My Cakes By Melissa Button

I am so excited. I just designed and figured out how to make a button to link you to my cake blog. For me it was a huge deal and I love it. Now I just need to figure out how to get the code so others can put this oh so cute button on their blog, Anyone?

Happy Birthday Uncle Stu!

I think the pictures say it all. Uncle Stuart will have a fun birthday. We hope you are enjoying your new home and job in Beautiful San Diego. Happy Birthday and we love and miss you tons.

Happy Birthday Aunt Sarah!

Today is our Aunt Sarah's birthday so I thought I would give a little tribute to her via our blog. Ethan says Aunt Sarah is smart and a Good Aunt. Matthew thinks it is cool that his Aunt is a Scuba Diver. Rachel says she is "COOL." And Lauren wants to give her some pajamas(?). She is also known as our "In House Nurse." And we love her for all her birthday cards, texas visits, phone calls and her love for each one of us that truly shows. We hope you have a great Day!

Triathlon #1 & We have a Winner

BEFORE THE RACE
END OF THE RACE
Proud Parents

Waiting for the Results



And The Winner Is...

I was introduced to the kids triathlon by a woman at one of our swim meets from the other team, Camille. Her son and Ethan were always head to head in their races and we started talking as we were timing next to each other and she told me about the Kiwanis Triathlons. So I looked it up and talked with my brother, Ryan, who is the triathlete, marathoner, iron man, 100 mile runner in the family and here we are at our first triathlon with Ethan. There is a recommended training schedule, but Ethan wasn't too consistent with it. This Triathlon was going to be a trial run for us all and a chance for Matthew and Rachel to see what it was all about.

Well, Ethan came home with a 2nd Place Trophy. He did a great job and loved every minute of it. He saw some things that he would do differently and is ready to improve his next race. In order to do this you have to sign up with USA Triathlon and with Kiwanis Club of Houston in their series of 7 races for 2008. We got in on race #4 and won't be able to race again until race #7 due to family vacations. However, it looks like Matthew wants to join the ranks also. This was a very well organized and good experience for us and we look forward to watching our kids improve their times while keeping in shape. We are really proud of Ethan and Ethan is really proud of Ethan. Congratulations Son!

Cub Scout Day Camp

We just finished a week of Cub Scout Day Camp for the Texas Skies District. It was 3-8 (twilight) everyday this week and we are sad that it is over but too tired to admit it. I volunteered as a Den Leader and was able to have Ethan and 7 other great boys in my den. As a volunteer I am able to bring siblings of my scout, so for the second year in a row, Matthew and Rachel were able to come. Matthew had a great time. I know because he was the wettest and dirtiest one at the end of each day. Rachel was with all the girls and her den leader completely spoiled those girls. They definetly got the royal treatment they deserved. Ethan says his best part of camp was the BB guns, that I was his leader and flag football. He really said it in that order.

I had a wonderful group of boys in my Yellow 122 Den. The theme for the camp was Olympics Around the World. Our den brought home the gold in their BB gun competition. We had lots of bullseyes. One day I even got four bullseyes, which meant four marks on my face. They did Flag Football, Ultimate Frisbee, Archery, BB guns, Art, Showman & Craftsman where they built a stool and a hook rack. The twins did Archery, Marbles, Maps & Compass, Baseball & Soccer.

They each recieved special ribbons throughout the week. Rachel got Good Leader and Willing to Try Anything ribbons. Matthew got Homerun Hitter and Bullseye Boy ribbons. Ethan got Best Buddy and Football Star ribbons. Camp was lots of fun for us all. Lauren even had her special fun as she went to a different friends house each day to play and loved every minute of it. Thank you so much, Aitran, Melissa, Emily & Janet, for serving me so I could enjoy the blessings of serving the scouts.

Cub Scout Wagon

While my Mom and Dad where here, my Dad helped Ethan and Steve help me get ready for Cub Scout Day Camp. I needed a contraption to be built for my wagon to hold all the necessities of camp. So with a little PVC pipe, glue, cutters and paint I am ready to go. Thanks guys!

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...