That's In My Book

cute family shots

Here are the rest of the family shots I took of Matt and Maria. I think they make an adorable little family of four.

 

I love, love, love this next one. This momma is completely smitten with her new baby boy!

 

 

 

 

 

meo

The last time Matt and Maria came to Houston, they asked if I would take their family picture. I was happy to do it, but we had trouble fitting it in with all of our partying. We finally carved out a few minutes on Saturday night just before the sun went down. The sun flare was perfect and a beautiful accent to Maria's dark hair.

 

 

I'll post the family pictures tomorrow. But first, here is a sweet shot of baby Lincoln...

what is wrong with me

I had a super productive day today. I got up at 5 AM and ran 3 miles with my running group (I will admit 3 miles is not much, but better than nothing). I showered AND did my hair. I returned Sam's overdue library books. I dropped off the boys shirts at the cleaners. I grocery shopped for the week. I did all the laundry AND folded it AND put it away. I dropped off a photography CD for an assignment. I picked up the dog from the pet resort. I made dinner complete with a main and two sides. And I made dessert. Super productive, right!?

Here's the problem. When I have a day like this, I want nothing but endless praise from my husband and children. I feel like I should win some amazing mother of the year award. When in reality, all these things are just run-of-the-mill, need-to-be-done-everyday kinds of things. These are the things my mom would do everyday when I was growing up. Thankless things. Yet, when I do them, I feel like I have triumphed over evil and must take to my bed for the rest of the week. I must not have the stamina my mom had. I'm a wimpy modern day woman.

On that note, here is my menu for the first of this week:

Tonight: We had Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches from the Our Best Bites Cookbook. They are super easy, just brown the meat and then throw it in the crockpot for the day and it cooks down to delicious goodness. They are a big hit with the entire family. I served them with spicy curly fries and watermelon. For dessert we had Cookie Sundae Cups also from the Our Best Bites Cookbook. They were SO good and fun to make cause you get to make them in ramekins. And ramekins are super fun.

Tuesday: Rosemary Lemon-Pepper Pork Tenderloin with Creamy Lemon-Parmigiano Dressed Greens and Garlic Croutons, from Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats. I'm serving strawberries on the side for a bit of color on the plate. This is a favorite of Little Helmut's.

Wednesday: Sweet and Sour Meatballs from the Our Best Bites Cookbook. These are made in the slow cooker, which is perfect for a busy Wednesday night. I am serving it with rice and stir-fried Asian vegetables.

Here's to a great week of domestic servitude.

tennis

The spring tennis season is officially over for the boys. It was a good season with a couple gold medals and a couple silver medals. We finished out the season by going with the whole team to the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship at the River Oaks Country Club here in Houston. As soon as we arrived, John Isner and Sam Querry walked out of the practice courts. I snagged a photo of John (he is super tall in real life). At the next practice court over, the Brian brothers were practicing. It was amazing to see how fast and hard they hit the ball.

The match we watched was between an American and a Russian. Unfortunately, the American lost, but it was still fun to watch. The country club was beautiful. I would love to play there sometime.

 

and they're off

Helmut first started biking in Holland where he would bike to and from work every day. He was logging more than 25 miles each day on his Dutch commuter bike. Holland's infrastructure is perfect for bikers. They have incorporated bike paths everywhere, so you can literally get from any point A to any point B on your bike.

Once we moved back to Houston, Helmut got a road bike and started biking longer distances. So when Jonah asked him to ride the MS150 with the KPMG team, he quickly agreed. He has been riding in training rides for months now to toughen up and get in the proper ride-shape necessary to make the 180 mile ride. Last weekend was the last training ride in Katy. Matt and Maria were in town for the weekend, so they came along. I stayed back with Lincoln because of my broken toe and the fact that I don't have a proper road bike. He was as perfect and adorable as always.

This week, Helmut took me out and bought me a proper bike. So I have lots of riding ahead of me. So stay tuned for pics of my new bike. In the meantime, here are some pictures of the Katy Ram Challenge last weekend.

 

 

 

springtime

Winter is a thing of the past here in Houston and we are in full spring mode. I am trying to enjoy every second of it, because spring is a quick season here. It will be gone before I know it, replaced by the humid heat that Houston is so well known for.

This change of season brought with it the need for a yard spruce up. We lost a few plants over the winter. Helmut was out of town when we got a hard freeze (cause he is always out of town when something like that happens) and I should have been better about covering up the plants. In the end, it cost us over $100 to replace the plants, so I will be sure to get outside with my sheets and bricks the next time we get a freeze warning. Lesson learned. 

 

We went with Coleus in Fariway Rose under the trees where we don't get much sunlight.

I picked out Celosia in Kimono Mix for a spot of color up by the road.

We replaced the Dianella we lost in the freeze (ugh).

storms

On our way home from the Trek we were lucky enough to have a hot shower just mintues away at Judy and Carl's "country estate". Every trekker was SUPER grateful for the shower and clean clothes. It seems such a crazy coincedence that the trek took place in the same town that Judy and Carl bought a house in. Judy was nice enough to offer up some ham for lunch, but we all had a major hankerin' for some fast food. So we headed to Storm's.

Their sour dough burger is to die for. Plus there is a certain allure to eating outside and ordering your food through a speaker. It seems so "small town Texas" to me. I love it!

 

trek finale

Okay, these are the last of them...

This is one of the few I got of Josh, he is crossing the water with his family's handcart.

Ugh. It pains me to post this one.

Yes, there were scorpions among us.

Sarah was so dedicated to her part as a "Ma", she got down on her hands and knees to clear rocks from the field.

 

 

Finally, a picture of Maddie!