Lately: April Happenings

The boys are in countdown mode -- only 20 more school days until summer vacation! There's still a lot of work (STAAR tests) and fun (end-of-the-year parties, graduation!) to be had before the summer fun begins.  

Here's a peek at what we've been up to lately:

Our April pack meeting was all about space! One of the dads works at NASA and arranged to have a real astronaut space suit brought to our meeting. What fun!

Gene and I went to the prom! V&E turned 100 years old this year and the firm threw a huge blow-out party, inviting alums as always. I heard that over 2000 folks packed in to the Hobby Center for this over-the-top bash. Though crazy crowded, we wouldn't have missed it!

Nice days = park outings

We rode our bikes down to Treehouse Park one afternoon.

And last weekend, we visited Buffalo Bayou Park 

and the boys played at the Nature Play Area.

Our main reason for visiting the park was to check out the Rain installation by artist Magdalena Fernandez at the Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern. It was worth the visit!

Dinner afterward at Sammy's Wild Game Grill included Mostly Harmless by Eureka Heights

and a trio of sliders -- venison, antelope and emu -- for the grownups and jackalope burgers for the boys.

More food pics -- I've been testing out quiche recipes for the upcoming library volunteer brunch at my house.

When the weather is nice, we love to eat outside!  This is last Sunday's dinner: gulf flounder, green beans with pecans, roasted purple potatoes and turnips, and Gene's homemade ciabatta. Mmmmm!

And finally a couple photos of Ruby -- can you see the hole she dug in the rose bed?  

She knew she was in trouble but she did it two more times in that exact spot. She's not usually a digger, so I wonder what she was looking for?  

I hope your April was full of fun!

Two April Adventures

We had an extremely warm winter in Houston and just this Wednesday, we officially hit 90°, so whenever a cool front coincides with a weekend, our plan is always to get out an about to enjoy the beautiful weather. We had two lovely days over the past two weekends, so of course, we spent those days outside. Gramma and Grampa are usually up for an adventure, so they joined us on two hikes.

Two weeks ago, we spent a couple of hours on a sunny Saturday at Lake Houston Wilderness Park, just north of Humble. We brought Ruby, hiked and enjoyed a picnic lunch before heading back home.

Gramma and Grampa and the boys at Lake Dabney

Another cool front blew through last weekend, so on Sunday, we headed west to Stephen F. Austin State Park. This is one of our favorite parks, but it just recently opened after a nearly 11-month closure due to flood damage.  

The park sits right on the Brazos River, which is prone to flooding.  

At least half of the trails are still closed, but the ones that the staff and volunteers have repaired are fantastic!

Picnic lunch under the trees

We even explored parts of the park that we hadn't seen before, like the small Nature Trail.

Wildflowers

Summer is nearly here, but if we're lucky, we'll have a few more beautiful days to spend outside!

Easter 2017

Easter was a lovely holiday, with lots of family time and traditions!  On the Thursday before Easter, Nana came over bearing Portuguese sweet bread. The boys were thrilled with their treats and dug in right away!

Easter morning came extra early this year. We had to get up for 8 am Mass, and then we went straight over to Nana and Pop's to get in some quality family time before Gene had to head to the airport for yet another trip. He is in the middle of a busy travel season!

Easter baskets

After a delicious Easter lunch, the kiddos discovered that the Easter Bunny had visited and the backyard was peppered with plastic eggs. Before we dismissed them for the hunt, we held our annual Easter basket dance.  

I spy an egg right behind Will!

False start!

And then they were off!

 

We regrouped before heading to the front yard, for even more eggs.

 

Sharing the booty

I hope your Easter holiday was lovely!