Texas Trip

We started our summer vacation at Grandma Linda's house in Dallas.  We loved her pool, the awesome food, and Grampa Mike!

After 3 relaxing days, it's off to the San Gabriel farm.  On the way, we stop for kolaches and pepper puppies, our favorite tradition.




We also passed by a local farmer selling yellow watermelon.  So, anyone who knows my daughter knows we had to stop.  We were only at the farm for 4 days, so that meant 4 watermelons to purchase.









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We caught lots of fish over the 4 days, everyone caught at least one.  Although we only reeled in bass up to a pound, we lost several much larger that flipped off the hook.  It was great to see fish active again in the lake.







Our big project was to "trim" the cactus.  Well, it was so overgrown and brown that we decided to chop it back to the bare stump.  Our philosophy was that if it grows back, it will be nice & green again.  If it dies, we'll pull it up and plant something a little less prickly to prune.  The kids & I are still having to tweeze out splinters 2 weeks later.

before

after

Then, off to the Shiner farm to see our cousins and Grandma TC.  Our oldest saw a huge zucchini in the garden, so we made zucchini bread.  The little one had fun chasing the chickens and playing in the pool.  I didn't get a picture of the J&J twin cousins, but they were always together on the zip line, swimming, or having airsoft wars.

























When it was time to leave, we did everything we could think of to delay our departure so we could see "Mr. Turtle", but we had to be in Austin by 2pm and time was running out.  So, we said our good-byes, locked up the animals, and headed off to Austin for one last family visit.

Now, there's a saying in the capitol to "Keep Austin Weird", and we understood why after a wonderful tour from my sister.  We started with the famous food trailers, drove by container box housing units, and finished at the Cathedral of Junk.  This place is made of junk stored over the years into a large pile in someone's backyard.  It's been carefully piled with themes, colors, and steps so people can climb to the top.




With our final cousin stop over, we ended with lots of hugs, kisses, & giggles.  Until next visit, bye Texas!

German Visitors

Our relatives from Weseke, Germany came to visit the US in May.  We were so excited that Marc & Eva decided to include South Carolina in their 3-week tour!  There is only one Mueggenborg family in this state, so we wanted to show them some neat things the Southeast has to offer.






Right away our little one took to Eva.  She was quickly labeled her "BFF" and held in high esteem compared to the rest of us.  Everywhere Eva went, our little one was stuck to her side holding her hand.

After a morning of homemade waffles, we gave them a tour of our downtown Greenville.  There was an art festival going on and the weather was perfect.  We made them try a sample of "shrimp & grits", the official food of SC, and some sweet tea.









The older kids wanted to take them down to the river and climb the boulders.

After downtown, we took a quick drive by Eric's work and my office, then headed home to relax.    As Marc & Eva enjoyed some quiet time in the back yard, our little one decided to join them.

The next day was rainy, but that didn't stop us from touring a local cavern, enjoying a nice picnic, and hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains.







Back at home, the little one used her German counting skills as she counted each swing before being thrown on the couch....eins, zwei, drei, vier...

I had one day vacation from work where I could take them somewhere neat without the kids.  Given the choice among (1) Atlanta's CNN studio, World of Coke, and the Georgia Aquarium, (2) Charlotte's NASCAR museum, Carowinds, and Discovery Place, or (3) white water rafting down the Chatooga River, they wanted to go rafting!  We went down several Class III and Class IV rapids, and two Class V rapids on a 7-hour excursion.

Before heading off to Oklahoma and Colorado, we wanted to give them one more American experience.  We grilled hamburgers for dinner then took them to a semi-professional baseball game.  


We miss you Marc & Eva, and thanks for coming to South Carolina!  We'd love to have you visit us again, and look forward to seeing you in Germany during June/July 2014!

High School Spring Formal

Our oldest had her first high school semi-formal dance. Since the new high school only has grades 9-10, they steered clear of calling it a "prom".  So instead, it was a spring formal.














She went to the dance with the captain of their cross country team.  They both share a love for running and seemed to get along well.

They first had dinner at a friend's house, which was a beautiful plan.  Most of the other students that wanted to go out somewhere faced a 1 hr wait.

After the dance, several of her closest friends stopped by our neighborhood clubhouse for an after-party.  We had about 12 kids, so a nice group.  The most difficult part as a parent was having to stay up that late to chaperone.  The party finally closed around 12:30am.

We forgot to get a group picture while everyone was there, but here's the last 9 to leave....

Greenville Goodwill Mud Run

This weekend our oldest had her first (and second) mud run race!  A two day event, the mud run is a 3.5 mile obstacle course designed in Marine Corps boot camp tradition.  The race is run by teams of four and features over 30 obstacles, including climbing walls, cargo nets, low crawls, rope bridges, swings, stream runs and a giant mud pit!  Fortunately for her, she got to do it on both days!

On Saturday, she went in place of Daddy (he just had surgery). Although the youngest on the team, she definitely wasn't the slowest. The guys helped her over the walls while she set the fast pace for them to follow. Their finishing time: 45 minutes!

On Sunday, she did the run with three of her soccer friends. This second time was a bit harder for her because there were no guys to lift her up and over the obstacles.  Instead, she was the one lifting everyone else. They struggled on a few barriers, but with great teamwork, they eventually overcame it.  Their finishing time: 1 hour 7 minutes!

Team Name: Girlilla Muchachas

Caribbean Cruise!

For the kid's spring break this year, we decided to go on a cruise to mexico. Leaving Mom behind to work and clean the house, the four of us jumped aboard the plane and flew to Houston. There we picked up our grandma (aka TC) and boarded the Carnival Triumph!

The food was delicious, having a 24-hour ice-cream bar (that we visited 5-6 times each day), a chocoholic buffet, and tons and tons of fruit for the oldest one to raid! 

Our first stop was Progresso, Mexico. There was a lot of little shops trying to sell you their products right at first, but once you walk a few blocks and get past the annoying merchants, you can see the true countryside. 

The weather was perfect, but when in Progresso, we soon figured out that our year-old SPF 50 sunscreen was expired, and therefore we got sunburns all over. To help combat this sun-burnt pain, the boys decided to get a supposedly "professional" massage. Using his Spanish, Dad did a good job of negotiating the price down (or rather up) from $15 for a 45 minute massage to $20 for a 10 minute massage (for 2).

Our second stop was Cozumel, Mexico. After much effort to convince Dad not to rent mopeds (there was a "highly likely event of crashing" warning on them), we grabbed a taxi and went down to Paradise Beach. This all-inclusive beach resort included snorkeling, kayaking, paddle boarding, beach volleyball, a swimming pool, and water trampolines and slides! We had a great time, but it wore us out quickly. Within 2 minutes of laying out, we were fast asleep!

While we were gone exploring Mexico, our little one was given the job of "babysitting" TC. This was our way of giving her responsibility of staying on the ship, and she took her role very seriously! After every meal, she reminded TC to take her pills, and when it was nap time, she made sure they both laid down and slept.

It was a GREAT trip, and we are already looking at doing it again, but now it's time to get back into the routine of work and school... only for a few more weeks until it's summer break!

Happy Easter!

The kids colored eggs yesterday and set them out before they went to bed along with lettuce & carrots. The little one is starting to "wise up" to the tradition and decided her basket was the biggest one so it could hold more stuff.

On Easter Sunday, after we got back from church and changed clothes, the kids were ready for their filled egg hunt.  The older ones really enjoy this because some of the eggs have dollar bills and coins in them!









We hid 25 eggs, and the order of hunting went from the youngest to the oldest.  The little one got to go first with a 5 minute head start.  When time was up, the middle jumped up and started grabbing up eggs he had spotted while waiting, then just 20 seconds later, the older one finally got to join in the fun.

Daddy is only allowed to participate to help find the remaining one or two eggs.  Then, we all sat on the lawn enjoying the mini-raisin boxes, skittles, and tootsie rolls.



Have a blessed Easter everyone!

Home Alone Mom

What can a mom do when the family is away
Shall I work, shall I clean, shall I nap, or play?
Well, I........





Watered the garden, and watered the shrubs
Watered the flowers and planted some herbs
Mowed the front yard and mowed the back
Swept the driveway and emptied the trash.





Treated the ant piles, spread weed and feed
Then carefully watered my son's apple tree
Went to church then stopped by the store
Did volunteer work, but wait, there's more!



I organized the closet and organized the drawer
Painted the ceiling and the baseboards
Vacuumed the house and made the beds
Unclogged the toilet (a surprise the kids left).





I folded the clothes then washed the sheets
Went to Mass again for the 4th time this week
Worked 40 hours and baked some bread
Greeted new neighbors, played tennis with a friend.




Cleaned up the kitchen, my one little dish
Reviewed our taxes, fed my son's fish
Ran some errands and shopped at the mall
Bought Easter gifts, but still that's not all!


I met with our realtor and termite inspector
Talked with our roofer and insurance adjuster
Kissed all the dolls on my 5 yr old's bed
Then took care of Sunshine, our neighbor's pet.



They'll be home tomorrow, where did the time go?
Should I watch an episode of my favorite show?
Or I could workout with a walk, no a jog
Then check on e-mails and update my blog.


Now time to reflect, oh wow, what a week!
I've accomplished a lot but it's time for me.
A hair appointment first, then a spa pedicure
And finally relax with red wine or a beer.

Family Movie Night

One of our favorite family traditions is Family Movie Night!  I look forward to it all week long because it's the one night we all wind down together.  It's not so much the movie itself, or the popcorn, but snuggling together on the couch.  This is my family time every Friday, with sounds of giggles and laughter as the music.