April 9 - Little Chefs

Two months ago, Jillian's Girl Scout troop went through various cookbooks and wrote down recipes for a special "restaurant" we're going to do for the GS mom's around Mother's Day. Being 2nd graders, they wrote down about 50 different recipes (LOL) so last week, we did a little test kitchen so the girls could try out some recipes and narrow it down. Being wild 7/8 year olds, we only did a few but oh my, these girls are so much fun!

First up, the girls made a strawberry peach smoothie using strawberry yogurt, banana and frozen peaches. They garnished it with chocolate sprinkles. The sprinkles were a BIG hit and they all liked it. 

Next up, the girls did a strawberry smooth with fresh strawberries, strawberry sorbet and banana. The girls garnished it with whipped cream and this was the clear winner. I think part of it was the whipped cream (they were all huge fans) but they all gave it a thumbs up!

Lastly, we put out a spread of various breads, meats, cheeses, condiments and cookie cutters. The girls each made a 'signature' sandwich and named it:

Twitter (Ella): turkey and cheddar cheese with mustard in the shape of a chicken

Doggo (Guinevere): turkey and white American cheese in the shape of a large dog

Mini-Doggo (Adelyn): plain bread cut in the shape of a small dog (LOL)

Stardust (Jillian): ham and cheddar cheese with ranch dressing in the shape of a star

Our 5th GS lost interest and was playing with one of the pets (Bella or Louie) so we just have 4. But oh so fun!

Love these girls - soaking in these moments when they are still 'little'

April 4 - Superintendent Scholar

Congratulations Julia for being honored last night as a 3rd year 'Superintendent Scholar.' We are very proud of you!! All AP classes this year and she is still rocking it!

 

March 25 - Spring Break

After our girls trip to Seattle, we were back home for the rest of spring break. The kids didn't go back to school until today so it was a long time off. Julia spent the rest of the week doing daily beach trips with friends and meeting up with them for brunch or dinner. Luke had the best spring break ever by playing video games, watching anime and playing with the drone he got for Christmas (I was not a fan of the drone flying near my head!). Jillian slept over at a friend's house and had several playdates at our house, friends homes, a trampoline park and the park. What a great week!

I also took Luke, Riley and Jillian to the Natural Museum of History one day last week and we all had a blast. Jillian and I watched a movie about mummies (she talked through the whole thing, asking probing questions) and then spent a lot of time in the Ancient Egyptian exhibit. She also loved the uncut gems, wildlife and dinosaurs. Afterwards, we went to McGovern Gardens across the street and enjoying the beautiful day. 

It was a quiet spring break but a great one!

Museum Fun

McGovern Gardens

Fun with Friends

March 19 - Go Huskies!

Girls trip! Julia, Mia and I flew to Seattle on Saturday to visit the University of Washington. We had an uneventful 5h direct flight and then went to our hotel in University Village, the main shopping area across from campus. Although the village had a lot of places to eat the girls decided on..Shake Shack. After shopping for a few hours, we went back to the hotel to rest (I think the girls were a tad jetlagged). 

On Sunday, to my utter shock, the girls slept in until 10am PT! These girls normally get up at 5.15am for swimming and when she doesn't have to go to swim practice, Mia goes to the gym at 5am before school, so I was pretty surprised.

We went to Pike's Place Market, one of the largest farmers markets in the US, and had fun walking around seeing the fish vendors, flowers, books and so much more. After that, we took the ferry to Bainbridge Island for a late lunch. We walked around their little downtown area, went to an art museum and took a short walk through some woods, which Julia said was one of the highlights from the whole trip. After taking the ferry back to Seattle, we went back to the hotel and then went out for a late night Indian dinner. Delish!

We got up early on Monday and headed to campus for our official campus tour. The uber driver dropped us off in the wrong location but we figured out where we needed to go. It was a cool morning but our tour guide was excellent. The campus is a mix of older buildings, some new moderns buildings and has gorgeous trees everywhere. The main quad is surrounded by cherry blossoms (we missed them in bloom) and on a clear day, you can see Mount Ranier from the engineering quad.

They also have a Harry Potter-esque library! The football stadium (and all of the athletic facilities) are right on the water. After our tour, an admissions counselor gave an excellent talk regarding all things admissions. After the tour, we found a fireplace to warm up and then headed to the food court in the student hub for lunch. They had a lot of great food options and the pizza was pretty good. 

After campus, we headed back to University Village and we met up with Kiley and Tanner, friends from HS who were also in town (visiting Kiley's sister, who is a sophomore at UofWash). I read in Starbucks for a few hours while the girls shopping and then we met up with Annika later that night for dinner. Awesome day!

After a great few days in Seattle (we were lucky and had amazing weather, it only rained for a short period on Monday afternoon) it was time to head back to Houston yesterday. The consensus? Julia LOVED the school. Mia loved the shopping but said Seattle is too cold for her. 

Bainbridge Island Fun

University of Washington

Seattle, you are beautiful!

Besties

 

March 14 - Steep & Brew

Luke, Jillian and I attended the Westbrook choir concert last night to support Luke's girlfriend, Riley. It's the 2nd concert I've attended (first middle school concert) and all of the various choirs did a great job! 

This morning, I went to Westbrook to see in action at Steep & Brew. Steep & Brew is the school's coffee shop and the kids work it every Friday. It's a 9 week mini-course and he's having fun!

Luke & Riley 

Luke being a good big brother

Jillian's outfit for picture day. Yes, those are my shoes and no, we didn't let her wear them to school. But I did allow her to wear them to the concert!

Steep & Brew - Luke & Teagan

March 11 - Rodeo Time

We are experiencing beautiful weather here in Houston and it's perfect timing with the Houston Rodeo! Julia, Mia and Gabi went this past weekend and had a blast at the carnival and livestock show. They lasted until the sun set and the weather cooled down. 

While Julia was with at the rodeo with the girls, Guinevere came over to hang out. Jillian and Guinevere played in the cul-de-sac on scooter and bikes for hours. They had a blast! 

Riley came over this weekend as well. Luke and Riley walked to Jersey Mike's for sandwiches and then walked to a nearby park for lunch. 

Hope everyone is having a great week!