Celebrating Our Independence

BEFORE
AND AFTER
We stayed home this year for the 4th of July and we had visitors. It was so nice to have my Mom and Dad visit for the weekend. We love our Grandmas and Grandpas. We were also able to spend the 4th with my cousin's daughter Amber and her cute family, who just moved to Sugarland. We hope to be seeing more of them. And our good friends the Turners came for BBQ and fireworks.

Steve started at 7:00am smoking the brisket and it was perfect. We had all the traditional BBQ sides like potato salad, baked beans, corn on the cob, watermelon, chips, lemonade, vegetables and Cathy made this delicious "sticky pie" (it has a swedish name that I won't try to pronounce). It went along great with Steve's homemade vanilla ice cream. We thought about going to see one of the big firework shows that go on around here, but we had quite the show just sitting in our own backyard.

It is always fun celebrating the 4th of July. We couldn't be more thankful for this free country in which we live in and for all those who have sacrificed so much for these freedoms. I am proud to be an American.

Kit Kittredge - The American Girl

We were finally able to see the new American Girl movie "Kit Kittredge." I told Rachel that it came out on June 2 and we were all ready to go and see it when I finally realized that it wasn't until July 2. But it was definetly worth the wait. We were actually able to see it with Rachel and Lauren's Grandma Cannon, so that made it even more special. It was so fun, probably more for me than them, to dress their dolls up and bring them to the movie with us. Rachel, Grandma and I loved it. Our favorite part was just watching Joan Cusack. Lauren on the other hand yawned out loud 3 or 4 times during the movie, thanks goodness for a few suckers and a booster seat.

While the girls were at Kit Kittredge, the boys went to see Kung Fu Panda. Which apparently was awesome. (I guess I'll probably have to wait till that one comes out on DVD.) The Spendloves give thumbs up for both movies.

Canning and Preserving for Dummies

I have canned peach, strawberry and raspberry jams before. But this was a true adventure to the canning world. We just bought 2 boxes of tomatoes, a box of squash and zucchini and a box of green peppers from a local farmer for a really good deal. So, we also had to buy our own water bath canner and the book "Canning and Preserving for Dummies". We took that seriously as our hands continued to burn 2 days after we canned about 15 pints of really good salsa. Yes, we did not wear gloves as we were cutting up the Anaheim peppers. Steve, however, did manage to wear some protective eyewear (Matthews swim goggles) while cutting up the onions. Live and Learn! Steve was a great help and we enjoyed staying up late at night tackling this together. We also canned some tomatoes but mostly cut up a bunch of vegetables to freeze. Actually, Ethan, Matthew & Rachel did most of the cutting of the green peppers, squash and zucchini. They loved it and we came away with only one minor cut and a freezer full of yummy vegetables.

What you get when your kids have your Camera...

The Happiest Place On Earth

Notice Matthew showed up with only one shoe



After a couple of tough summer days, my children finally earned a fun summer adventure to "The Happiest Place on Earth" or is it? Lauren looks like she could be in a Chuck E. Cheese ad she is so happy. I was able to catch a FEW happy moments of the older kids. However, for the most part, there was not enough tokens, the games didn't work right, the machine didn't give them all their tickets, the food wasn't good enough and they didn't have enough tickets to get the prize they wanted. They were not happy. And this is how it was the last time we went when I said we would never go back again. But even after all that, the adventure turned out successful. While we were at the infamous prize counter, Ethan decided to give all his points to Lauren so she could get a Hello Kitty Purse from the 500 point shelf. I almost started crying I was so happy. Then Rachel picked out her prize and had some left over and she let Ethan pick something out for him. And then I think I was wiping tears off my face I was so happy. Then Matthew picked out a goodie bag full of stuff that he actually shared with everyone. Chuck E. Cheese is the happiest place on earth!

A Glance at Swim Team 2008

Rachel and Most Improved Trophy

Matthew with trophy and award for swimming up two age groups at some of our meets

Ethan and Most Valuable Player Trophy
7&8 Boys

7&8 Girls

9&10 Boys

Proud Parents

Swimmers (Ethan), On Your Mark, BEEP!

Ethan finishing his Breaststroke w/ Mom timing and Rachel looking on

Matthew looking like the next Michael Phelps

Rachel and her great backstroke arms

The end of another FUN swim meet

Matthew & Rachel on picture day (Ethan was adjusting his additude at the moment)

To some this is the best part of Swim Team




With three swimmers on swim team (West Memorial Tiger Sharks) Swim Meets are pretty exciting for us. We have been busy with practices 4 times a week and 1, 2, sometimes 3 meets a week for the past 2 months. This is my favorite sport to watch and it is so good for them. One of their coaches from last year, Jennifer Lavers, is in Omaha, Nebraska at the USA Olympic Swim Trials, so watching the Olympics Swim Team might be even more exciting for us this year. I love that my kids are such great swimmers. It makes me a little more able to relax when I go to the pool with them.
This season Ethan, Matthew & Rachel all went to the Meet of Champs. Rachel didn't place but she did a great job and recieved the Most Improved Award for her age group. Matthew got 4th place in breaststroke and 3rd place in a relay at the MOC. Ethan got 1st place in breaststroke and 7th place in IM and recieved the MVP award for his age group. We are very proud of our swimmers and for their hard work. It is so rewarding to watch them improve and continue to beat their own times. Next year all four of our children will be swimming and Dad will get a break from chasing Lauren around during the meets, while I got front row seats at the end of a lane as I timed siwmmers.