Dog Days of Summer

We went to the Grace Museum for Artwalk this evening. The boys played in the Children's Museum and then did a dog art project.
Several trains flew down the tracks while we were there. O loved watching them.Afterwards we stayed for the Dog Parade. We predicted the boys would love it--especially Truett. And we were right.The boys met their very favorite dog, a Giant Schnauzer named Maggie. I told Maggie's owner that Maggie should feel very special--Truett hasn't yet said all of his family member's names but he now says "Maggie". He was crazy about her!After the parade there were lots of fun activities at the park. Oliver won lots of goodies by catching fish.There was a band playing and our music lover was so into it. O "played" the drums across from where they were until they graciously invited him to come over and play the real drum. So cute. He wanted to play the guitar and sing in the microphone as well. Abilene is such a great town.

Chrys

Mixing Colors: Cookie Remix

This time we mixed icing colors instead of the dough.

I used Sarah's family recipe for Green Thumbprint Cookies. I love them just the way she makes them but I have tweaked the recipe a bit for us b/c Mike my family doesn't prefer them rolled in pecans. (I also substitute coconut oil for half of the butter, add a little coconut concentrate and some almond extract to the cookies and icing. So mine are have a coconut almond flavor. I also don't cook them as long as the recipe says to b/c we like them doughy and not browned at all.)

A very gracious Sarah gave me permission to post the recipe:

Preheat oven to 350. Grease cookie sheet.

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups sifted regular all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

2 egg whites slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans

Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Blend in egg yolks and vanilla. Sift together flour and salt. Gradually add to cream mixture. Chill dough for ease in handling. Shape balls into one-inch in diameter. Dip in egg white then roll in nuts, place on cookie sheet and with finger make a deep impression in the center. Bake 15-18 minutes and cool 7-10 min then add icing to center of cookie.Icing:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
2 tablespoons hot water
food coloring

In small mixing bowl combine sugar, butter and vanilla. Gradually add water and beat until smooth and mixture holds shape slightly.

Chrys

The Greatest Show on Earth

Below is an exclusive post-circus interview with Oliver. He was allowed to stay up past his bedtime and was rewarded with a Skittle for each question he chose to answer.

Q: What was your favorite part of the circus?
A: It was about da elephants please. Da fancy elephants with hats like Bello has a hat. He has funny hair but I don't have funny hair. I have long hair.Q: How did we get to the circus?
A: On a train and play with Owen.Q: How much did it cost to go to the circus?
A: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7.

Q: What was the first thing we saw?
A: An elephant (Asia) and a clown and a lion and musickit.Q: What did Asia do with the paint?
A: She paint some more.Q: Where did we sit at the circus?
A: We sit right here.

Q: What kind of snacks did you eat at the circus?
A: I eat a pollylop. We sawed a dinosaur and an elephant.

Q: What was Truett's favorite part?
A: Dere was some food at the circus. I take a strawberry fing it was in my mouf.Q: What kind of music was at the circus?
A: It was pretty loud a stuff. It was pretty loud stuff.

Q: What was your favorite animal there?
A: It was da toy elephant. It got a hat.Q: What was Mommy's favorite part of the circus?
A: Dose tigers.Q: What can you tell me about the tigers?
A: Dey say ROAR! ROAR! ROAR! (repeat 10X). Dey roar.
Q: Did you see clowns?
A: Dat first clown was singing. It was singing, talking about da people wiff me. I didn't wear a coat. I didn't want to wear a coat like a clown.Q: What was Dadoo's favorite part?
A: On da trapeze.Q: Can you tell me about the trapeze?
A: Dey go like dis (swinging arms around). Dey swing and dey exercise and dey...Where's da Skittles bag?Q: What was the most exciting part of the circus?
A: Da cannonballs and fireworks.

Q: What happened when they shot the human cannonballs?
A: Der weres fireworks. Dey flash and kaboomed and dey wheeeeeed.Q: I got you a red clown nose. Would you like to wear it?
A: No, I would like to look at dat clown nose.

Q: Who's Bello?
A: I don't know who's Bello.
Q: Was Bello a silly clown?
A: No, he's not a silly clown.Q: Did Truey like the dogs?
A: Dose dogs were chasing round dose people.

Q: What did those funny dogs do?
A: Dey ride a scooter go down da slide. Dey did wear clothes.Q: Do you think Truett had a fun birthday celebration at the circus today?
A: Yeah.Q: Do you want to go back to the circus?
A: Yeah. I want to see a big, big jungle monkey. Der's gonna be a funny, funny balloon and elephant. I like to get a balloon elephant's gonna get a balloon for my birthday October 11th.

Mommy: Thank you for your time, Oliver. Great job. You need to get to bed now.

Oliver: I wanted dat toy.

Mommy: Yeah, it was expensive. How many times did we decide you'd have to tee-tee in the potty to earn the money for that toy?

Oliver: (Asks Dadoo.) Two fousand. But not today, Mommy.

Then he turned to our dinner guests and said, "Would you like to go to da circus and give me a spinning thing?"

Chrys

Rainbows & RandOmness

* I asked Oliver a question this morning and he responded by saying, "We'll just have to talk about that later, Mommy." Ummmm. Did our two-year old really just table a conversation with me??

* While getting my hair done tonight I received the following text message from Mike: "Subject: O P on T". It read, "On the floors once and on T/gears/floor once." Yikes. I flipped my phone shut, smiled bravely at my hairdresser and said, "Potty training is a real joy."

* I asked Oliver if he peed on his brother. He confidently answered, "I did!" At least he's honest. Mike said O did it b/c Truett was playing with his current fav toy, the gears. So pee is now a weapon? Was he marking his territory? Oh my.

* O told Mike tonight that there was a huge backup on the highway. Wow. You know you're city dwellers when your two-year old is quoting traffic reports.

* On the way home from the beauty shop I spotted the most vibrant rainbow I've ever seen. I kept driving towards it thinking, "It looks like it ends at our house!" I called Mike and asked if O was already in bed. He was, but we got him up and ran to the front yard to view the gorgeous rainbow. It was fading but was nevertheless a sweet reminder of God's promise to us. You can barely see the double bow in the second pic.One by one, several of our neighbors came out of their homes to look at the rainbow. Before we knew it, it was dark and we'd been standing outside visiting and laughing for almost an hour. Oliver ran up and down the sidewalk in his mismatched jammies (I'm sure that Dadoo intentionally paired the tractor top with the Cars bottoms), squealing with delight.

What a fabulous evening. The only thing that would've made it better was the presence of T-Bird, who was snoozing away in his crib.

Chrys

A Fair Maker's Faire

My techy genius husband loves all things geeky so we trekked to Fair Park today for the Maker's Faire. He is a big fan of their website and was very excited about the event. We were picturing a huge science-fairish atmosphere of DIY tech projects but I have to say we were a bit disappointed at the meager number of maker exhibits. The big Maker's Faire will be in Austin on October 18-19, so any of you who live there should check it out. Very cool stuff. Even for a not-that-technically-inclined wife.

We still had a blast at the Museum of Nature and Science. Here's our little family in the kaleidescope. I love how the boys are hugging:
The coolest part of the Maker's Faire was the Tesla Coil Music. (This is similar to what we saw today.) It was incredibly loud and it kind of freaked me out when I thought about the power (and danger) of it all but it was fascinating in spite of the terror. Just kidding. We kept the boys' ears well covered. O talked about the "fire musicka" for the remainder of the day.

They were excited to get balloon swords but Truett's didn't last long. I'm telling you, the kid will eat anything.

What just happened??

Oliver thoroughly enjoyed spending time with his science-loving Dadoo. They dug for dinosaur bones, gathered eggs, rode tractors, crawled through ant holes and did lots more that I'm not sure I can accurately describe.

I love how you can see O's reflection in the bottom left of this pic.

The water table was by far Truett's favorite. He squealed with glee when we saw it and cried when it was time to leave that exhibit.

Mike enjoyed the periscope that allows a nice view of downtown D. Great shots, as always, Dadoo:These boys come from a long line of weatherphenes. (Yes, I just made up that word.) Mike's family talks about the weather constantly. Don't think I'm kidding or exaggerating. I'm not. It's in their DNA. And they are so handy to have around. So it's really fitting that the boys enjoyed their debut as weathermen on WFAA:
O's favorite maker exhibit was the robotic arm that he controlled. He knocked over a stack of blocks and thought it was the greatest thing ever. He's always loved robots but after Wall-E and the Maker Faire robots, I'm afraid I may find one around the house just any day.We stopped by the hospital so I could run in and see Christy and Baby Squeak. So, so sweet. Both boys missed naps and were sacked out on the way home... Chrys

Sand & Surf

They always start out in the sandbox...
Then they strip down and head to the pool for some jaybird fwimmin'. Here's True doing the nekkid bear crawl:
Chrys

Not Sure Who Enjoyed It More.

For months Oliver has been requesting a ride on Mike's bike that hangs in the garage. Mike was excited about it and found a brand new bike trailer on Craigslist. He picked it up yesterday evening and couldn't wait to take the boys out for a spin.

Oliver got to take a quick trip around the block first thing this morning while Truett was still snoozing. He loved it and told Mike he wanted to ride the bike to Owen's house. Mike told him that was too far and later in the day he relayed the info to me: "I want to ride to Owen's house but it's far too far away.....in Antarctica." Wow. That is far. And cold.

This evening they couldn't wait for Mike to get home so they could go for a ride. Truett did his bear-crawl out to the bike:
They were thrilled about their new helmets.
The next pic is classic. So gross, Oliver.
As you can tell in the above pic, poor Truett couldn't see with his helmet on so we turned it around.
And off they go! I cheered and took pics. I guess I'm going to have to get myself on that bike so I can take them riding, too. I honestly can't remember the last time I rode a bike.What a great Dadoo you are, Mike. Our boys are crazy about you!

Chrys

Country Cousins

Oh, get ready for a long post! It was a fun day with lots of photo ops...

We traveled to East Texas this morning for a family reunion. Jammie, PawPaw and Melissa piled in the van w/ us and we headed out, stopping at Ham's Orchard on the way. Truett tried a peach but brother declined, of course. O enjoyed counting them and rearranging them, though.And he particularly enjoyed some peach ice cream...
We decided it was time to start testing some of Oliver's allergies but didn't do a good job of trying one allergen at a time. He ate milk in ice cream, eggs in birthday cake and catfish fried in peanut oil. Oops. He was itchy but it was bearable. From now on I'll be more intentional about which allergen we're "testing".

We met lots of family at the catfish place for the annual greasy lunch. (I'm not complaining, it was some yummy food!) Oliver ate fried catfish (???) which he called "bread". We didn't correct him. He was also a big fan of the hush puppy. Evidently he likes anything fried and then smothered in ketchup. Oh, and don't forget the birthday cake in celebration of Uncle Charles' 80th.And after that we headed to the farm and sat outside to enjoy the gorgeous weather and the East Texas trees. Oh, what a dream for little boys! It seriously made me want to move to the country. We've been there before but it was SO much more fun this time b/c I looked at it through little eyes. The farm has everything a boy could want...

Room to run:
A bike to ride: A puppy to love:
A car to drive: (This "vintage" toy car has been enjoyed by lots of kids over the years. Mike worked up a sweat pushing it up the hill over and over. Truett sat in it and made car noises. So cute!)
Grandparents to wrap around your finger:More love for sweet Lucy, the puppy dog: (Truett could hardly stand it - he is CRAZY about dogs! He spent hours calling that puppy with his "click click" sound. He was not scared of her at all and was delighted by her puppy kisses.)
A turtle: (We declined the offer to take him home. He's a country turtle and city life would probably not suit him well.)Tractors:Lemonade:Mud: (A bath and change of clothes was required. This pic is one of my new favs.)
A frog:I don't have room to post pics of the other creatures we discovered at the farm...spiders, cardinals, hummingbirds, crickets. What a blast!

I asked Oliver about his favorite part of the day and he said it was playing with Lucy, the dog. "She is so cute!"

Thanks, East Texas cousins for such a great afternoon. We loved seeing you. Thank you for opening your home to us and allowing our sweet boys to explore and enjoy country life for awhile. It is very appealing!!We missed you, Cousin Kim, and hope to see you and your kiddos next year if not before!

Chrys

Surf & Swim & Sink & Sob

Here's my very quick Surf & Swim review: It's more than we need right now and I couldn't have taken the boys there by myself. But we had fun!

Jordan, Maegan, Oliver, Truett and I headed there late this afternoon and had a fun time but concluded that a sprinkler park would have been sufficient for our crew. The wave pool was scary since Oliver and I got pulled completely under on our first trip out. (He had on a life jacket and he was fine but it put me on edge for sure.)

Here's O after getting soaked in the wave pool. He's looking slightly hesitant for good reason. He recovered quickly, though.We tried it again later but went out to the middle before the waves started. That was the way to do it. Oliver held on tightly. Very tightly. Look carefully and you'll spot us.I would have been completely stressed out without the two other pairs of hands to corral and lifeguard. Truett is fearless and kept trying to eat the water fountain. Then he'd act shocked that water went up his nose. He didn't mind that but squalled and bawled for the last thirty minutes we were there b/c he was hungry and ready to go home.
The baby bungee swing was a huge hit and Oliver was sad that he was too big for it. He tried to make it work anyway.
Oliver has a friendly strangle hold hug for brother: It was a fun afternoon in the sun with Jordan & Maegan but I'll save money and head to a free sprinkler park until the boys are much older and can handle the wave pool. We enjoyed it and got some cute pics, tho!
Chrys

First Swim of the Season

Our dearest friends came through town and we jumped at the chance to see them. It was a gorgeous afternoon and it worked out perfectly to swim for the first time this year. I don't think I've ever included so many pictures in one post but I have a zillion favorites. It doesn't get much better than that for me--watching the kiddos enjoy one another while I snap pics and visit with Mitz. Truett was completely taken with the dog of the house. He went crazy signing for dog and making a funny clicking sound to call it. Every time the dog got close he would make that sound and wave his hands. It was precious.