Dinner surprise

My mom did this occasionally for us when we were kids. The boys all seem to really like it as well. Everyone just picks a spot and hopes for the best. Your cup, plate, and fork could really be anything!

Summer of the Cicadas

These things are amazing. Apparently they live under ground for 7 years here and then all come out to mate one summer for like four weeks. It was all in the news so we knew this would be the summer. When they finally came out there were so many. They made a noise that was almost deafening with so many of them joining in. They seemed to be everywhere. And they were huge. The birds loved it. I saw a dive bombing bird take a large flying cicada right out of the air a few times, which is doubly impressive when you saw that some of the birds weren't that much bigger then the bugs. In a couple of weeks the bodies littered the sidewalks and streets. The kids had fun catching them and learning about these fascinating little bugs.

Some of the things Alexa loves

She is growing up so fast. Alexa has a bouncy chair that she loves. She is a lot like Matthew was as a baby. He would've loved a chair like that. She goes crazy bouncing and throwing herself around. She has a stuffed bunny that she loves, also. We actually have two (we learned a lesson with Andrew and his Ellie) one at each house. She always has it when she sleeps. She has also established a relationship with our dog, Anubis. He is always interested in her, but especially after she started eating food. I had to give up on trying to feed her in the bumbo for obvious reasons. She didn't mind him licking her at all, she thinks he is hilarious. And he just sits there and lets her grab him and pull on his ears or pull the hairs out on his paws.

Father's Day

Matt had a nice father's day. He was eating super healthy so the kids made him egg whites with jalapenos and tomatoes from the garden. They love their daddy!

Brentwood Library

Owen tripped on the way in.


There is a great library in the city next to ours. The children's section is really amazing. It looks like a magical forest and it has these books built into the walls everywhere. It is a really fun place to visit.

Rodeo

We got tickets to a rodeo this year. The kids had never been. They had some fun exhibits outside before we went in and of course they had a bunch of booths set up to sell things like giant belt buckles. We saw the bucking horses, barrel racing, and a few other events, but we missed the bulls because they were at the very end and it was a school night. The kids couldn't believe how hard those horses would buck. It looked like a hard job for sure!

Anyone order a hot air balloon?

Early on a Sunday morning a loud noise woke us up. Hot air balloons are out frequently in the summer here. We've had a few pass very close over our neighborhood before. One even bumped a chimney down the street once. So I was familiar with the sound, and it sounded REALLY close. I ran outside to see the balloon land in our cul-de-sac. They later told us the wind stopped cooperating and they got stuck and had to land. I woke everyone else up to come and see. The kids even got to help bag the balloon. They were really excited about the whole thing. I'm pretty sure they won't see that again so we didn't mind getting up a little earlier then usual on a Sunday in June.

A garden

After a hot day, the garden looked like it really needed a drink. It amazingly recovered!




First thing out of the garden!

We decided to do a bit more of a garden this year then we have in the past. The kids really liked helping. Andrew helped water every morning. We planted some of the things from seed and transplanted a few. It ended up growing a lot better then we expected. We only had a few set backs. First of all, some of the plants were mislabeled so when we thought we were getting one jalapeno plant and four green pepper plants, we actually got five jalapeno plants. That was A LOT of jalapenos this summer. We also had a problem with the heat. The plants dried up quickly in the pots on hot days. I took a picture of the garden when I had been gone all day. I was surprised when I watered it and it came back to life! The cucumbers and tomatoes were delicious. We also had radishes, cilantro, basil, and jalapenos, jalapenos, jalapenos! We learned a lot. It will be fun to do it again.

Sullivan Farms Pool Party

Our housing development has a big party to open the pool. They have races, games, and icecream for everyone. It was Alexa's first time in a pool. She wasn't a big fan. Everyone else had a blast!