES!

THE PICTURES OF THE COUNTRYSIDE ARE BEAUTIFUL

HAYLEY AND JAKE HAVING FUN WITH CHOCOLATE TREATS AND THEIR EUROS

DON AND TREV TASTING THE CHOCOLATE "BISCUTS"

MICHAEL TRYING THE CHOCOLATE SHAVINGS ON BUTTERED BREAD

JAKE ENJOYING THE CHOCOLATE AND BREAD

HAYLEY EATING HER CHOCOLATE SANDWICH

IT'S TICKLE TIME...I think they missed Don just a LITTLE! They were practically lining up to get tickled tonight! There are something that just Dads do best - WELCOME HOME DAD!

First Day of Summer Vacation

Friday was the first day of summer vacation. The kids had a free day from their summer chores and just got to kick back and enjoy the day, playing, reading and just having fun.

Hayley helped make strawberry freezer jam with me in the morning. She did a great job and really enjoyed smushing the berries.



Later we went swimming at the Y. The slide was open for the summer. Sad news - this year they are enforcing the 48" rule and Hayley is only 47" inches, so even though she got to go on it all last summer, she can't right now. So we are trying to stretch her out each day, so maybe by her birthday next month she will be tall enough! But Hayley has such a great attitude. She still took the swim test so she had fun swimming in the deep end without a parent, and was a great sport cheering Trevor and Michael on.







That night we met up with some school friends at the park for a pinic. Everybody had someone their age to play with except Michael who managed to spend the entire 2 hours playing basketball on the court close by. It was a fun night for everyone.

Strawberry Jam

On Friday Hayley helped me make strawberry freezer jam. We had a lot of fun together, and Hayley did a great job. Freezer jam is super easy to make. Check out Hayley's step by step photo directions below if you want to learn how:

1) WASH AND DRY CONTAINERS FOR JAM

2)WASH OFF STRAWBERRIES

3)SMUSH STRAWBERRIES WITH ALL YOUR MUSCLES

4)STIR IN LOTS OF SUGAR!

5)STIR IN PECTIN AND POUR INTO PREPARED CONTAINERS...FUNNELS ARE FUN!

6)HAYLEY WITH HER JAM

7)TASTING THE JAM - YUM!

I DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT HAYLEY GETTING INTO A "JAM" AS LONG AS SHE HAS HER SPOON!

Come to dinner and try some of Hayley's yummy jam this summer!