Tuesday in Houston

autographing Michael's ball at the Astros/Pirates game.
Emily at NASA

Emily and Michael with the storm troopers & Darth Vadar. Notice Darth Vadar's hand is on Michael 's head - that really freaked him out. He shook for aobut 45 minutes.

Michael in front of General Grevious's ship from the Star Wars movie (don't remember which one for sure - Michael could tell you).

Emily, Big Grandma & Michael in Rocket Park

On Tuesday we headed to NASA. It took longer to get there than anticipated - due to traffic - but once we got there we had a great time. We went to mission control and rocket park via tram tour. We also watched two movies - one about the space station and one about space exploration. The kids enjoyed the George Lucas exhibit that was there - complete with "meet the characters". Emily thought it was cool to take a picture with Darth Vadar - but Michael got freaked out!!! Michael got to see General Grevious's ship, handles from light sabers, clapboards from one of them (don't remember which one for sure) as well as the motorcycle from Indiana Jones, Indiana Jones' jacket, pants & hat. We ate a sandwich lunch at NASA and then went back in for more.

We left around 4:00 and headed back into Houston. The boys had tickets for an Astros/Pirates game. We dropped them off at the stadium and then headed back to Karens for dinnner and swimming. At the game Michael ended up getting a ball & two autographs. He also got a bat from the gift shop. He has spied it when we were there on the tour, and decided to get a ball instead, but upon a second visit, the gold Astros bat came home with him. After swimming we headed to pick up the boys, as Michael was tired and had a headache. Ice cream was a good treat once we got back to "home base".

It was a great - fun filled day!!!

Houston arrival and Monday

Down on Galveston beach.

At Rainforest Cafe in Galveston Island.

Michael ready to catch a pitch in the home bullpen at Minute Maid park.

Let's make a call to the bullpen.

We arrived in Houston on Sunday evening. It was a full day of driving, but it was made easier as the kids watched movies. They watched 4 movies (Agent Cody Banks, Agen Cody Banks II, and two Cardinal movies ). I read some and did some cross stitch - Doug drove the whole way. I kept asking him if he wanted me to drive, but he never took me up on it. It was a 9 hour drive.

On Monday we headed down to Galveston. On the way we stopped and toured Minute Maid Park (where the Astros play). It was a very good tour - very hands on. We got to Galveston and went to lunch at Rainforest Cafe. Then we drove around a bit and headed to the ferry. After the ferry ride we headed to the souvenier shop. The ones we usually went to were destroyed by the hurricane. They were in the process of rebuilding - using the same floor plan - so we went to a different one. The kids both found what they were looking for - shells and a shell wind chime. Then we headed to the beach to play. Emily and Michael swam in the gulf and made sand castles. Karen and I looked for shells and walked along the beach. I found two clam shells that were about 4 - 5 inches. What a find. Luckily I found two - as the kids were in awe of what mommy found.

Start of Vacation

We left for vacation on July 2nd. We headed down the road and stopped in Jackson, TN for the night at a hotel called the Hickory Inn. We slept, ate breakfast and headed out to Fort Smith for the weekend. It was great to see JK and Steff as well as other people from church. We got to see the new education building that they actually just got permission for occupancy the week we were there. Talk about new! Worshipping there is always a great experience, but it also makes me sad. We had so many wonderful experiences there and I know I can never go back and repeat them. All the memories -and I wish I could have some elements back to do again and again. We arrived there on Friday and left on Sunday after Church, Bible Class and a lunch at Cheddars.

Emily and Michael play catch with Maggie. They played catch and catch and catch with her. I am sure she slept well when we left.

Emily and Michael with Steff and JK. These ladies are so wonderful and we miss them soooooo much! Thanks for hosting us and spoiling us :)

beautiful weather

Wow! It has been georgious here temperature wise. It has been in the 70's and very low 80's - even getting into the 50's and 60's at night. This weather started on Saturday and it is supposed to be cool for the rest of the week also. Is it really mid-July? We have had the windows open, but now Doug's allergies are acting up. Oh - well - that is the way it goes. I just hate to pay for air conditioning when it is cooler outside than we keep it in the house.

more jelly

I just put 5 more pints of jelly in my large pot to steam. I also have 6 pints of jam finished and on the counter. This time I used a combination of strawberries and mulberries. I am sure this batch will be yummy also. The kids and I have enjoyed eating the mulberry jam & jelly on sandwiches. Yesterday I made grilled peanut butter and jelly. Those are yummy. You make them just like grilled cheese, except you use peanut butter and jelly instead of cheese inside. I have enough juice to make another batch or jelly - but I need more sugar. It is hard to believe how much sugar it takes to make jelly and jam. You sure can't be diabetic and eat too much of this. Now I just have to figure out where to put it all in the cabinet.

growing up

Emily's long hair two weeks ago in St. Louis.

Emily's hair today after church.

My little girl is growing up. Today after church she and I went for haircuts. I got mine trimmed quite a bit - but the same cut. Emily had a huge transformation. She really looks grown up now. She dontaed her hair to Locks of Love - not enough for a whole wig, but she did donate it anyway, as it was 6 -8 inches.

update of an update

Surprise!!! The jelly did harden pretty much - not quite as much as I would have liked, but enough to use as jelly - so I feel really good about what I accomplished today :) I put some in the refrigerator to use and the rest is in the pantry for later. I will be using some as gifts.

jelly update

After waiting for the jelly to cool and then waiting some more - it is not going to harden. So - we have mulberry jelly. The jam looks great. We delivered a jar to our neighbor - the one who has the mulberry tree in their yard. They are very nice people. He offered to tutor Emily in spanish this next year if she has any trouble. :) Wow! What a nice offer. They also gave the kids some candy from Chili as well as some mango paste that looks kind of like jelly.

Can't wait to eat some pancakes and put mulberry syrup on them. They will taste yummy! I will have to get up extra early tomorrow if I want to make them for breakfast, as I have to be at church at 9:00 for a cookie bake time - we are packing cookies for the shut-ins. I made gingersnaps today. They were yummy also!

Wow! I feel like a very productive mom today - I spent 2 hours scrapbooking this morning, made jelly & jam, and then made a batch of cookies. It must be summer :)

Jelly and Jam

I just made a batch of mulberry jelly and one of mulberry jam. They both look good. I can't wait to try them. The jam is setting up very well :) The jelly will likely set up well also, it was the 2nd batch and is still cooling. I made 5 pints of jam, and one 1/2 quart jar that we will keep out to eat & 3 pints of jelly and 1/2 quart jar that we will keep out. I used 10 jars & only brought 12 from Grandma. I was not sure how much a batch would make. I wish I would have brought a few more quart jars back. Oh well - I guess I will just have to go buy some.

I started at 1:00 and got finished with both at 2:30. I couldn't believe hot quickly it went. I had gotten the berries and juice ready last night and that took probably about 30 minutes. So - all said and done it only took about 2 hours. I was expecting longer than that. Wow!

It feels good to have created something yummy and usable with berries I picked. I have not ever canned anything on my own, and it feels good to know that I accomplished a family tradition on my own. Of course, Grandma said she hated making jelly (but I know she made lots of it over her lifetime). I will likely make another batch - but I have to get more jars, lids, pectin, and lemon juice. Actually for this batch I used lime juice since I had some in the refrigerator, and there is not much difference in their flavor. Now that it is gone, I will get some lemon juice.

S Club Meeting - revised

Emily has 3 friends over tonight. They have this thing they call "The S Club". They are having a "meeting" tonight. I just took 4 girls to the mall - quite an experience. They each drew a persons name and had about $20 to spend on things for that person. They all had a blast buying for the other person. As I write this they are exchanging gifts in the living room. Then they have a bunch of things they want to do at their meeting - crafts, devotion, movie, eat, sleep?... Moms will be here around 9:30 in the morning - so at least sleep will occur then right :)

Should be a fun night for them. I remember having sleepovers with a few friends when I was young. It is fun to see how they are moving from "playing" dolls and stuff to talking and sitting and being silly. My little girl is growing up.

I will let you know how much sleep is gotten in the Netherton household tonight.

The boys went golfing while we were at the mall. Now they are in our bedroom watching baseball. Michael is having a little hard time not having a friend over - but that would have been too much for our little house. Having 7 people in the house is already making it seem small - but all is well. At least I know what they are up to - noplace to hide.

Here are their "S Club shirts". I got them at the mall at Justice for only $5.60 a shirt. Since this was Emily's birthday party celebration - I got them each a shirt. I remembered how much fun it was to have matching shirts with my friends. Once Nicci and myself had matching shirts - I got pink and she got yellow of these oversized, patterned, (what i would call ugly today) shirts. We thought we were so cool putting those with a pair of stirrup pants and a black belt around our waist. Yikcs!!! I don't think I have any pictures of that to show how crazy we probably looked. My memory will have to do.

At the Mall.

Happy Father's Day

Today was Father's Day! Happy Father's Day to all of you guys who are dads. Today we celebrated Father's day by going to church, then going out to lunch at Arby's for a quick lunch, so we could get to Churchill Downs without missing too much racing. We made it by the 3rd race. Not too bad. Dad had come down yesterday, so we were together with mom and dad on Father's day. It was fun to watch the horses run and try to guess a winner. We stayed until the end of the 10th race (end of racing) and then headed to Slugger Field for a Bat's Game. Friends of ours had called while we were driving to Churchill to see if we would like to go to a Bat's game. They had some extra tickets. It was a good game, but they lost in extra innings. We had a good time there with friends and family. Then,, the kids got to run the bases and play catch with Doug on the field with some soft balls. I took pictures and will post them later. Right now I am tired - I tried to sleep earlier and couldn't, so I thought I would get up and be a little productive and then try to go back to sleep.

Good night - sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite. If they do - take a shoe, and send them to Waterloo at half past two. :)

Carrom

Michael and dad played a mean Carrom tournament. Michael won!!! Wow!!! Of course Dad was playing left handed - but still it was exciting for Michael.

all star game arches

St. Louis has some special arches which were commissioned for the All Star Game. They are on display near the stadium and in Keiner Plaza. We went to look at all of them - 6 in all. What neat artwork.

Stadium Tour

On Friday morning we headed down to tour Busch stadium. We had a great time and discovered many things about the stadium. The tour guide thought he was going to trick Emily and asked what the grassy area in the outfield was for. She had asked Doug at one point, and rememberd his answer. Thus, she said it was so the batter was not distracted. Boy, was he surprised that she knew the answer. All her baseball loving relatives can be proud that althogh going to games is not always her favorite thing - she is paying attention :)

at Aunt Dawn's

On Wednesday we headed for Aunt Dawn and Uncle Craig's house. We did some shopping at Wal Mart and the mall before we arrived. Then we went to Ben's Crafts - a large variety store that has quite a few crafts. We all got some new quilt blocks to work on - I got a Cardinal bird set, which I already have 4 done. We went out to dinner to a good Mexican place and then back to their house to relax.

On Thursday we just hung around Dawn and Craig's house and took it easy. WE played some games and did some cross stitch.

It was nice to just relax - thanks for your hospitality!

farm

Two red heads - Emily and her Great Grandma
cutting quilt blocks

creek explorers

Michael, Emily and the tiger lillies by the shed.

Walking down to the creek - notice the large tree slanted over the road.

Mom, Emily, Michael and myself left for the farm on the 14th after church. We arrived there in time for dinner. Aunt Bonnie made some fried fish. They were delicious, but the kids were not impressed. I had made a cobbler for dessert.

We walked to the creek, walked in the creek, went into the barn (and got spooked by a white barn owl who lived in the barn - just ask Michael how quickly he can duck when standing on top of the hay bales), tried to catch the kittens (unsuccessfully), caught fireflies, trimmed bushes, picked weeds, washed jars, cut quilt blocks and quilt blocks and more quilt blocks, and just enjoyed our time down on the farm. It was good to visit with Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Lynn as well as Grandma and Grandpa. Justin was also down for the week to help Uncle Lynn. Due to lots of rain we did not get as much outside time as the kids would have liked, but they did get some and they were able to get into the creek one time.

We went to lunch with Aunt Doris, and her daughter Laura one day, along with Grandma and Grandpa. WE went to a new place in Pocahauntaus (not sure how to spell it). It was good, and now we know of a new place to eat down there.

I brought back some jars from the farm, as I am going to make some jelly with our mulberries. I plan on doing that one day this coming week - so watch for pictures. Grandma just couldn't get over the fact that I was going to make jelly. She said she did not like to make jelly - and couldn't believe that someone would want to mess with it. I am looking forward to making something different.

Churchill Downs

We went to Churchill Downs on Satrday, June 13th. We enjoyed watching the races. Emily won $3.20 on a $2.00 bet. Doug won $2.60 on a $2.00 bet - so we did not win big. We won a total of $1.80. We stayed for 7 races, arrived at the 2nd and left after the 8th. There were 11 races that day, but that is all we did.

Michael's last ballgame

Michael had his last ballgame on Monday, June 8th. He played 1st base at this game and made some really good plays. They lost the game in the tournament, so it was the end of their season. Michael had fun and learned a lot, and enjoyed having Daddy as his coach.

braces

Michael gets his braces off this morning :) He is excited. I will post pictures later of what it looks like now. There has been a large transformation over the past two years.

vitamins

Watch your vitamins for hidden ingredients. Yesterday I bought some multi-vitimins that said on the box they had supplements to boost energy and stamina. Since I have been tired quite a bit - I thought I would give them a try. I took one before bed, and could not sleep at all last night. I got up and checked the box - surprise - time release caffine. Yikes! That is why I couldnt' sleep. It said it had about the same caffine that one cup of coffee has, but to a person who does not drink caffene, that is quite a bit. Emily was sick last night, throwing up and feeling miserable, so it was a good night not to sleep, but I feel like I am a zombie this morning. Oh well - I will take another one this morning and then throw the bottle away, and go buy some regular vitamins.

I will take Emily to the dr. today, think she may have strep, but don't know for sure. she has a sore throat, stomach ache, and some vomiting. She had a feaver last night, but not this morning. Will see what the dr. says.

Annie

Holly treated me to Annie for a late birthday present. Thanks so much Holly!! Mom came along too - so the three of use enjoyed the production at Beef and Boards - a dinner theatre in Indiana. The food was good and the theatre production was very good. Holly and I did keep ourselves composed - we whispered a few things back and forth, but did not break out into song. You would have been very proud of us. It was hard not to join along!

movies, movies, movies

While the kids were gone I was able to watch some "grown up" movies. We went to see Star Treck in the theatre. We also rented The Bucket List. Both were very good. I also watched Bride Wars and One Night with the King. It was nice to watch some movies that were not kid oriented, although the kids are beginning to like movies with more "meat" we have to be very careful about what we let them watch.

Soap Box Derby Race

Michael and Emily both raced in the local soap box derby race today. They also invited a friend from school to come and race. Emily and Michael raced their stock cars while Donnie raced a super stock car. Michael lost his first race and then won them all to come out of the loosers bracket and race for 1st and 2nd. It was very exciting. He raced and raced and raced. He probably raced 8 - 9 sets of races. Wow! Emily raced well, and tried hard, but she lost both races she raced in.

Michael ended up with 2nd place. Emily got a participation plaque. It was a fun, tiring day.

I am still in the midst of folding clothes from camp. I got it all washed last night after we got home, but did not get any of it folded. I also have grocery items on the counter from today to put away. thus, my kitchen/laundry room is a mess. Actually, my whole house is a mess since I took the week 'off". I spent time for myself, and will have to play catch up this next week. Oh well - that is the way it goes.

Summer Camp

Michael, Josh and their counselor Matt
Abbie, Sydney & Emily in front of their cabin

Michael and Zach in their cabin

Abbie, Sydney & Emily in their cabin

Emily and Michael both survived a week of summer camp. Emily said that horseback riding was her favorite thing while Michael said that everything was his favorite. They both had a blast and made new friends. They swam in the lake (both kids passed the swim test and had free reign of the lake area), canoed in the lake, went creek stomping, had mud pit tug of war, did archary, played lots of games, ate lots of food, got food from the canteen, had FOB (flat on your back - a quiet time after lunch - try that new name for "nap" time those of you who have young kids). When they did mud pit it was 60 degrees outside, so it was very cold. Emily said it was so cold that it was not any fun. Michael just said it was cold, but still fun. They both can't wait to go back next year.

heading to camp

Tomorrow we take both kids to camp for a week. We have two large, heavy, suitcases packed ready for the week, in addition to sleeping bags, sheets, pillows and the kitchen sink. It is amazing how much stuff two kids need for two weeks at camp. It will be a great time - they will love it (Emily has loved it the past two years). Will have them let you know about their adventures after they return.