12

Will turned 12 back on August 18 and we had multiple celebrations for our big birthday boy! Will's birthday was on a Saturday this year, and we asked him what he wanted to do for his special day. All he wanted was a quiet day at home with dinner out at the Melting Pot. And, of course, he wanted to open his gifts right away!

He got books and a puzzle egg, but the best gift was a D&D dice mat that rolls up! He loved it! (This was all Gene -- I take no credit in even knowing dice mats are a thing.)

Dinner out at the Melting Pot -- our new favorite special-occasion spot!

Our dinner was so big that we saved cupcakes for Sunday evening. I clearly believe in celebrating birthdays as much as possible.  

The following weekend, we met up at Mike and Jess's house for another summer birthday celebration dinner.  

Jess made Bacalhau a Gomes de Sa, which is a family favorite.

Cupcakes for Will and me 

and presents!

 Summer birthday babies

Happy 12th birthday to my sweet, smart, funny 7th grader!

Summer Break: The Final Weeks

Summer 2018 is officially over. School started last week for Will and this week for Henry and me. The lazy days of summer sure were fun, but now we're back in the routine of the school year and everything is plugging along smoothly. 

Here's a peek back at our last few weeks of summer:  

Will walked down one morning in this outfit and all I could say was, "wow!" He sure was bright. School uniforms can be a blessing -- at least he looks pulled together!

I made him change before we left the house. I snapped this photo because his great aunt Rosemary sent him this book for his brithday and he devoured it!

Family dinner right after we got home from Vermont

Will went back to school last Tuesday, so Henry and I had a few days to hang out together. We had a playdate with friends, ran errands, and had a dreaded orthodontist appointment. Henry really dislikes the orthodontist, but fortunately this visit was just a check up and he didn't need any work done. We celebrated afterwards with lunch and a watermelon lemonade at Local Foods.  

After lunch, we ran around to all the Little Free Libraries in West U, dropping off books and finding some to take home!

We also visited the McGovern Centennial Park one morning.

We were on our way to the science museum. We found a fantastic new exhibit, Life in Stone. The exhibit focuses on the works of Gerd Dreher, an artist who carved in gemstones. The pieces were incredible and not like anything Henry and I had seen before.  

 

Last Thursday, Henry and I went down to the Port of Houston for a free Ship Channel tour on the M/V Sam Houston.  

Henry found this gorgeous weed in the grass and held it throughout the 90-minute boat tour!

Just waiting to board the boat 

The Ship Channel has been offering these free tours 5 days a week for 60 years. The tour was so interesting! We learned all about the history of the Ship Channel and its importance to Houston's economy.  

They even passed out free coffee, sodas, water and cookies. We both had a really good time, and I'm glad we were finally able to get tickets. The tour had been on my to-do list for ages, but it books up quickly.

I snapped this photo to send to Gene -- new shorter haircut plus my "I Voted" sticker.  I'm pleased to report that Houstonians passed the $2.5 billion flood control proposition last weekend on the anniversary of Hurricane Harvey!

Here's one final picture on the final day of summer break: playing Risk in their Christmas pajamas! 

The school year ahead will be one of our busiest yet, but it's off to a fantastic start. Here's to a good year!

Vermont 2018: Days 4 and 5

On Sunday morning, we headed down to Fort Ticonderoga in New York for a repeat visit. We were supposed to meet up with Amber and her kids, but my cell phone had no coverage and we completely missed them! We had fun exploring the fort in the year 1781 (each year, the fort represents a different year).  

The gardens are always beautiful.

We didn't remember seeing chickens and cows last time, and we think the barn is pretty new.

We had also never been to the corn maze. It had just opened for the season the day before and was quite fun!

We ate lunch at 3 Squares Cafe in Vergennes and then had creemees at Vermont Cookie Love on the way home!

On our last day in Vermont, we met up with the cousins for a hike up Mount Philo.

Views of Lake Champlain from the top

The kids played "fort" for a long time. They even spotted a little snake slithering through the underbrush.

The hike back down 

After lunch at Philo Ridge Farm and some down time at the hotel, we met up with the cousins at Shelburne Beach and enjoyed one last dinner at Amber's house.

We really enjoyed seeing everyone and getting away from the intense heat of Houston in August.