THIRTY-ONE

 

Teachers are back on campus prepping for the year. My new classroom is starting to come together nicely.

2026 week thirty

I submitted the kids' entries for the state fair this year. Theo did a scale model WW2 scene with this British soldiers and some ruins and a tank. 

V entered the embellished gourd category. This is her gory gourd. 

Matt and 4/5ths of his siblings helped celebrate a belated birthday party with his mom playing the games she loves that they usually vote against. 

The Oklahoma cousins came down for the weekend. Matt smoked 19 racks of ribs for our annual rib fest. Photos of the festivities will be forthcoming. 

Round 2 of a full smoker of ribs. 

Theo showing off his strength by bench pressing two chickens. 

Quotes:

V- "Do other people outside of the South say 'y'all'?"
Me- "Not everyone says it, no."
V- "Then what do they even say? How do you even address multiple people?"
Me- "Some people say, 'you guys' or just 'you'."
V- "Those are bad. Y'al is so much better!"

THIRTY

 

I made some cake samples for a friend’s upcoming wedding. We all really enjoyed making different flavor combinations. V now wants a make your own mini cake bar for her birthday. 

2026 week thirty 

My good friend Ashley brought her kids to play at our house and see all the animals. It’s always so charming to have them running around. It makes V nostalgic about being so little and full of imaginative energy. 

Grandpa took some cousins to a special night at the Rangers game where they were able to get anything they wanted to eat. Theo got sushi. Totally normal ballgame sushi…

A bunch of boy cousins came to our house to play halo. Matt loves reliving his memories of playing group games either friends. 

V has been working on her “embellished gourd” for the state fair. 

Lake day with the cousins. 

I went to Utah for a long weekend to spend with Lauren and Becky. Here we are in 2008 as fresh little college roommates. 

And now here we are in 2026 after 18 years of friendship. We didn’t “do” much of anything but it was exactly what we needed. All we want to do anyway is what we did in college -sit on the couch talking, laughing, crying while eating snacks. I’m so glad I got to spend this time with them. 

TWENTY-NINE

This week Matt took the kids up to Oklahoma while I had some training. They caught fireflies.

2026 week twenty-nine

Oklahoma is their heaven on earth. They were thrilled to spend five days with cousins. 

One of the nights they all went camping and basically just spent the whole evening running and screaming and laughing. 

It was just the best summer vacation for them. 

I had a quiet week at home in a clean, empty house. It was its own little vacation for me. 

TWENTY-EIGHT

 

Tortoise in a ramekin. 

2026 week twenty-eight

We borrowed a dog for the week. Kip loves to play with this horse who's 4x her size. 

Theo's been outfitting a Lego army base in his room all week. He lives in the commemorative US Army Texas Rangers hat he got at the game last week. 

This has been the summer of Magic for the kids. Theo was happy when he could finally teach his cousin this game. 

Theo was even happier when he "obliterated" Travis -a self-professed Magic expert. 

A cool flag display from the game last week. 

Theo and Veronica made a water ride in our backyard called "Poseidon's Throne." 

Quotes:

Theo- "You know how lacerations make your warmer?"
Me and V- "No."

Theo -"Adults are so boring. When was the last time you just ran? Not go on a run. Just run. Run to run."

Theo- "Do you aura farm when you're at ballet?" Translation: "Are you actually good at ballet?"

TWENTY-SEVEN

 

Demetrius is very happy in his new outdoor enclosure. He gets all the fresh grass he could ever desire. 

2026 week twenty-seven

The enclosure. The bricks are to keep any curious raccoons out. 

This week Veronica spent each day at the Dallas Zoo for zoo camp. 

It was kind of like having an all access pass to the zoo and 6 hours a day to explore and learn. She had a great time. 

On Friday she went to a birthday party at a pottery studio. She said it was a fun and creative party. She also said she learned that she is "not talented in pottery."

Matt and the kids have been spending a lot of their spare time playing Magic: The Gathering. They seem to like it, but they also seem to storm off in a huff at regular intervals. 

On 4th of July we went to a Rangers game with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Jacob, Aunt Kaleigh, and a fist full of cousins. 

The Rangers lost, but their defeat is easily handled with a bucket of brisket nachos and a Dr. Pepper. We also watched Captain America and went to see the fireworks in Flower Mound. 

Quotes:

Theo -"I discovered something about my middle finger."
Everyone *laughs*
Matt -"That it upsets people? That Grandma Hates it?"
Theo- "NO! Not like that!... Anyway, so when I bend it up slowly..."
Matt -"Uhm... Yes?"
Everyone *laughs*
Theo -NOOOOOOO!

TWENTY-SIX

V is really leaning into her cute teenage era and we seem to be at the skating rink constantly. 

2026 week twenty-six

Happy Halfway through 2026! 

Theo left on Monday for scout camp at Lake Texoma. 

He went canoeing. 

He shot projectiles. 

He got seconds at every meal. 

He held reptiles. 

He came home smelly and happy. 

While he was gone, V went to day camp at St. Ann's all week. I scoured through the 100+ photos from the week and found two of her. 

In the background during the color war. She had a great time even though she knew no one really. She's so good at enjoying herself in new situations. 

There's a story behind this photo of Theo feeling embarrassed in a lobby. When he was really little, the town of Flower Mound was building a new Town Hall. We would pass the construction site almost every day and from his car seat, Theo would tell us what the crew was doing working on the "New Town Hall." It must always be called the "New Town Hall." He would wistfully tell me about how fun it will be to visit once the "New Town Hall" was finished. For months (maybe even over a year) he would ask how long before we could visit the "New Town Hall." Covid hit and our visit was delayed indefinitely. We realized about a year ago that we never did take him to visit the New Town Hall. So after a doctor's appointment (he came home from Scout camp with an ear infection) I drove him straight to the New Town Hall. He was groaning about how this was the cheesiest thing we've ever done and he couldn't possibly go in. I cheerfully forced him to go in anyway. The lady at the welcome desk wanted to know if we needed any help and so much to Theo's despair, I told her the story. She, naturally, thought it was delightful and told us all about the building and to make sure we checked out the duck pond in the back. We had a great time even though Theo was thoroughly embarrassed. He'll never forget the time we finally got to visit the New Town Hall. 

On Saturday, a big group of us went to Repticon in Grapevine to look at all the unique reptile pets. 

Grandpa, Veronica, and Ollie each got themselves a tortoise. 

Grandpa and Veronica's Marginated Tortoises. Meet Machiavelli and Demetrius. 

The temporary tortoise terrarium. 

Matt helped his dad and brother-in-law build tortoise covers to take home. 

We tried a new Venezuelan restaurant close to our house. Everything was delicious. I would recommend Super Sandy's if you want to try some tasty and interesting Venezuelan food.