Summer Break: Weeks Ten and Eleven

Summer is flying by and the school year is fast approaching. Will starts next Tuesday, with Henry following on the 28th! Our last few weeks of summer have been full of outings, lazy days at home, and more errands than I can count (school uniforms, orthodontist visits, and more).

Here's a peek at some of the fun we've had lately:

Belated birthday celebration for me

Games -- Will loves board games and was so excited to get Axis & Allies!

Frozen yogurt at Menchie's after a ridiculously long time spent shopping for school uniforms (we ordered online, but our order was so screwed up that we had to visit two different stores to get Will's uniform!)

We had some "cooler" weather (for Houston) in early August, so took advantage of that to visit the McGovern Centennial Gardens

A visit to the Health Museum

Henry has been drawing up a storm. These are all characters from Gumball.

We meet Gene for lunch whenever our schedules work out. Mai's is a favorite for Vietnamese food! I liked my fortune that day.

Last week, we headed to north Houston to visit the National Museum of Funeral History.

Did you know they have a Batmobile there? I'm not sure what the connection is to funerals, but it was a hit with the boys.

I had to snap a photo of Henry in front of the Henry & Sons Undertaker sign.

Art coffins

And the Popemobile!

After a morning at the Funeral Museum, we headed to nearby Old Town Spring, where Gene met us for lunch. I can't believe I've lived in the Houston area for nearly 20 years and never visited Old Town Spring. What a cute little town! We had lunch at Ellen's Cafe and visited Why Not Toys and the Glow Worm bookstore. We all want to go back and explore more when the weather is cooler! 

Gene took the boys to the pool for dive-in movie night. A highlight was the piping-hot funnel cake.

And here's a peek at how we end our days -- all of us (Ruby too) snuggled together on our bed, reading books. I couldn't think of a better way to end the day!

Now if we can just keep things so calm during the busy school year! 

Good Reads {July 2017}

"One benefit of summer was that we had more light to read by."  -- Jeannette Walls in The Glass Castle

We spent half of July on vacations to places with limited to no WiFi, which proved excellent for my reading life. I finished twelve books in July, which is a huge number for me! Here are my very favorites from the month:

Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl

I picked up this memoir of Ruth Reichl's time as the New York Times restaurant critic at the library book sale table, and it was a perfect read for summer vacation. I love memoirs in general and especially love foodie memoirs. This was a real treat -- funny and well written!

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

When we were on vacation in California, I realized that I had packed some heavy books. So when we visited Small World Books in Venice, I picked up The Rosie Project, which was a perfect light read. Quirky professor Don Tillman is on a quest to find the perfect wife, and creates an elaborate questionnaire to help him in his search. Rosie Jarman does not meet any of Don's requirements, and the ensuing results are surprisingly funny.

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

This slim book is utterly charming. The book features 20 years of letters between Helene Hanff and a bookseller in London and is a must-read for book lovers. What a gem!

The Stars Are Fire by Anita Shreve

I read this immediately after finishing a mediocre book and was so relieved to be back in the hands of a master storyteller. The Stars Are Fire is set in Maine in 1947, when fires ravage the coast. Grace and her children escape the fires and Grace must figure out how to live with her home gone and husband missing.

The Cafe by the Sea by Jenny Colgan

I picked up this book in the well-stocked library on our cruise ship, and it was a delightful summer read. Set on the imagined Scottish isle of Mure, this is the story of Flora and her return to her roots. It was light and perfect for the summer.

What have you been reading lately?  

Carribbean Cruise 2017

At the end of July, we took a cruise to the Western Caribbean. The boys loved our cruise last year, and when we couldn't make our trip to Vermont work out, we decided to take another cruise. This year, we were on the Carnival Breeze, which was a much nicer ship.

We arrived Galveston with plenty of time before embarkation, so we stopped in at our favorite coffee shop and bookstore, and purchased taffy at LaKing's before having lunch.

 Pizza snack on board the ship

Some views as we left Galveston

Sea Day 1 -- on our balcony

The boys weren't very interested in the kids club this year, but there was plenty for them to do on the ship. We played ship-wide Clue and collected clues nearly every day of the cruise!

Virgin strawberry pina coladas

The bow 

Formal dinner night

Towel animals on Sea Day 2

We played lots and lots of shuffleboard -- Gene and Henry even competed in a ship-wide contest and came in third!

After two days at sea, we arrived at Montego Bay, Jamaica.

We opted for a short snorkeling shore excursion that didn't leave til 1pm, so we had all morning on board the ship. 

Gene had been snorkeling before, but it was a first for the boys and me. It took Will and me some time to figure out how to use the snorkels, but once we were in the water, we had a blast floating over the coral reef and looking at fish. It was one of our favorite adventures!

After snorkeling, our shore excursion included a quick stop at Margaritaville, which was only fun because of the water toys. 

Our second stop was in Grand Cayman, where we visited a turtle farm.

Green sea turtles

 

Kemp's ridley

The boys went snorkeling again, this time with sea turtles!

We also saw lots of lizards and birds.

View of Grand Cayman

It happened to be my birthday and the boys chipped in to buy me some Jamaican coffee! Yum-o!

It was also the second formal night of the cruise. 

 Birthday cake!

A gorgeous sunset 

Our last stop was Cozumel. We visited Chankanaab, where we touched dolphins and swam, but unfortunately, it was a rainy day and that curtailed our outdoor activities.

The last sea day was full of putt-putt 

and fun at the water park.

And then, before we knew it, we were back in Galveston! We watched the dolphins play behind a shrimp boat. 

Rainbows

While I will always prefer mountains to the beach, the boys had a blast on the cruise and we're so lucky we were able to fit in a second vacation this summer!