Sue's Visit and Spring Break

I have been absent from blogging for a few weeks and I do apologize to those of you that check-in regularly. We had our first house guest and as always, it was my sister Sue! Sue has visited us at all our different homes and we always have a wonderful time when she is with us. This trip was no different. The first few days of her visit, Jacob was still in school, so we got some major shopping and decorating done. I always appreciate her helping me get focused on my decorating and giving me good design tips. My style tends to be a bit eclectic since we have lived in so many different parts of the country. She is good at helping me pull together all my different styles and is a whiz when it comes to laying out window treatments for me to sew (she sewed this trip also.) We got six windows done and a plan for the dining room...I love them!

Sue's visits are not all work. The second half of her time here was during the first part of Jacob's Spring Break. Jacob loves it when his Aunt Sue visits because we always get to do fun things. On Friday night had pizza and game night, Saturday we went to Gruene for most of the day before going to scenic Canyon Lake where we took a short "hike" and Sue took several pictures of the lake. Sunday, Jim joined the family for a trip to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin. We had a good time, but we were a little disappointed in that there weren't more flowers in bloom. They did have a wonderful arts and crafts show that weekend and fun sculptures on exhibit throughout the grounds. Sue took tons of pictures and Jacob had control of our digital camera and took some really nice shots and some interesting ones, too. He told us he would like a camera of his own and would like to start saving for one.

On Monday, we took a trek underground with a visit to the Natural Bridge Caverns. Jacob asked his friend Mason to come with us since he had never been there. It was a fun day with the boys and included "panning for gems" and lunch at Red Robin. Unfortunately it was a very windy day so we didn't get to ride the zip-line; however, Sue is looking forward to doing it on her next visit. Tuesday was a gray, rainy day and we changed our plans from exploring the River Walk in SA to indoor fun at the Whitte Museum. The museum was fun and had a great temporary exhibit about Genomes/DNA. Jacob, as always, loves the children's discovery area and tree house.

That brings us to Wednesday and the day that Sue left. We did a quick "train tour" of Landa Park here in New Braunfels (it was another gray day)then Jim met up with us to take the trip to the airport. We were sad to see Sue leave, but it was nice to come home and take an evening to just rest and regroup before our next adventure.

Tenderfoot

On March 17, Jacob was awarded his Tenderfoot badge in scouting. This is the first badge a new Boy Scout can earn. The Court of Honor ceremony was held in the sponsoring church and it was a quiet affair. First the boys all lined up and took part in a candle lighting ceremony and recited the Boy Scout Oath. At this time for all we knew they could have been joining a cult, because from the pews we couldn't hear a thing that was being said. Mr. Hoffmann, the Scout Master, talked to each boy individually. We laughed when he got to Jacob and we saw Jacob shrug his shoulders and then Mr. Hoffmann got a big grin. We later found out that he was asking each boy about the different parts of the Oath and what they meant. Jacob was asked for the definition of obedience. After telling Mr. Hoffmann what it meant, then he was asked if he was obedient and Jacob shrugged and said most of the time. Ah yes, honesty is a Boy Scout trait.

Rain, Cold, Stoup and Games

We got rain...much, much needed rain!! We are expecting it all day tomorrow, too. It's just a drop in the bucket compared to what we need to help us out of this drought, but every bit helps and it's less we have to pay to water the grass. Usually I don't like rainy days, I'm Susie Sunshine all the way, but today it didn't bother me. At least it didn't bother me until I went to pick Jacob up from school. I like the Sun because it means heat. Today, it was only 49 degrees and windy! A bit of a change from yesterday's balmy 84 degrees. Even so, we made the best of things. After coming home Jacob and I did some reading and then made a hearty, comfort meal of chicken and dumpling stoup (yes, I meant to spell it that way) and a dessert of Magic Cookie Bars (or Hello Dollies). We ate a little early and after dinner Jacob was in the mood for board games...I love that he loves board games!

We played Zooreeka first. It's from the Cranium series of games and it's fun and fairly quick. Next we played Clue. Classic Clue with Coronal Mustard and Miss Scarlet. We always have a great time playing this because we make sound effects, goofy faces etc. each time we make a suggestion. It gets pretty silly, but it keeps things fun! Tonight, Jim accused Mrs. White of doing the dastardly deed in the library with the rope!! He was correct and won. In fact, he won both games tonight. Hmmm.

Anyway, we didn't mind our rainy Wednesday evening at all. I just hope all this blows through before next Wednesday when Sue will be making her first visit to New Braunfels. We don't want her to have a soggy visit.

"Good Eats"

That is what Jacob said tonight at the dinner table. We tried something new on the grill, Drunken Chicken... aka Beer Butt Chicken, Beer Can Chicken. We recently had this at a Super Bowl party and it was really tasty, so we decided to give it a try. There are several recipes online for this, but we just winged it. I just rubbed the bird down with some seasonings and sprayed a little oil on it. Jim had to sacrifice a can of Guiness, but it was worth it! I had a five pound bird and it's completely gone. Jacob was picking the bones (he is a growing boy!) Our side dishes were garlic potato wedges done on the grill and a family fave, grilled asparagus. YUMMY! I don't usually take pictures of our food, but this being the first time trying this I snapped a few funny looking shots...

Before...

Cooking...

Time to eat!

We don't usually have dessert, but tonight we enjoyed strawberries over Bisquick shortcake. It was very "Good Eats."

Paper or Plastic...Neither, thank you!

I wouldn't call our family a "green" family, but we try to do our part. Over the years, we have kept up with recycling cans, bottles, paper etc. The exception was when we lived in Hawaii and they didn't have a recycling program...go figure. One of my pet peeves from way back is plastic grocery bags. Whenever possible I would opt for the good ol' paper bags...they hold more groceries and you can do a million things with a brown paper bag before needing to toss it. I quickly found out that most stores only offered the plastic...ugh! The military commissary was always notorious for double bagging and then putting the least amount of items in them. This drove me nuts. Years ago, and I mean YEARS AGO, when we lived in upstate New York, we purchased a couple canvas bags at the grocery store. We were poor and to get these "fancy" bags was a luxury as back then they were pricey and didn't hold much. Finally, I succumbed to the evil plastic.

Several months back, my friend Stephanie blogged about the new grocery bags you can get at Wal Mart, Whole Foods and just about every other grocery store (thanks Steph.) They looked promising, but I still remembered the price and size of those old canvas bags (which I still have.) One day Jacob and I stopped at HEB (grocery store) for just a few things and jumped in the self checkout line. It bothered me that I would have use plastic (I had been only using paper) for just a few things and then Jacob noticed the green HEB bags. He proceeded to tell me how bad the plastic bags were for the animals, especially the local cows. I decided it was time to try again and much to my surprise, they were only 99 cents! After that each time we stopped I would get another bag. We now have five and I love them!! They hold a ton of food, providing the person packing them knows what they are doing, and it's easy to carry several at a time and not have to worry about rips or tears. The only challenge early on was remembering to take them with us to the store (they are now kept in the vehicles) and then to remember to actually carry them into the store (Jacob made a few trips to the parking lot.)



So, even if you are not one to recycle and "going green" conjures up images of the golf course, I highly recommend these bags. I bet you'll love them, too!!

Tooth Fairy Tales

What's with the Tooth Fairy and where did she come from? I remember the thrill of finding a quarter under my pillow in the morning and could never figure out how she did it without disrupting my sleep. We've allowed the Tooth Fairy into our home to carry on the traditions of our childhood. The Tooth Fairy now has it easy, at least at our house, since Jacob has a little bear that holds a "tooth" pillow which Grammy got for him before he ever lost his first tooth. It's been quite convenient for tooth collecting/money leaving and teeth are now worth $1.00. Heaven knows how may teeth and dollar bills would have been lost in his bed full of pillows and stuffed animals without that little bear.

Since living in Texas, Jacob has lost three teeth. The first one was lost when we were still living in a hotel. Since Jacob worried the Tooth Fairy wouldn't find him and he didn't have the bear with him, his tooth spent several forgotten months in Mommy's change purse. He came across it one day when I asked him to get me out some change and without my knowing it, he left it out for the Tooth Fairy. However, Jacob forgot he had done this and didn't check the bear. When he lost number two, he was quite disappointed to find tooth number one where he left it. You can imagine the surprised looks Jim and I exchanged at the mention of this. Of course, since the loss of tooth number one happened several months before, the Tooth Fairy must not have known it was in there and didn't look for it. That night Jacob put both teeth in the pillow and hoped for the best. Amazingly enough, the Tooth Fairy had the correct amount of money available when she stopped by his room. Last Sunday, Jacob lost the third one while eating lunch. He rinsed it off and sat it on the coffee table (boys!) and forgot about it. Monday after dropping him off for school I found the tooth on the floor, at least part of the tooth, since it somehow broke. I put both pieces on the coffee table for him to find and when he did he was so upset. He said it was ruined and the Tooth Fairy probably wouldn't want it and he left it there. A couple days later, I notice the tooth was no longer on the coffee table and I knew I hadn't thrown it out. I asked Jacob this morning whatever happened to the broken tooth and he got excited and said he put it in the pillow, but forgot about it. He ran to check and sure enough the Tooth Fairy didn't like the condition of his tooth. Jacob came out of his room and said "She discounted it because it was broken and only gave me 50 cents this time." Daddy said maybe it had something to do with economy.

I don't know how much longer the Tooth Fairy will be making her rounds at this house. Some of Jacob's friends don't get visits anymore. I don't recall when she stopped visiting me. Is there a cutoff point when we as parents say she's no longer allowed to stop by? Again I ask, where did she come from in the first place?

Friday's Flick

This week's movie of choice was Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008). Originally filmed for 3-D viewing in the theaters, it was still good on the small screen. Jacob had belly laugh moments and also cuddle up to Mom times. Jim rolled his eyes a few times, but we both enjoyed it, too. While it wasn't a movie version of the Jules Vern novel, it was enough to pique Jacob's interest in reading the book...always a plus! It was a fun movie and if you like lead actor Brendan Fraser, you'll like him in this movie, too.

We also found a new pizza place. Actually, we've been waiting for this place to open since it was built and the sign on the marquee read "New York Pizza". We had a great pizza place in South Carolina (NYPD Pizza) and we were hoping for something close to it . It just opened this past week and the place was busy last night! Clearly we weren't the only ones waiting for the open sign to light up. The pizza is good (we had fresh garlic and basil) and in "New York style" with a yummy thin crust, but it certainly was not as good as true pizza from the city. However, for deep in the heart of Texas, it will do just fine!