Kyle's Birthday

On Kyle's birthday, we saw Planes: Fire and Rescue.  We also had a special dinner and a small, family dinner party at the house.  He wanted "Panda," which in our house means "Asian."  Chocolate cake with chocolate icing was a must, too!

We sang Happy Birthday!

Evan was NOT happy that it wasn't his birthday, and he didn't get to blow out any candles. 

Present time! 

He was shocked, surprised, and beyond excited to open a new Swap Force game.  {His other one got scratched, and he was diligently saving money for an iPad, so he didn't want to waste any on a replacement game. }

Finally...FINALLY, he got an iPad.  Kyle has been saving since his birthday last year for his own iPad.  Seriously, for a whole year.  We told him when he earned enough to pay for half, we would help with the other half.  Happy Birthday to this kid!!!

He got so many great gifts.  A few things he needed, several things he wanted, and a WHOLE LOT of Skylanders stuff.  Lucky boy!!!

 I'm glad this 7 year old had a good birthday.  Thank you to everyone who came and sent cards and gifts.  He felt very special.  And, be looking for thank you cards in the mail.  We PAINSTAKINGLY wrote them out today.  And by "we," I mean, "Kyle.......with lots and LOTS of help from mom the force of no iPad until all the cards were completed."  It's a big deal, especially for my boy who HATES to write. 

Iron Chef: College Station

 Something I look forward to is Iron Chef, something a few friends and I started doing in Miami years and years ago.  The trend caught on, and Julia started a group in Baton Rouge and now in College Station.  We moved here, and now I get to be part of the cooking fun again! 

July's secret ingredient was BERRIES!!!  I thought we had a good turnout for summer, and it was fun getting to know a few more people from the area. 

I made Blackberry Glazed Pork Loin.  It was the first time I made this dish,  but I would make it again. 

 I loved Chef Laurie's Berries with Mascarpone Cheese--so fresh and true to the ingredients. 

I love muffins with crumble topping, and Chef Bonnie's Blueberry Muffins had a great one.

There's something so fun about small food bites, and Chef Marcie's Mini Blueberry Muffins were delicious, too.  

 I've had Chef Julia's Strawberry Pie several times before, so I was excited that she was making this and I would get to eat it again.  This was Kyle's favorite by far! 

The winners won some cute, berry-inspired kitchen towels.  Mine goes perfectly with my kitchen!  {The winners posed for a picture, but I guess my camera didn't really take it.}

Until next time, Allez Cuisine! 

4th of July Activities

 I just realized that the rest of my July 4th pictures were on my other camera, so I'm just now getting around to posting about it.  Oops.  At least it's still July! 

We swam a little and were the only ones at our pool.  Weird, but cool. 

Then, we ate some brisket, beans, corn, and watermelon, and homemade ice cream.  Yum.

The kids played with costumes.

We grabbed some sandwiches for dinner and went to the fireworks show at the George Bush Library.
It worked out perfectly for some of the adults to grab a spot and to bring the kids right before the show.  And, the weather was amazing.

We had some candy necklaces and glow bracelets to keep us entertained before the show, too!

Dayton even joined the party!  

Happy Birthday to America!!!

Cypress Friends

 Summer is so hard to get together with friends, since everyone is on a different vacation schedule.  It's even harder since we moved away!  We had a chance to get together with some Cypress friends for swimming and pizza for one day before more vacation time.  So fun!

Evan jumped off the diving board for the first time. 

The boys played King of the Floating Chair until that game got too crazy and the chair needed to have a time out.

 We sure are going to miss these boys {and even more friends who weren't there yet}!

Ryan wanted to make sure I got a picture of him going off the diving board, too.

More friends showed up a little later.

How fun it was to get to spend a summer day with some great friends.