Weekend with Carl and Robin

Its wet and ugly here..apparently its wet and ugly everywhere in Texas right now, especially Houston. It was supposed to be a very wet weekend but turned into a breezy, great weather without sun weekend, which we took full advantage of since Uncle Carl and Aunt Robin were here. We had so much fun with them, showing them our little part of Texas, having them see how we do Saturdays....train rides, baseball games (little league) and Ranger games! They came to church with us on Sunday and then to our favorite little hole in the wall place Medi Cafe. They are always so positive, loving and encouraging and its no wonder that just like me, my kiddos adore them and can't wait to hang out with them again.

I have great memories of long weekends with them growing up. Our fun always included a buffet dinner at Hunans Chinese where I would impress my Aunt with the weird food combos I would make and enjoy...i also remember a Shoneys trip or  two. We also always went to Fast Eddie's fun center every time and raced go carts, played arcade games and ate pizza. I can hear their background music in my  head even now. We also would go to the beach, kayak, go eat dinner with their friends who I swore had no necks, hang out with my aunt's mentee, or go see my grandparents. These weekends were so much fun and as I reminded my Aunt she basically potty trained Chris...he couldn't go with us until he was potty trained..which miraculously happened right before one of our planned weekends!!!

I love these memories and the fact that my kids are having the same experience with Robin and Carl as well as Chris and Micah. Aunts and Uncles are the best because their only goal seems to be to have fun and love on the kiddos!!!!

Funny thing is that from the minute we met up with them on Saturday morning the two littles were climbing all over them. During a potty break I reminded them both that Robin and Carl were not used to kids climbing on them so they may need to take a chill pill. Well, as we were all in the car driving to our house Baby Boy said " Robin, are you used to us?". When she finally understood his question to mean "are you used to kids" she said "yes" and he pointed at me and said "Mommy is a liar"......geesh. That was the joke the rest of the weekend...hehehehe.

I am so thankful for family who will fly/drive all the way here to see us and be a part of our lives...it enriches my kiddos life, it feeds my soul, its rejuvenates and encourages us as parents and it reminds us of the importance of family....God set it up that way...for the family to be the base unit of society..to be each others safe place. 

I wanted to show you a better view of the signs the kiddos made for my marathon. After 10 days I am finally able to walk normally without pain in my knees and hamstrings....lots of ice, rest and compression. I have been biking, strength training  and walking instead of running and I think I am ready to tackle those miles again!

Apparently it was orange day. Roasted tomatoes, peppers and sweet potatoes for lunch..even packed it in an orange bento box!

Yummy lemon salmon, roasted butternut squash and fresh green beans cooked in bacon grease!

It was U day at school and Baby Boy quickly grabbed a picture of Uncle Chris to take with him!

I have the best students, these are 7th grade wire sculptures, wrapped in ribbon and creatstone and then gessoed black or white. Then they poured or drip painted in the style of Jackson Pollack!

Cowabunga dude!

Grapevine Fun Train on Saturday morning...Big Man said this was his favorite part of the weekend!

We got to see our home from a whole different view!

Uncle Carl got lots of hands on time for the munchkins...I love how quickly they remember their family and love on them.

My favorite part of the weekend was hearing Carl get excited at the Rangers game and start twirling his finger as one of our guys rounded 3rd. It was the best game....Rangers came back in the 7th, great weather, front row seats by the first base and of course the FAMILY!!!!!

I bet big girls favorite thing about the weekend was constantly digging through Robin's purse and trying on all of her glasses. She even drew with them on during the church service....CRACKS ME UP!!!!

A new favorite. Watermelon ice cream (watermelon plus coconut milk) and then mixed in frozen fruit! YUMMY!

And then this happened on Monday..just in case you were wondering if we ever had bad days :). It was hard to discipline this though with a straight fact...especially when we let him do this all the time in our backyard! Boys will be boys!

Homemade "yogurt". I mixed coconut milk, two bananas, cinnamon, chocolate vegan protein powder and almond milk and then froze them. As I leave for my work-out every morning I set them on the counter to thaw so each kiddo has one for breakfast when I get back..normally topped with nuts or fruit..they love yogurt but the dairy doesn't love them...plus this way I know they have protein, healthy fat and  some cinnamon to regulate blood sugar in them before heading off to school!!!