Weekly Happenings: Most of this week, we pretty much just stayed home. It was rather hot (100+ degrees), so I didn’t really feel like doing anything outside. I joke that Texans are opposite of bears: we party during the winter and hibernate during the summer. 😉 Towards the end of the week, though, we did get to meet up with a small group of friends and go swimming at their pool. I also took the kids to the zoo yesterday morning before it got too hot.
The Weekly Weather: As I already mentioned, it’s been rather hot and humid. Luckily we should be dipping back down into the 90s, which is more normal for us.
What Paul’s Been Up To: He worked from home this past week. He also managed to squeeze in mowing both of the yards (he’s understandably not a fan of doing this task in the extreme heat and humidity).
What Sarah’s Been Up To: I got a fun delivery this week. I’ve “attended” a few Pampered Chef parties over the last little bit (they’ve been online) and I got some of my items in the mail! Most of the items I’ve ordered are to replace other kitchen items that have worn out over the years or are better quality than the things I already had (mixing bowls, storage bowls, a few utensils, etc.), but I did order a couple fun things: a breakfast sandwich maker (you can put all the components of a breakfast sandwich into separate compartments, heat them up in the microwave, and then assemble the sandwiches when it’s all heated up…you can even cook the eggs in the microwave) and a new cooking blender (since I “hosted” one of the parties, I was able to get a substantial discount on it). I’m excited to try it out! Oh, and I got a special bowl that can take regular popcorn kernels and pop them in the microwave. It even has a little spot in the lid where you can put butter so that it will drizzle over the kernels as they’re popping. I’m still expecting one more delivery (biscuit cutters, a pastry mat, and some new cooling racks), but those aren’t due to come until next month some time.
This Week in Pictures:
Pile on Mom!Some days she’s feeling extra fancy and wants to wear a dress and a bow in her hair.She loves to push the camera button.Scrunchy-nose!I love this silly girl!Homemade pizza was on the menu, but I felt like mixing it up a bit with the toppings. I knew the boys would want the regular toppings, but I really wanted Canadian bacon and pineapple (and I thought Abigail would want to try it, too…she liked the Canadian bacon, but wasn’t a huge fan of the pineapple).Spot the toad!My friend got this shot of Abigail (and Joseph in the background) while we were swimming.A friend of mine was looking to rehome some stuffies that her girls no longer play with. Abigail loves Moana, so when my friend brought out Pua (the pig) and Hei Hei (the rooster), Abigail was pretty excited.I mean, that smile says it all.Joseph was excited that there were some Pokemon stuffies for him.Here’s my cooking blender. I’m ridiculously excited about this thing. It does normal blender stuff (smoothies, milkshakes, etc.) but also can make soups (think pureed types), jam, peanut butter (and other nut butters), alternative milks, sauces, and can even ground wheat to make flour. Oh, and it also has a heated clean setting, so it’ll clean itself! Racing around the house with Pua and Hei Hei.Being a butterfly at the zoo.Checking out the rhinos (well, Abigail was checking out her popcorn, haha).One of those then-and-now pictures that Google photos does. Tiny Joseph vs. Current Joseph.The rhino statue at the zoo. This thing is huge!Checking out the elephants. Abigail was apparently really thirsty after finishing off her popcorn. 😉Another then-and-now photo. An even Tinier Joseph vs. Current Joseph.We ran into some friends while cooling off in the hippo enclosure. One of them had a professional camera, and Abigail asked him to take her picture. This was the result. 😊Someone decided to pull a funny face for our zoo train selfie.I barely managed to get a smile from her before the tongue came back out (what looks like her bottom lip is actually the tip of her tongue). She woke up at 5:00 this morning, for some reason. I could hear her playing with her stuffed animals, so I turned the monitor off, haha. I turned it back on a couple hours later and it was all quiet. I tried to let her sleep as long as possible, but I walked into her room at about 9:30 to find this and decided I might need to wake her, even though she looked so peaceful.Reading to Pua and Hei Hei under the table. Abigail decided Joseph needed to be buried under stuffed animals. He’s a pretty patient big brother. 🥰
Weekly Happenings: We were kind of in survival mode this week. The weather was hot, there wasn’t much to do (pandemic rules kind of limit outings), and we had some…strong personalities clashing a bit. However, we persevered and ended up having a pretty good week. Paul had Monday off, which was nice. He did have to go in to work the rest of the week, though, which meant it was up to me and the kids to entertain each other. 😉 A trip to the zoo was helpful, as was playing with Play-doh, toys, and some extra screen time. 😉
The Weekly Weather: Mother Nature finally figured out it was summer. It’s been hot and humid all week. It was a bit better at the start of the week (which is when we went to the zoo, since we could go in the morning before it got insufferable. I really am grateful for air conditioning!
What Paul’s Been Up To: He’s been quite busy with work. He’s also gotten the chance to attend (virtually) part of the national Libertarian convention, which is good.
What Sarah’s Been Up To: I’ve mainly been keeping up with my chores and trying to keep the kids happy, healthy, and not too much on each others’ nerves. 😉
What Joseph’s Been Up To: He’s still very much in vacation mode. He is also getting more and more independent. I was able to reorganize the pantry so that the cereal is within his reach. I was also able to reorganize some of the cabinets so that he can reach the plastic bowls easier. This makes it so he can get his own breakfast (and if the milk jug is light enough, he can even pour his own milk). I’ve also taught him how to rinse out his dishes and put them into the dishwasher. We’re making progress, people!
What Abigail’s Been Up To: The sass has definitely been strong with her this week, but she’s also been fun. We’ve also played enough games of hide-and-seek that she can now count to twenty without help (other than me covering her eyes so she doesn’t peek, haha).
This Week in Pictures:
Playing with her tablet.This is her favorite dress and I really like it, too. She loves that it’s “soooo spoooooky”.They got these Play-doh toys from Burger King. It’s basically a tube (that holds the Play-doh). One end of the tube has a textured wheel that makes it so they can roll it across the dough to make designs. The lid has a mold they can press into the dough. It’s pretty cool!They played together pretty well for some time. Then Abigail decided she was going to be a monster and smash Joseph’s creation and started throwing her dough everywhere. *sigh* They worked through it, though (and the Play-doh got put on time-out, haha).I love Texas skies! I took this while still on our street (luckily there weren’t any cars behind me which afforded enough time for me to grab my phone, take a picture, and then put my phone away again). That big cloud was such a cool shape (and absolutely huge).This is Abigail’s favorite part of the zoo. There are a couple of different spots with mini-waterfalls, but this one is definitely her favorite one.Playing hide-and-seek with Paul. 😉Ride ’em, cowgirl!
Bonus Video: Joseph’s take on this whole pandemic situation.
Weekly Happenings: This week ushered in July. It’s so hard to believe that half the year is gone. As for things we did this week, the main fun we had was two different trips to the zoo. We went on Thursday (just me and the kids since Paul was working) and then again on Friday with Paul (he had the day off since it was the day before the 4th of July). Today is Independence Day. Paul got up early and mowed both lawns. After lunch he headed out and got the kids a surprise: a silly sprinkler and some super soakers (say that five times fast, haha). They played outside for over an hour and just had a blast! Later we’ll grill up some hot dogs and pop off some fireworks (Joseph is especially happy about that last bit). I’ll try to get a video of the neighborhood fireworks. They never disappoint.
The Weekly Weather: July brought heat with it. We had a really mild June, though, so I suppose I don’t have much to complain about…besides, we have a nice air conditioned house to hang out in. On super hot days, I remind myself about our little rental house in Highland, CA. It was a bungalow built in the 1930s, and didn’t have central heat or air. It had a wall heater in the living room, but we needed window AC units in both the living room and the dining room (the living room opened into the bedroom and the dining room opened into the office). Most of the house would get decently cool that way (except the bathrooms: one that was sandwiched in-between the bedroom and the office and the other which was off the office…oh, and the kitchen, which was off the dining room was almost always sweltering in the summer). We were only there for two years, but it was long enough for me to be grateful that our new house had central heating and air!
What Paul’s Been Up To: He worked from home this week, which is always nice because he doesn’t have to drive to-and-from and he’s also able to help with the kids a bit here and there.
What Sarah’s Been Up To: I have pretty much been trying to keep the kids entertained while in the house. The addition of the sprinkler and super soakers will make it easier to find ways to cool off, so that’ll be good.
What Joseph’s Been Up To: Mainly just surviving summer, haha. He’s got his games, tablet, LEGOs, and toys, though, so he’s doing pretty good.
What Abigail’s Been Up To: She came up with a new one this week when trying to convince me that it wasn’t time for her to go to bed yet. I put her to bed and then went to do something downstairs. I could hear her in her room and there was one point where I was pretty sure she was playing with toys. I headed upstairs to check. Now, she can hear the baby gates open and shut from her room, so I was about half up the stairs when I heard her running in her room. I opened her door and found her in her bed (but rather out of breath, haha). I asked her if she was okay. She said yes, but that she needed a drink of water. Nice try, kid, but nope. Go to sleep. 🙂
This Week in Pictures:
Robert Frost gets the credit for this month’s cool quote.She wouldn’t settle on choosing a snack. She then saw the jar of peanut butter and asked for just peanut butter. Well, why not? I can remember both my mom and dad giving us a spoonful of peanut butter as a quick snack on quite a few different occasions. I’m just…continuing the tradition. 😉Playing with a long piece of grass. It was sticking through the fence from the neighbor’s yard. She was tugging at it and I asked her what she was pulling on. She gave it one final tug and brought it over for me to see, haha.Playing catch with Joseph.Two cool kids getting ready to go to the zoo.Abigail was soooo excited to get to see the black bears. Usually they’re sleeping (I can’t blame them).This whooping crane was very interested in us. When we went with Paul, we had the treat of seeing all three elephants out.We also got to see both hippos. Do you see the one hippo’s head just barely sticking out of the water? Fun fact: these hippos are related! It’s a grandma and her grandson. We had the grandma and a different hippo a little while back. The other hippo passed away, so when looking to add another one, our zoo got in contact with the zoo that had the grandson and they made a deal of some sorts to get him over here. I have no idea if they realize they are related, though. 😉The kids in their patriotic shirts.Oh, how I love this flag and all it stands for!They had so much fun in the sprinklers!Joseph getting Abigail with his super soaker. They made one of the sprinklers point onto the slide so they could have a super-slippery slide.Abigail also discovered something. The sprinkler is essentially a chunk of hose that has two different sprinklers on it as well as some smaller tubes that wiggle around, shooting water. Abigail discovered that she could wait until Joseph went down the slide and then she could nail with water by pointing one of the tubes right at him. 😀Checking out the fireworks. Waiting for the big stuff to go off!
