Lately: Birds, Binoculars, Baking, and Boats

Our week has been full of bird-watching, baking, and sailing!  

We got the Houston Arboretum's fall class schedule in the mail a few months ago and I was so excited to see that the Naturalist Explorers classes this season are all about birds, specifically birds of prey. I love birds so I was excited to tag along to the boys' first class on Saturday. It was all about hawks and falcons, and one of my friends was the teacher! 

Two finger touch on the red-tailed hawk.  

Then we got our binoculars 

and were off on a nature hike!

The mosquitoes were out in droves, but the overcast skies kept the temperature comfortable. Unfortunately, there was some thunder and light rain on our way back, and we didn't see any birds.  

But we did find a couple of beautiful butterflies.  

After our hike, the boys made mobiles but first had to identify their four birds using their field guides. Henry did a great job!

While we were at nature class and a birthday party immediately afterwards, Gene was busy at home baking bread and making Bacalhau a Gomes de Sa (salt cod with onions, olives and potatoes).   

Pop joined us for dinner.

We even made him eat some broccoli! 

On Sunday, Gene had the opportunity to participate in a sailboat race with one of our friends' dads down on Galveston Bay. Gene used to race all the time when he was a teenager, but hadn't been sailing in years, so this was a real treat for him. These are just a few of the pictures he snapped.   

Mondays are always tough, especially after a fun weekend, so I promised the boys we could make a nut cake after school on Monday. It helps to have something to look forward to! We found a recipe for nut cake in Scaredy Squirrel Has a Birthday Party.

  

Have you read the Scaredy Squirrel books? Henry and Will are huge fans, mostly because they are laugh-out-loud funny. Scaredy Squirrel is so scared of everything that he makes elaborate plans to avoid anything potentially scary, like confetti (it can get out of control) and ponies (they might take you for a ride). The nut cake recipe even has instructions to verify expiration dates and to keep a fire extinguisher nearby!

And finally, soccer has started and now our fall is officially very, very busy. The boys have practice on the same nights (yay!) at the same time (which is okay) but at different schools (boo!). With Gene's travel and occasional evening meetings, we are embracing carpooling this year and are oh-so-thankful to be playing with good friends on both teams.  

Henry and I saw a rainbow (his first ever!) after his practice Monday night. It was gorgeous!

And here's one more shot with my big boy under the rainbow, all decked out in his soccer gear. 

Fall is always busy but it is my favorite time of year, full of evening soccer games, campouts, pumpkins, and many fun times with family.