Disowned!

Four months after she visited from Boston, I am just now posting pictures of the great times we had while Wendy was here. Such a loser, I know! Anyway, here they are!

Wendy flew into Austin on Father's Day (June 15th.) Since that was just a week after Zachary's 4th birthday, I decided we had to have a celebration that included her. Here's a picture of the birthday boy--happy about the cool Lightning McQueen cake his dad made for him and even more so because his "Chia" came for a visit.


Ready, Set, Play!





There were just a few mandatory things that Wendy really had to do while she was back in Austin. One of those included a trip to Rudy's for the "Worst BBQ in Texas."




Schlitterbahn Waterpark was another mandatory stop. The kids and I went down with Grandma, Wendy, and her friend, Yi Jeng, to New Braunfels for a day of fun in the sun. We got there right about when the park opened and found the perfect spot to stake our claim on picnic tables--right by a nice new kiddie area that was put in since the last time we visited. I was happy to notice that along with these and other improvements, the park, in general, was looking significantly cleaner, and it was not nearly as crowded as it has been on other past trips. We got to go on lots of rides and didn't have to wait in lines much. Grandma, Wendy, and Yi Jeng were a huge help with Zachary and Ashley, and the kids loved hanging out with them, too. Ashley went on a couple major tube rides (White Water and Cliffhanger) just to say she did. :) She pretty much spent the rest of her time in the kiddie areas. We took Zachary on just about everything, and even though some of the rides were a little scary for him, it was fun that he would brave them all for us. (I got some pictures with some disposable water cameras we bought, but there was no way I was taking my digital camera near the water, so you will just have to imagine the fun we had.)

Time to (Watch Them) Make the Doughnuts!

Zachary loves to see how our favorite foods are made, and since I hadn't gotten any pictures the first time we visited Krispy Kreme, we took Wendy along for our second trip. Wendy suggested we conduct a taste test to see who makes the better Boston Cream doughnut: Krispy Kreme vs. Dunkin Donuts. I'm pretty sure I remember Dunkin Donuts winning that one.







Halfway through the week, we drove to Houston. My mom had agreed to keep Zachary and Ashley's cousins (Scott and Karen's kids) while their parents went to San Francisco for Scott's business trip and a vacation. That had been pre-arranged before Wendy had her vacation time approved, so she had booked a return flight to Boston from Houston. I was either going to go down, too, or get cheated out of half of my time with my sister. Unacceptable! So why not make the trip a bit more fun?

I had always wanted to visit the Blue Bell Creamery in Brenham, TX where they make the "Best Ice Cream in the Country." I sort felt like I needed to do that at least once before I die. We were born and raised in Texas (on Blue Bell ice cream!) and yet we had never been. It was time for us to make a pilgrimage to Mecca. For a small fee, we got some complimentary paper hats and got to see how our favorite ice cream is made.

Blue Bell's Top Five Selling Flavors:
5) Cookies & Cream,
4) Dutch Chocolate
3) The Great Divide (half Dutch Chocolate, half Mexican Vanilla),
2) Buttered Pecan,
1) Homemade Vanilla

None of the above are my favorite flavors...and just so I don't keep you wondering:

Robin's (Current) Top Five Blue Bell Flavors:
5) Peppermint,
4) Banana Split,
3) Chocolate Almond Marshmallow,
2) Banana Pudding,
1) Chocolate Brownie Overload.

The best part of all came after the tour when we got to enjoy some of the "fruits" of their labors. The tour included a generous scoop of delicious Blue Bell ice cream in their nostalgic ice cream shop. Yum!








After a day or so in Houston, it was time for Wendy to go home. We were sad for her to have to leave, but Zachary and Ashley enjoyed hanging out with their cousins for several days before we, too, went home.

Playing the Victim

Tonight I had the opportunity to be a witness in a mock trial presentation for Chris' Trial Advocacy class. For this assignment, Chris and his partner were assigned to be the "prosecution" and two of their classmates were assigned to be the "defense" in an obviously fictional purse-snatching/robbery case. Both sides had to plan out and present their opening statements to the court, directly examine and cross-examine witnesses, re-direct, and then end with their closing arguments. There were four witnesses (2 for each side) and one judge (played by a real attorney from the County Prosecutor's office.)

My role in this case was that of the 28 year-old victim. Luckily, all I had to do was familiarize myself with the details of the case that pertained to me--the actual crime itself and my statements and involvement with the police. (Chris had given this info to me a few days prior for review.) Following the opening statements, I was called as the State's first witness. I have to admit that it was pretty fun, even though I was a little worried at first that I might goof up and say something that Chris would not like me to say. We had a good laugh earlier about what some of those things might be, but I can no longer remember what they are. And to save him from potential embarrassment, I suggested that he tell noone that I was his wife should I accidentally commit such a blunder. :) Chris had assured me beforehand that I would do just fine. Of course, I wasn't so sure I believed him. Then again, this is a pass/fail class, so he didn't have much to worry about, either, selecting his stay-at-home wife to play the key witness while the rest were 3rd year law students who had all done this before. Hey, at least I used to like watching Court TV! :)

Anyway, I felt pretty confident on the stand while Chris was directing me, but it was a little harder to maintain that same level of confidence upon cross-examination. The other team, I have to say, was really on top of their game as well. I tried my best and just hoped that I was saying all the right things. I was glad when the defense "rested" and Chris stood up to finish me off before I was officially dismissed. One by one, the other witnesses took the stand and I got to enjoy the rest of the show from the sidelines. The State's other witness was the police officer who had handled my case, and the defense's witnesses included the defendant and his girlfriend (both of whom just happened to be played by men--it was pretty funny.)

In the end, both sides did really well, including all of the witnesses. The judge concluded by giving feedback to both teams, but a little to my dismay neither was declared the winner. (That's just the way they were doing it for this class.) It was pretty cool, though, for me to get to see Chris take the floor and demonstrate his courtroom skills-in-training. I thought he did a great job! And as he later said, this will probably be my first AND last time to witness him in this kind of action. Yeah, I guess they probably don't like for lawyers to bring their families to court with them in real life...none of this "Bring Your Kids To Work" in that sense anyway. :) Oh well, then...I guess it was fun while it lasted!

Way to go, Chris!

A Lot Of Catching Up To Do!

I know that many of you have been waiting anxiously for me to get back on the wagon and start posting about the many adventures we've had this summer. I have gotten so far behind, but I still would love to share pictures and stories for as many as I can remember. We made a lot of great memories this summer, and now we are glad to be enjoying a new season. There is so much to look forward to. Hope you are all well and enjoying a bounty of blessings. And I will sign out now since I have a bushelful of blogs to get started on!

Happy Birthday, Christopher!

Saturday was Chris' birthday. Lucky for him, he also had a lot of studying to do AND it was the weekend of Stake Conference. Not a terribly fun way to spend one's birthday, I would say, so the least I could do was to *let him* stay home with the kids while I attended the adult session of Conference on Saturday night by myself. Happy birthday to you, Chris! Next year will undoubtedly be better. :)

I tried to make his birthday a little special anyway by making him a yummy breakfast on Saturday morning. Breakfast burritos are, according to Chris, a "Texas thing" that he really likes but I never make. (The sausage, potato, egg, and cheese filling turned out great and there was enough leftover that he also ate some for his birthday dinner ALONE.) In the afternoon, we took the kids out to a local pumpkin patch to enjoy some pre-Halloween festivities and we let them choose their very first pumpkins for carving.











We had our actual celebration with Chris last night, and my mom and dad joined us for that. He requested that I make a roast for his birthday dinner. I hadn't made a roast in years probably. To my surprise, his birthday dinner was probably the best meal I have made all year! So, I told him that, once a year, for his birthday, I will make him a roast. :) More likely: How many times can I make roast without burning him out on that, too? For dessert, I made Chris' favorite double-layer triple chocolate cake which we ate with vanilla ice cream. That's EXACTLY how he likes it, so I was happy to oblige. While I was making the cake earlier in the afternoon, Zachary exclaimed, "Thank you, Mommy, for making the best chocolate cake EVER!" Isn't he the best KID ever?!

After Chris opened his presents, we ate that yummy cake and ice cream and enjoyed some fine entertainment that was the highlight of the evening. Enjoy!

"Happy Birthday to Daddy!"


The encore: