Rain, Rain DON'T go away!

Thunder and lightning, very, very frightening! No, not really, we were happy to have some good, soaking rain yesterday and today after weeks of no rain and temperatures in the 100s.

Strawberry Meringues

At work we celebrated the birthday of one of my co-workers. These strawberry meringues with a balsamic vinegarette sauce were delivered by a friend of one of the women in the office.

Cart Fun at the Grocery Store

I love those little carts at the grocery store. They maneuver well so you can zip around quickly. Normally, when we get a big cart, Rachel always wants to push and since she can barely see over the handle bar, it's pretty frustrating. So today we got two of the small carts and I let her push one and I pushed the other. Pretty soon, however, they were having fun giving each other rides in the cart.
They even made a train at one point. Good thing they're so cute the other shoppers didn't get mad.

Stephanie's Birthday at Medieval Times

Our plan originally was to go to Six Flags for each of the girls' birthdays since they didn't actually know enough people to invite for a birthday party. That was back in February, seemed like a good plan. But, turns out they've both got lots of friends now! And, it's been 100+ every day this week. So, we decided it a better plan was to have a family celebration at Medieval Times in Dallas.
Stephanie squinting in the sunlight -- it's 100 degrees or more as we wait to get in.
Hanging out with the falconeer and other medieval guy.
Our knight was the red knight, he didnt' win the tournament but all of the knights were superb horsemen. It was a good show. Dinner was pretty good too, although Stephanie was freaked out that there would be no utensils. We had tomato bisque, half a baked chicken, ribs, half a baked potato, garlic bread and tea or Pepsi, and an apple turnover.

Hearth and Home

After the painting this spring, we finally finished off our family room. We bought the clock for our anniversary many years ago and it stopped working a couple of years ago. Paul just now got it repaired. It chimes on the hour.
The photos on the wall are ones we took in Central Park three years ago.
And, Hunter is enjoying it all.

Guitar Heroines

Our very own all-girl band.

Cough! Cough! Cough!

Rachel has been coughing but no fever. I kept her home today and dosed her with cough meds.

It's Hot!

It's just plain old hot! Last night, I went to pick up Stephanie from a skating party at 10 p.m. and it was 94 degrees, not a breath of wind. It's too early in the summer to be this hot!

Check ups

A big day for Rachel. She got her dental appliance installed in the morning, to help her stop sucking her thumb, and then her well-child visit at the doctor. She's in the 50th percentile for both height and weight.
Stephanie has been dreading getting her checkup and immunizations for 7th grade. She has worked herself up into quite a state over this. She got three shots, including the Gardasil for pre-teens to protect against cervical cancer, but has to go back in a couple of months to get two more.
She laughed out loud in relief at the end of the few seconds it took the nurse to administer the shots in her thigh. She's just hoping she won't be too sore to skate at a party this evening.

The Father's Day iPhone

A quiet Father's Day around here. Paul and the girls went out for a bit and came home with a new iPhone.

Galleria in Dallas and Willie's Place

We took a drive up I-35 to the Galleria, a four-story mall in Dallas.

Had a spot of refreshment at the Jamba Juice kiosk.
It's Stephanie's very favorite place to gt a snack.
I liked how the pot handles were standing at attention in Macy's.
Rachel checking out the computers at the Sony store.
Having already purchased a new swimsuit at Justice, Stephanie eyes the merchandise at Abercrombie-Hollister-Aeropostle (they are all about the same...)
On the way home, we stopped in at Carl's Corner, which used to be a truck stop between Dallas and Waco. Willie Nelson bought it a couple of years ago and fixed it up. Now it has a small concert venue, a cafe and a souvenir store. XM channel Willie's Place broadcasts from here too.
A display of guitars (I think these were for sale) and platinum records.
The anteroom to the ladies room was so opulent I had to take a photo. Stephanie is very mistrustful, although I tried to explain this is not an "old time" place -- it's actually new.

Pasta Salad

We had chicken with pasta salad for dinner tonight.

Root Beer Floats

We had root beer floats after working on Father's Day surprises.

Carpal Tunnel

My carpal tunnel saga: I was having pain in my right shoulder, down the arm and a tingling in my fingers. I saw a doctor at Scott & White clinic in Waco, he poked and pushed and sent me for x-rays of my shoulder. A few days later, the nurse called and said I need to go to S&W in Temple, about 30 minutes down the interstate, to see the orthopedic PA. So, I went, and he ordered a nerve conduction test of my wrist and MRI of my neck. Called for the results -- bilateral carpal tunnel but no neck damage, was advised to get steroid shot by my primary care doctor. Went back to the PCP, he said, no, this is not right. You don't get shoulder pain from carpal tunnel. Well, however I got it, I have it and it hurts! I was afraid he was not going to give me the cortisone and I'd have to start all over. But he said he would give me a shot in the arm, and a prescription for wrist splints to wear at night. So, that's my carpal tunnel saga -- I guess it's somewhat inevitable that I would develope CT since I am so computer dependent in my job and at home.

Cooking Mama Wii

Stephanie and I played a game of Cooking Mama on the Wii. Strange way to cook! (And not so good with my carpal tunnel!)

Lap of Luxury

Rachel is watching Spongebob on TV.

Rachel the Spy

Rachel, crawling around on the floor, trying to spy on me.

Twilight Fans

I didn't take this photo, and it was taken last night, but I couldn't pass it up. Stephanie is reading Twilight and I'm reading Eclipse. Rachel wants to read the series but she's not ready yet (maturity or reading level), but she's pretending for the sake of the photo. Stephanie is very unhappy I am two books ahead of her... maybe if she got off of Facebook for a night or two she'd catch up.....

Cocoa Crackles

Stephanie decided to make cookies tonight, and tried out a new recipe.
The cookies are chocolate on the inside.
And rolled in powdered sugar before they are baked.

A Southern Courthouse

I went inside the McLennan County Courthouse today just to look around. It's a pretty overcast day, so the sky was almost as white as the dome.
Looking up, you can see the stained glass rotunda and the whirling ceiling fans.
A hallway where some have probably paced, and others have sat and waited with idle curiousity.
This is the second of four floors. I think it looks like a typical Southern courthouse with marble walls, wood trim and high ceilings. It makes me think back to a time before air conditioning, when the likes of Atticus Finch argued before the judge as ladies fanned themselves with fans courtesy of the local funeral home. More than likely, it wasn't that way at all, but I like to think it was. One time, Paul and I went to a courthouse in East Texas, and it was clear that there were TWO sets of bathrooms for each sex, and TWO sets of water fountains. That was the bad old days, and more reality than the romantic vision I have...

Down by the Riverside

At lunchtime today, I walked along the Brazos next to the Baylor campus.
I saw this chalked message, and "yes" is circled. I would have liked to have seen if the young lady was surprised.
This looks like a bayou or some place in Mississippi, but it's the backside of the historical buildings on the campus that are part of the Mayborn Museum.

Bread of Life

I learned how to make "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" from a couple of women at church. They learned from the authors of the book and blog. It's really easy and very good! I've listed their blog on on my page, near the bottom.

Rachel's smilebox

Rachel took photos of her Hot Wheels and is making a Smilebox for her dad.

The Look is Complete

With the addition of some new area rugs, our makeover of the family room is complete.

Three Muskateers

Rachel likes to pal around with Ava and Cooper, the kids across the street. They are younger than she is, so she gets to be the boss for a change.

Mushroom fountain

We went to the parents' meeting at the YMCA where Stephanie will be going this summer. I walked out to the pool and snapped this photo while we were waiting for Paul to pay next week's tuition.