STELLA'S NEW SHOES

Stella got orange Crocks for the summer, and she LOVES them! Every morning when I come in her room, she is standing in her crib pointing at them. She has to put them on before she does anything else!

I thought the color was awful at first, but she is so crazy about them, it's hard to hate them. And she actually has a lot of outfits that match them... go figure!

DAY OUT IN KATY

Today we were planning to go to the Houston Children's Museum, but Claire was coming down with a cold, and I didn't feel that was the best place for her to be. So we decided to go to Katy (about 20 minutes away) to a park we had heard about.

It was an amazing afternoon! The park had a putt-putt golf course, a couple of playgrounds, a stocked fishing pond, an indoor pool, and a workout facility!! We did putt-putt and played on a playground, but we'll certainly be back to check out the other activities!

This was the kids' first time to play mini golf, and they LOVED it! At first they were really upset that we weren't going to the Children's Museum, but after the golf, they had changed their minds! Stella napped through the first 16 holes, and chased the balls on the last two! As long as she had a golf ball or two, she was happy!

On the way out of Katy, we passed an old railroad depot, and climbed around an old caboose. Apparently it's part of a museum, and when the museum is open you can go inside the caboose! I promised Matthew we'd be back as soon as we could! (He was nearly in tears because he couldn't get into the caboose!)

TADPOLES

Matthew's Pre-K teacher found tadpoles in a puddle outside, and Matthew got to take some home (like, 50!!). They came home in two baby food jars, then they were in a turtle bowl, and now they have a nice, big aquarium with rocks to climb out on when that time comes (it's next to our little fish tank). We LOVE watching the tadpoles grow! It's so fun to watch them eat, and wonder when we'll see legs, and wonder what we're going to do with 50 frogs...

THE KENTUCKY DERBY

Today Doug had a couple of friends over to watch the Kentucky Derby and eat brats. He made mint juleps in honor of the races! After the race, we grilled brats and had corn on the cob and potato salad outside. It was a nice evening with friends!

After the guys left, Doug had a backyard camp out with Claire and Matthew! The kids had a blast!