Henry at 6

Henry turned six way back in March and I realized that I never wrote an update about my boy at age 6. He is one of my favorite people in the whole world and I don't want to forget what he's like at this age.

Henry...

• gives the best bear hugs ever.
• has an amazing imagination and loves to play. He plays pookies, builds cities out of blocks, Magformers and Legos, and can entertain himself very easily for hours.
• likes to play with words and tell jokes.
• gets on famously with his cousin Mary. It's so fun to watch their special relationship develop.
• enjoys reading and has been reading chapter books like crazy this summer. His current favorite series are Bad Kitty, Galaxy Zack, Magic Pickle, Ninjago, and Dragonbreath.
• loves games (especially Rat-a-Tat-Cat, Zeus on the Loose and Castle Keep) but does not like to lose.
• can play with Magformers endlessly.
• loves to munch on herbs, especially garlic chives and mint, from the garden.
• is sweet and loving and sensitive and polite.
• gets upset if he hurts you accidentally.
• loves adventure, hiking, and exploring new places.
• is a foodie and loves the farmers market, cooking, baking, grilling and picking out new recipes to try.
• talks nonstop!
• likes to read the weather section in the morning paper.
• learned to tie his shoes this summer!
• prefers not to go to bed at bedtime and would rather stay up singing, building, talking, imagining, reading or playing.
• loves music. Some current favorite kid bands are the Okee Dokee Brothers, the Verve Pipe and Recess Monkey.
• has a goofy streak a mile long.
• is making progress with swim lessons and actually likes going to lessons now!
• has the sweetest smile and the best belly laugh.

Henry is one fun kid and six is a fantastic age!

The Weekend: Beer, Bats, and Barbeque

Our weekend was picture perfect from start to finish. We were plenty busy (always!) but also found some time to just sit and relax. 

Saturday morning started off with a visit with Heather and Joel. Joel is a home brewer (and a good one too -- his set up is amazing) and Gene has been wanting to brew his own beer for at least 15 years. Finally, he asked Joel if he could hang out and "help" him brew, and they settled on Saturday. Joel (and Gene) made some 10 gallons of a Scottish style ale that we are excited to try in a couple months.  

Some pictures from the morning:

While Gene and Joel brewed, Heather and I made lunch and caught up, and the boys built with Legos and drew with the Etch-a-Sketch. 

On Saturday evening, after church and a pizza dinner, we decided to head to the Waugh Street Bridge to check out the bat colony. Even though we've known about the bats there for years, we've never made it down to see them emerge. It was a pretty spectacular sight, and one worth checking out if you haven't seen it before. 

Experts estimate that about 300,000 Mexican free-tailed bats live under the bridge. (The bridge's expansion joints are just the right size for this species.) These bats are migratory, so their numbers are biggest in the summer when it is a "nursing" colony. We got there well before sunset and were surprised to see so many bats flying under the bridge. We learned that these are baby bats practicing their flying before sunset. At sunset, the bats all start to swirl around and share information about wind, temperature, predators, etc.  

We love bats because they eat mosquitoes! One bat can eat up to 8000 insects in just one night. And did you know that bats can fly 50 miles one way and then return to their home each night? Bats are pretty amazing creatures. 

Can you see the bats starting to emerge?

 

We saw two hawks and two night herons just waiting for the bats to come out. As we watched, the hawks did catch several bats.

 

On the way back to the car, I took a couple of shots of downtown.

We were hoping to see the "super moon" but it wasn't up by the time we drove home. I asked the boys if it was worth it stay up late and see the bats, and they answered, "Yes! For sure!" It was a really fun experience for all of us. 

 

Sunday was full of yard work and grocery shopping and lots and lots of food prep. Henry and I went back to the farmers market (we had already been on Saturday) specifically to attend the Sunday cooking class for kids. This month's class was all about pickling!

Henry sliced up his cucumbers, added dill and onion and then placed everything in a canning jar with apple cider vinegar, water and some salt.

In four days, Henry's refrigerator pickles will be ready to enjoy. We can't wait!

Back at home, Gene was busy barbequing. Since Sunday was pretty much a stay-at-home day, it was the perfect time for some barbequed ribs.

Gene also managed to bake. He made two loaves of sandwich bread and these incredible pretzel buns.

Ribs!!

Dinner: Ribs, pretzel buns, corn on the cob, tomatoes and peppers, and roasted eggplant and summer squash. Plus beer! Dinner was delicious!

And I'll leave you with one final picture of Henry's German flag, which he made for me in honor of Germany's World Cup win.

Start to finish, this was one perfect weekend!

Summer Break: Week Six

The sixth week of summer break is over, which means we are officially halfway through summer! It has been so much fun so far and we still have lots on our agenda for the next six weeks.

Henry is my farmers market sidekick. Last weekend, I went to the market twice -- on Saturday and then again on Sunday because I forgot to get cherry tomatoes! Henry tagged along with me and we shared a pecan roll and an iced latte while listening to the performer. I love the Sunday market because it is so quiet and peaceful. And spending it with this boy is just the best. 

This week, the boys took a drawing and painting class at the Glassell Junior School each afternoon from 2 to 4. Our mornings were a good mix of busy and relaxed.  

Monday: Will came down complaining that he didn't know what to do and I had just seen an email from Michaels called "Top Boredom Busters." When I opened it, I realized that Michaels has an amazing "Passport to Imagination" kids workshop program at their stores all summer long. My boys weren't really interested in going anywhere, but all the craft projects have detailed have instructions and you can do them at home! Each week, the workshop focuses on a different museum or zoo. This week was the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, so Henry created an awesome space picture using construction paper, oil pastels and some glue.

He loved this project -- see the heart he's making with his hands?

We also made a peach kuchen with some of our farmers market peaches. Yum!!

Tuesday: We visited the Health Museum for another members morning. The boys made a healthy snack and Will got to see the Zoom into Nano exhibit. This stuff is right up his alley!

Wednesday: Every couple of months, Henry likes to go through his old Highlights High Five magazines and pick out recipes to try. He came into my room Tuesday evening with a huge stack of recipes! This is just a small sample of what he picked out. 

We made animal sandwiches for breakfast and both boys were thrilled! 

The rest of Wednesday was busy! We saw The Rise of the Guardians at the movie theater, ordered the pinata for Will's birthday party, went to art class, and had swim lessons.

Thursday: We tried another of Henry's magazine recipes. This one was for crunchy, nutty muffins, and they were great! 

We visited two libraries and the boys got their summer reading certificates.  

Looks like the stegosaurus will get credit for reading too!

Friday: We spent the morning at the pool with friends and then went to the Children's Museum after art class. Even at 4:20, it was still insanely packed! The boys love the museum and eventually got to do some of their favorite activities (like checking out groceries at the store.)

We were at the museum til nearly closing and then decided to treat ourselves to dinner and Icees (they get about two a year, I always make them split one, and it count as their "special" for the day) at Little Matt's. We don't eat out for dinner very often but Gene was traveling for work this week and wasn't expecting dinner at home.

Sitting outside and enjoying a quiet dinner with my boys was the perfect way to end our week!  

A Saturday Adventure: San Jacinto and La Porte

Houston's summer has not been as hot as normal, so Gene suggested we get out and do some exploring on Saturday. This fit in perfectly with Will's plan to get a head start on his Cub Scout Bear requirements. One of the requirements is to find out about historical places nearby and go visit one, so Will chose the Battleship Texas and that's where we headed first thing on Saturday morning.

Unfortunately, this was all we got to see of the battleship! It was struck by lightning on the Fourth and lost all power, so it was closed when we got there on Saturday.

Not ones to be deterred by a lack of power, we walked around the nearby graveyard until the aggressive salt marsh mosquitoes, who are not repelled by DEET, drove us away.

We drove to the San Jacinto Battleground, and walked on some of the trails there.

As I said, it was not blazing hot!

When the boys had had enough hiking, we took the elevator to the top of the monument. 

View from the top.

And then it was time for our picnic lunch! We realized very quickly that we couldn't eat at the battleground due to the mosquitoes, so a quick map search took us to nearby Sylvan Beach Park. This place was jam-packed with families frolicking in the water, fishing off the pier, and enjoying picnic lunches. It turned out to be the perfect spot for our picnic.

As we drove up to the park, we noticed the La Porte Heritage Society right across the street from Sylvan Beach. We popped in for a quick visit after lunch. The museum is housed in the old Sylvan Beach Depot. Back in the 20s and 30s, Sylvan Beach was a very popular tourist destination and many people rode the "Midnight Express" train down to La Porte from Houston. Sometime in the 30s, the beach was filled in and was only reopened about 6 years ago. It is clearly a very popular beach once again!

We toured the museum and the rail car.

The museum complex also houses La Porte's very first library, which opened in 1921 with just 110 books. The museum wasn't on our radar at all, but it was definitely a fun place to visit!

For a day that did not go exactly to plan, we managed to have a wonderful time exploring and discovering new places in our community.