July 31 - Houston Yacht Club

Happy Friday everyone. Julia has been at Houston Yacht Club the last 2 weeks for camp. Do they have sailing camp for adults? If so, sign me up!

July 29 - Feeling Hot Hot Hot

Don't you wish you lived in Texas?

July 24 - Showgun Avengers

Ladies and Gentlemen! Without further ado...let me introduce...the Showgun Avengers! They are shape shifting ninjas out on a mission. A  very important mission...behind our house. It includes playing in mud, jumping over mud, getting muddy, swinging and making sure nothing dangerous is happening with the new construction. All with swords and shields, of course. They are keeping us safe, folks!

The Showgun Avengers

That house may look like new construction, but they suspect it could be the hq for their enemy

Hey, a random swing. It's tough work being an Avenger, let's rest for a little while

it's been a long, fun evening for the Avengers. Time to walk back home, hose off and eat some popsicles 

July 20 - EPIC Sleepover

Kendall (Julia's bff from school) and Julia had an EPIC sleepover last weekend. EPIC! During the school year, the girls walk home from school together every day and play. This was the first time they've been together all summer (Kendall went on a long family vacation in June and our schedules haven't jived the last few weeks) and they were so happy to be together again. We made a friendship stone out of plaster, baked homemade pizzas and brownies then watched the movie...EPIC, with popcorn. The girls were up giggling until almost 11pm. 

As if that wasn't fun enough...we went to the Houston Museum of Natural Science the following day. It was the first visit for me and Kendall (JD and the kids have been there before). We saw all sorts of cool stuff, including an amazing exhibit on ancient Egypt, dinosaurs, hall of gems, learned about energy and went to a butterfly rain forest. We all loved it!

After coming back from the museum, the kids and I wen to the pool to swim for  a few hours. Hannah met us at the pool and the girls swam around, while I mostly played with Luke.

Definitely, the best sleepover ever!

Movies are better from a tent

Shark Cage

Dinosaurs!

Caterpillar

Waterfall in the rain forest

Pool fun

 

July 15 - Life's Better With a Labrador

Julia accompanied the dogs to the vet last week for Karma's annual check up. Amelia came along too...and then proceeded to hide under the bench for the visit (she hates the vet, but hates being left alone at home even more). Great news-Karma is down to 84lbls! Proof that a change in diet and exercise can be life changing. She has way more energy than 6 months ago. So proud of her!

Don't mind me, I'll just hang out under here

Late night swim

July 13 - Cousin Power

For our last full day together, the kids woke up and made pancakes with JD. After playing around the house awhile, we went to Jumping World, headed out for a quick lunch and then....ice cream! Yum! We spent the rest of the day at the pool. Before heading to the airport the morning, the kids found time to play more around the house and climb some trees. It was a wonderful visit and we can't wait to see them again at Thanksgiving! Thanks for coming to visit Cook's!

A few fun tidbits...

*The kids played so well together and had sleepovers every night without any major issues or fighting. We only see each other a few times a year and I love that they are still close. 

*Andrew LOVES pop music. Every time we were in the car he asked for the volume turned up. Adorable! He knows a lot of the lyrics too. Perhaps he's a future musician? 

*The girls are both into dolls/stuffed animals and had a lot of fun playing with them. There were makeshift beds and carriers around the house. 

*I think Julia and Victoria could stay at the pool all day. They never wanted to leave. 

*All of the kids loved having dance parties. I wish I took more videos. 

Pancake time!

Puppy snuggles

Mmmmm

Quilt making

Little boys and trains

Last tree climb before the airport

July 9 - I Love America

After a fun trip to the water park and the gardens downtown, it was time to celebrate America's birthday. We went to our neighborhood pool party and had a blast! In addition to pizza, drinks and snacks, there were a lot of games for the kids. The girls participated in all of them (the boys weren't interested). They especially loved the hoola hoop contest, tug-of-war and sack race. 

After a few hours at the pool, we came home and rested before the evening activities. The girls painted, we baked brownies and then ate some delicious fajitas.....mmmm. We headed over to our friend's house and went swimming in their backyard pool, where the kids had fun going off the diving board and swimming around in little boats. 

When it became dark, it was finally time for fireworks! There was a small display in the cul-de-sac and everyone had a great time. They especially loved the sparklers and watching a drone that was flying around. The kids were so tired from all the swimming and activities they passed out right when we get home (Luke fell asleep in the 5min drive home). 

Happy Birthday America!

Go Victoria!

Go Julia!

Yummy pizza

Jill and Andrew

Brownie helpers

by the girls

July 7 - Cousins Reunite!

Schlitterbahn!

Happy July everyone! The Cook's flew in from Raleigh last week and we had an amazing time. I have a lot of photos to share so there will be a few posts. Let's dive in...

A bad storm in Houston (right when they were about to land) caused their flight to divert to Austin. Luckily, Andrew and Victoria were troopers and the added travel time (3h!) caused no major issues. While they were flying from Houston to Austin, and then back to Houston again, the kids and I were at the airport waiting. I was not prepared for a 3h delay either (no books, toys, etc) but my kids also did great. We had a delicious lunch (they also had chocolate milkshakes), they rode the escalator up and down for at least an hour, Julia did cartwheels throughout the airport and they made up a game with the lines on the floor. Everyone was excited when they finally landed. We spent the first day playing at home and eating a yummy lasagna dinner. The kids had a blast together!

McGovern Centennial Gardens

On Thursday, we spent the day at Schlitterbahn Galveston. It wasn't busy and the kids were able to do almost all of the rides, some of them multiple times!
The weather was hot, but there was a nice breeze and we stayed cool in the water. After leaving the park, we went out for ice cream across from the beach. Super fun! 

The next day, we headed to the museum district and walked through the McGovern Centennial Gardens. The kids had fun running around and seeing the cool water fountain. After that, we watched part of a Chinese dance performance at Miller Outdoor Theater (well, the girls watched it, while the boys played in dirt). After a quick lunch, we headed back to the house to give the dogs much needed baths. The kids played and then we headed to the neighborhood pool. Fun times all around!

Posing at the airport 

Mmm...milkshakes

She did these all over the airport

McGovern Centennial Gardens

Matching hair

Cousins and BFF's

Washing the dogs..kids were in heaven, dogs were not too thrilled 

The boys loved driving the car around!

Dance party!

June 25 - Battle of the Wigs

Happy Thursday folks! Luke had his first ever off-site field trip on Tuesday and wow, he was excited. He was up and dressed by 7:15am (Momma, I don't want to be late!), complete with a crazy Mohawk wig (not to be outdone, Julia put on my old Cleopatra wig). His class went to the Bayou Wildlife Park (same place Julia's first grade class went to a few months ago) and had a great time. I think his favorite part was riding the school bus and getting to eat a sack lunch. :)

Yesterday evening, I was working later than usual when Julia found a few leftover cans of hair paint from field day. Needless to say.....they had some fun! The looked like Easter eggs and I was a tad worried the color wouldn't wash out, but it wasn't a problem.  

Battle of the Wigs

Hair Paint Fun

Orca Team Picture

Julia and Coach Alex (her favorite)