Boys Are Fun...

My mom always told me having boys is so much more fun than having girls. Girls you can have plenty of fun with dressing up and doing girly things with. Boys say the cutest things and do the craziest things.... My nephew came to visit us this week and it has been so fun! There were days my stomach literally hurt from laughing so much.
We went to the park and played soccer for a bit Friday.



Lena found this cute cactus circle...

After we were tired of playing soccer I took the kids over to play on the playground equipment. They had so much fun walking over this rope.

CC was a little hesitant at first. Lena was offering some help to her big sister.

But she finally made it!

SUCCESS!! All three across...

And they LOVED this wavy slide.

And what's a day at the park with out swinging?

This boy had me so nervous doing all kinds of crazy...and I mean crazy things.....

We were all so hot from the park so we decided to go to Sonic and get some Root Beer Floats... they never go out of style. It was sooo good!

When it got cooler we all went for a walk. I absolutely LOVE this street light in our neighborhood. Only a few houses have them in the yard and unfortunately I'm not one of them. I wish I was though!

Again, these kids had me laughing. They were skipping and singing, "We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz..."

Then they decided to this dance....can't remember the name of it. But they were singing and dancing.... I absolutely love Lena's face here. It pretty much sums up how our visit with Tren has been!

Mom wanted to keep the kids and take them out to eat and to a movie (The Zookeeper). They had so much fun.

And she even made Chicken 'N Dumpling's for them....so, so good!

It has been so fun having Tren. I wish they lived closer so we could spend more time together! He is so super sweet and funny! Love him!!!

~

I was very disappointed with the little splash of rain Don brought yesterday. I was so hoping for a really hard, big, long, heavy downpour but instead got about 20 minutes of a steady rain...just enough to get my weeds growing! Tomorrow is August 1...the beginning of the Dog Day's of Summer. Oh man, I don't know if I'm ready for this. I need rain!!!

Tacos With A Twist...

Yesterday as I was watching an old San Antonio Living with Shelly Miles, Diana Barrios was on making a taco recipe that had a little twist to it. I'm always up for trying new takes on regular recipes.

You will need lean ground beef, a can of corn drained with the juice set aside, a can of black beans, a can of crushed chipotle peppers, an onion, 3 cloves of garlic and salt and pepper.

First saute the onion and crushed garlic.

Add the ground beef and then drain.

Add the can of corn and about 2-3 Tbsps of the reserved corn juice.

Drain and rinse the black beans, then add to the mixture.

I added about 2 Tbsps of the crushed chipotle peppers. It can be made as spicy as you like. I just wanted the taste without the burn.

I also added some dried parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

I used corn tortillas and added chopped cilantro and green onions and squeezed some lemon juice on.

It was soooo good! I can definitely see it being a new staple in our family.

You can also top it with a salad of avacados, tomatoes and cucumbers. It was so good... I liked it this way!

Hot, Hot, Hot

It has been so hot every single day!! I have had a headache today that I just couldn't get rid of...even after 5 Motrin!!
THIS is what we get to look forward to for the next eight days...we are soooo lucky!

Yesterday Papa Bear told me he wanted something cold and sweet. CC and I had just finished saying we wanted some ice cream. (The heat is just killing us!!) So we headed over to Sonic and I tried their Chocolate Sunday Shake.... ah-may-zing!!!


A miracle happened the other day... I managed to snap a picture of CC and I actually got away with it. She NEVER lets me take pictures of her....

Mom's air conditioner in her house went out on her yesterday so she loaded the kids up (they had stayed the night with her) and her cat Bella and spent the night with us. We had so much fun just laughing and talking and being together. Lena gave up her bed to Mom and then crashed on the couch.

Bella has been bullying Charlie and Toby. They don't quite know how to handle a mean, grouchy,bossy girl in their house. Both boys have hardly left my room today....this is why....

It was so nice to have Mom here. I loved hearing her making her coffee and opening and shutting the cabinets and talking to Bella. I missed that so much. I remember the night I moved in with Emil. We had been apartment hunting and found one and thought it would be a few more days before me moved in together and I would have to leave Mom. He told me we were moving in that night and I remember thinking, "Noooo, I haven't had my last night at home with my momma!!!" It was so scary. And I remember that next day, the first morning in my life I woke up with out my momma, it was so sad. I didn't hear her noises. I kept waiting to hear her moving around, doing her regular morning routine and it just never happened. I cried. And I cried the next several mornings until I got used to not hearing her. It was hard. So this morning I woke up early and heard her moving around in the kitchen and living room. I just laid on my bed listening...and smiling. I wanted to stretch it out for as long I could...make it a memory.

~~~~~

I had plans to make cookies tonight for the kids. It's just too hot. I can't do it! Maybe tomorrow. Bella is still here. My boys still won't come out. It's still hot outside at 11 p.m. with a heat index over 90. So I'm going to hop in the shower and snuggle on the couch with the kids and watch a movie!

A First For Me.....

Today CC left to Belton with her friend Mariel to attend a convention on drawing near to God and preparing yourself to live in His kingdom. This was the first time CC has EVER gone out of town without me or my mom. I was soooo nervous!

But like Emil told me, "She's with Mariel (and five other ladies) going to a church convention, what's the worst they are going to do?" And he's right. I needed lots of prayer to stay calm.

We woke up early. I prepared her a lunch, drove through the bank to get her some money out, got her a breakfast taco and tea and dropped her off.

We texted most of her ride up there and talked through lunch. She even saw a couple of friends from when she went to public school.

I've been cleaning, getting ready for this evening and am going to take Lena to my Mom now.

This has been a truly great weekend!

We Had R.A.I.N.!!!!

After a loooong dry spell, we finally received some much needed rain Tuesday. It started off nice and light......

then it turned dark and rained and rained....

and poured and poured.

It was so nice! It smelled so good. Our plants really enjoyed it!! The grass is greener. Unfortunately, so are the weeds!

Tuesday I treated us to cupcakes. I tried the Red Velvet... very, very good.

And I picked up Double Chocolate for my Papa. His birthday was Wednesday.

My nephew is here with us for a week. It's fun to have a boy in the house. I made Chicken Fried Steak last night with mashed potatoes and gravy and cream corn. It was soooo good!!!

Mom came over today and made Chicken and Dumplings. Ooooohhhh, delicious! It was supposed to be for dinner tonight but I think we all pretty much wiped it out!

Time is Flying....

I haven't had time to blog much lately. We haven't been doing much really, just staying so busy with everyday life. Sometimes it just seems so non-stop rushing! At the end of most days I just feel exhausted, like I seriously can't even take another step. I'm sure it doesn't help that my days usually end around 2a.m. and start around 8 a.m.

Anyway.... I have found something new to do that I really, really like.....

GRILL!!!!!!

Papa Bear asked me to grill one night while he was driving home from Austin. I was nervous at first, but then took a quick liking to it! I really had fun!!! And it came out sooooo good!!

One night when I was driving home Scotty McCreedy's single came on the radio and I was so excited!! I was/am a HUGE fan of his from the beginning of American Idol. I voted for Scotty each and every week!!

One evening after Papa grilled fish Charlie hopped up in CC's seat. I think he smelled how great everything smelled and was ready to join in!

Charlie looks so over getting his picture taken. Toby just looks cute!

While I was walking the other morning I passed this house on our street. Emil saw the sheriff there foreclosing on the house. The house had been empty for some time but to see such personal things thrown on the drive way is just sad. There was stuffed animals, sheets, toys, a playpen, fragments of someones life. It really puts things in perspective and helps you to remember no matter how bad things may seem or how hard times may be there is always someone who is worse off and is struggling more.

We have been going to Austin...lots...but thankful to be able to go! CC loads up her movies.....

And Lena rocks out to her music! She reminds me so much of myself at that age. I loved rock music too and would put it on late at night real low so Mom wouldn't hear it. My favorite radio station was called K-Rok on an A.M. channel. Their motto was "If we're too loud, you're too old!" Ha!!! I guess I'm old now because I often have to tell Lena to either unplug or turn it down! (Lena I know you are going to kill me for posting this picture, especially after you warned me very sternly about not posting it. I just want to remember you in this moment like this, since so much of your time is spent just. like. this.)

I captured this pretty sky one evening while watering my roses and two crepe trees. It is just beautiful....

And tonight Papa Bear tried out a new recipe for some Red Snapper I bought. Oh! My! Word!! It was beyond delicious!!! The recipe can be found here.

And I also made the Cappicino Brownies from the mix I found at Target. Very, very good!!

We also received Lena's final report card today. She passed with straight A's for the year. Not bad considering she came into this school in the middle of the year and worked hard to make up for the work she missed!! I am so proud of her. I think a date to Le Madeleine and Barnes and Noble is in order..soon! I am so proud of you LenLen. I know some days it was overwhelming and frustrating but you did it!! I knew you could!! Now, finally, you can just take it easy the rest of the summer. You definitely deserve it!! I love you!