Amazement

Kingston was as surprised as we were to find that over 4 1/2 inches of rain fell in Round Rock yesterday.

Remembering the Alamo

Ever since visiting San Antonio Cameron and I have been wanting to learn more about the Alamo and what occurred there and the significance of it all. After thinking about this for a while, I finally got onto the library's website to look and see if I could find the documentary by the History Channel.

I was pleasantly surprised to find an A&E special that they said was originally aired on the History Channel! I wasn't positive it was the same one, but it was something!

For date night I had this brilliant idea to make a model of the Alamo -- gingerbread house style. I went to the store and purchased candies that I thought would be helpful in completing this task. I already had graham crackers. I got pull and peel twizzlers (I thought we could make little ladders), sour patch kids (for the soldiers, obviously), whoppers for cannon balls, caramel barrel things (from Brach's) for cannons, and a few other various candies to complete the scene. We were set.

For dinner I made enchiladas to go with our Mexican turned American theme (there weren't exactly authentic). That started the night out wonderfully.

The documentary was actually about the quest of one man to make an accurate reenactment of the battle of the Alamo. So, I thought it very appropriate to have us also going for a reenactment... though our Alamo wasn't exactly built to scale. The best part was that we didn't need all of the candy for our candy scene. I love me some whoppers!

Overall I feel the scene was a very good representation of the Alamo. Well, at least it was a good representation of how I feel about delicious candy. Mmmmmmmm....  that's good stuff.

Sugary Fruity Goodness

I love fruity goodness. I do. I admit it. So, when I saw this recipe on one of the blogs I follow, I had to try it. The recipe was on my "must make" list for at least a month before I finally took the time to make it. I wanted to have the kids help because it was such an easy recipe, but having the kids help automatically makes it a complicated task.

Thankfully I finally found myself up for the challenge. Britta and River were my eager helpers, and we teamed up well. The recipe was actually super fun to make! We used the Blendtec and the recipe was very straightforward.



I wanted to do the fancy layering and all that, but decided this time that having the kids help was all the complexity I could handle. I'm glad I made that call.

We made strawberry flavored and it was fantastic. I have one word of advice though, DO NOT skip the fancy whipping cream. The cream cheese and the orange zest MAKE this recipe. It would be good without it, but it was FANTASTIC with it. Seriously. Amazing.


I already want to make it again. I immediately started thinking of all the people I could link the recipe to: my dad (the fancy Jello KING), my sisters, distant cousins, acquaintances... hence the blog post.

Now go grab the ingredients and make this right now!

Fourth of July Breakfast

I love the Fourth of July. I love red white and blue. I love the patriotism. I love the food. I look forward to the holiday all year long. It seems to really encompass everything I love about summer. It feels fresh and relaxing to me. Therefore, to commemorate all of those things we love about this time of year started the day out right with a good hearty Fourth of July breakfast.

Cameron and I collaborated and made Texas shaped pancakes (with our newly purchased pancake mold), bacon, scrambled eggs, pecan syrup, fruit smoothies, and fresh blueberries and strawberries. It really was a meal fit for the President.

Cam and I both agreed it was the best breakfast ever, though I do find myself saying that a lot lately.

The fresh berries were ripe and wonderful. They complimented the pancakes well. I love how they add that patriotic color to the plate.

The kids' favorite part was the bacon, of course. They do love that stuff. Britta isn't feeling fabulous today, but she still managed to eat two pieces.

I love how a good festive meal helps a holiday start out feeling like a holiday. Happy Fourth of July!

San Antonio

This past week Cameron and I took a little trip together. We've been interested in learning more about the time share Cameron's mom has been using since he was a kid, so we figured it would be good to go to a timeshare presentation by that company (naively thinking this would help get our many questions answered). We were able to get a good friend of ours to stay with the three oldest kids. Kingston came along with us on our adventure.


We stayed in a neat hotel downtown called The St. Anthony. It is a really neat old hotel. Though we had no sightings of our own, we are sure the place is haunted.  It's just that kind of hotel.


We spent a ton of time in our room because of the baby. I'm glad our king sized bed was as comfortable as it was. I do wish it hadn't been so tall. It was super hard to get in and out of -- especially when holding the baby (which I was often doing).  

We brought King's play yard from home. Thankfully he slept pretty well. The first night was awesome -- he slept for a good 10 hours! The second and third night were less awesome. I hate waking up after only a few hours of sleep multiple times in the night. Good thing this kid is adorable.

The location was also perfect. We were a couple of blocks from the Alamo and the Riverwalk, It was fun to just wander around town. Cameron ran out more than once after the baby was asleep to grab us food. Neither of us had been to downtown San Antonio before, so it was fun to walk around as tourists enjoying the sites. It was hot, but not horrid. We were able to cool off in the pool on the roof, too. That was pretty awesome.

Cameron read a bunch about the Alamo before we headed over to see it. Neither of us really knew much about the background. We always remembered the Alamo, but never knew exactly what we were supposed to remember about it. Now, we know. We're excited to learn more though. There's a documentary done by the History Channel that we want to get our hands on. Before we take the kids we also want them to understand the significance. Otherwise the most interesting thing to them will be the gift shop (though we were tempted to buy a coonskin cap in honor of Davey Crockett).

King sticking his tongue out at those timeshare people.

I'm glad there were fun things to do in San Antonio. The actual time share pitch was frustrating and deceptive. We are totally sold on the idea of this timeshare. The resorts are beautiful. They provide enough space for our family of six. The sales peopel were not totally honest with us. We would ask questions about different fees and they would skirt the whole issue or change the focus of the conversation. A few times they actually gave us inaccurate information altogether. It was very confusing. After spending hours with them, we decided buying directly from them with the market as it is right now is most definitely NOT the best way to go. The question now is where to find the best deal. We're going to take our time and do our homework before committing to anything.


My favorite part of our adventure (other than just spending time with Cameron) was the two awesome breakfast places we found. The first, and most historic, was The Guenther House. It was right on the river. It is an old mill still in operation. The restaurant is in the house that once belonged to the original owners of the mill. It was built in the 1860's and has been beautifully restored. We were able to tour the house while waiting to be seated. It really was very neat. There is also a cute little gift shop where we were able to buy cookie cutters and pancake molds in the shape of the state of Texas. SCORE.


I didn't expect a half an hour wait on a Wednesday mid morning. Thankfully the waffle I had was well worth it. I can honestly say I've never had a better one. In fact, I'm toying with hopping in the car and driving back there right now to get another. 


The other breakfast place is called The Magnolia Pancake Haus. We only had to wait about 10 minutes to be seated there (on a Thursday mid morning). The food there was fabulous. I had the best corned beef hash I've ever had, and also shared some of Cameron's Authentic Munchener Apfel Pfannekuchen (Pronounced fan-e-koo-ken). It was like a german pancake with caramel apple topping -- but better. Oh man that thing was awesome. It was SOOO filling though. We couldn't finish the two dishes between us, and there was even a small plate of pancakes that were probably amazing that neither of us touched.


We did hit one awesome food place in downtown that we did NOT eat breakfast at. Shilos. It's a cool German pub. Cameron's eyes light up when he read they make their own rootbeer. I have to admit it was pretty tasty. We also ate the best Reuben sandwich in the history of the world. 

By the time our three nights were up we were ready to go home. The baby was a bit more difficult than we would have liked, but mostly we wanted to see our kids and relax at home. We have a great house, and great kids, and it's always a pleasant thought to be home. I'm so happy I'm able to say that. I know we're pretty darn fortunate.