We have had a great time with Angela visiting so far!
We went on two bike rides last weekend. On the first ride, we went to the playground and Rachel had a great time. We tried to have snoballs but the place was not open yet.
The next day we went to the snoball place and Rachel got to try her first snoball. She let us know that she quite liked it.
Today, we went to the Museum of Fine Arts and the sculpture garden. We all had a very good time.
We have been having some fun times around here lately. Rachel loves to walk around the house and play with everything she can find.
We got her some new storage furniture so she has plenty of drawers to play in now and she loves it.
Last weekend, she got to try out her new bathing suit and new splash pool that she got for her birthday. She had a great time and we will be enjoying it a lot throughout the summer I am sure.
In other news, Rachel's nanny Carrie had her baby boy last week and Tante Angela has been staying with us since last Sunday. Rachel has really enjoyed spending time with her! Opa was here until Thursday as well. I will find some pictures that I have taken since they arrived and post them sometime soon!
On Saturday, we visited the Children's Museum again - this time Wes came along with us.
We spent some time in the Tot Spot
And played outside at the FlowWorks (until it started raining on us)
And we visited the rest of the museum. They had a neat exhibit on Vietnam - we knew it was accurate when we saw this display about the local transportation.
We had a great time celebrating Rachel's first birthday last weekend. Grandma Kathy, Uncle Travis and his girlfriend came to visit. We also had our friends over for a tasty Greek food dinner on Saturday night.
On Friday night, we checked out the preview of the Art Car parade after dinner. We did not have a chance to go to the parade on Saturday so it was fun to see some of the cars while we had a chance.
Dinner Saturday included Chicken Souvlaki cooked on the grill. You may notice that the grill has been moved (from about where Jared is standing) and that we have more grass now.
Rachel enjoyed opening all of the gifts that everyone kindly brought for her
We all enjoyed the Souvlaki, pitas, spanikopita, tzatsiki and greek salad for dinner. Jared and Hope made baklava for dessert that was delicious!
[Pictured from l to r: Rachel, Annette, Don, Karen, Hope, Jared, Sarah, Kim, Kimmie, Travis, Grandma Kathy; not pictured: Wes behind the camera]
After dinner, Rachel had more of her "cake" and was serenaded by the group.
Here is a movie version for your enjoyment...
Rachel seemed to really enjoy her "cake". She managed to eat the whole thing, even though we thought she was full from her dinner. The hat did not last the whole time - after the inital excitement of the "cake" wore off, she remembered the hat was there and removed it.
We had a fun time on Sunday at the Natural Science Museum - Rachel and I explored the exhibits while everyone else watched Hubble 3D. Then, we took a few pictures in the backyard before our guests had to head back home.
On Saturday night, we got some friends together and went to another Dynamo game. Everyone brought some food and we tailgated in the parking lot for a couple of hours before the game. We had vegetables, fruit salad, sausages, burgers and brownies for dessert. There was a chance of rain but it held off for the meal and the game - we ended up having really nice weather the whole time (although a bit humid - summer is pretty much here).
The gang at the tailgate (Hope, Dave, Don, Jared, Kim, Wes, Rebecca and Sarah)
Rachel partaking of the fruit salad from high atop Jared
Rachel was more entertained than you might expect by Sarah's keys
We got a great space very close to the stadium
Rachel with Kim and Hope
Showing off her team spirit
After the game, the coals were still hot so we had to improvise and mix in some ice so we could safely dispose of the coals
On Saturday, Wes did the CB&I triathlon. He completed the 500 meter swim, 15 mile bike and 5k run in one hour and 28 minutes. Rachel and I were there to cheer him on. Fortunately, Sarah was also doing the tri so she picked Wes up sometime around 5am to head up to the Woodlands and Rachel and I followed about an hour later.
Wes finishing the swim
Rachel behaved very well even though she had to get up extra early. She enjoyed watching all of the people. She had some snacks while we were waiting for Wes at the finish line.
In preparation for the long, hot Houston summer, Rachel and I decided it was time to get a membership to the Children's Museum. We had visited once before with playgroup and it is a pretty fun place. Now that Rachel is getting around better, she can really enjoy the area they have set aside for little ones (the Tot Spot).
She loved the ball pit
She climbed into the back of a little pick-up truck. There were blocks there to load into the truck, but climbing in seemed to be more fun.
She spent quite a while taking the colored sticks out of the light wall (I got to pick them up off the floor and put them back in for her)
She enjoyed crawling and walking up the ramp, over the wavy floor and down the little stairs
Last weekend, a group of girls from our Bible study group last year threw a baby shower for our friend Carrie, who also happens to be our nanny. She is due in about two weeks so it is getting close! Her nursery is going to be in an African theme so we had a safari-themed baby shower for her. Christine, Rebecca and I also put together a safari-themed diaper cake for the occasion.
Christine, Carrie, Rebecca and me by the yummy food
