Tour de Texas - July

This collage doesn't capture everything.... but man were we busy in July! The kids and I not only traveled from Luanda, Angola, but we traveled ALL over Texas! From Katy to the lake house, then to Fort Worth, on to Austin and San Antonio and then back to Katy. Owen and Riley were troopers and great travel buddies!

• Some of the details... we spent an awesome few days at my folks lake house with my Mom and brother Cody. Their new dock is just finished and provided a great place for us to kayak and swim off of. Plus there is a new rope swing which provided lots of laughs at our attempts to swing off it into the water. 
• Owen became a paleontologist as he (or I should say B and I) unearthed the skeleton bones of a triceratops. He thought it was so awesome especially since we had just gone to the museum and seen the fossils in person. We also went to Ice Age 4 with B which was lots of fun for everyone. Riley ate just about all the popcorn which is to be expected since she's a popcorn monster!
• We spent a wonderful weekend with my brother's family, swimming and lots of playing. Kara, Owen and Riley became a little wolf pack following each other everywhere. We also got to meet my brother's new addition Aimee! I know I already wrote about her, but she's pretty special. Owen loved holding her and Riley has since named all babies Baby Aimee.
• Speaking of Amy's, we had some yummy Amy's Ice Cream in Austin with Chacha. We also ventured to Gattitown where no deer were harmed while Mommy and Owen were shooting. On the other hand, Riley took them down! 
• We spent 1 afternoon swimming with cousin Giovanni (even though Owen apparently only thinks he has 1 cousin and that's Kara.) Amanda served her yummy chocolate chip cookies and milk for a snack. A HUGE hit with the kids! (Not to say they didn't go over well with Chacha, Kacee and me too...)
• Owen and Riley went to the see Mitchell's girlfriend Lauren at work. She's a pediatric dental hygienist. Riley was pretty unimpressed with the dentist to say the least. She did like the treasure chest at the end though. Owen was spectacular! I included a picture of his X-rays because it's really cool. You can see his big teeth!
• In San Antonio we got to see Ryan and his new espousa Cindy. They are living in Seto's old place. It was amazing to see what they have done to the place to make it their own. New paint on the walls and completely refinished kitchen cabinets have transformed it. 
• Update on Baby and me: we keep growing!

Ciao!

Riley's 1st Haircut

I took Riley for her 1st haircut the day after her 2nd birthday. She loved sitting in the car and did awesome!

Owen got his hair cut at the same time. They had so much fun!

With my big girl!

Ciao!

 

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Happy 2nd Birthday Riley-bug!!!

Riley is 2!!!!

Sweet girl you've filled our lives with smiles, giggles and so much love! Your favorite things right now are playing with Owen, Bunny and Blankie, eating goldfish, anything silly, wearing dresses, Winnie the Pooh and princesses, and Daddy (that one won't ever change!)

 

On your birthday we started celebrating with Daddy, Owen, B and Papo and Uncle Cody. Birthday candles in your blueberry muffin was a great way to start the day!

Later that afternoon, Jido, Chacha, Uncle Moomoo, Lala and Aunt Mina joined the celebration.

You were a pro a ripping open your presents!

After your favorite dinner of cheese pizza, you got to eat a giant cupcake. We sang Happy Birthday and let you blow the big glittery '2' candle out several times which you thought was awesome.

We love you Riley-bug! More than we ever thought possible!!

Ciao!

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Texas Summer

We had the opportunity to come to Texas for the summer and we jumped on it. Nathan has some business to handle so the kids and I tagged along and turned it into our vacation. Nathan could only stay for a week so we teied to stay busy. We spent some fun time at the park together with the kids. Owen's imagination had us running from crocodiles and sailing pirates ships. Riley loves the swings.

We had a incident with a ladybug. Everything was fine until the ladybug went to fly away. It opened its wings and Riley lost it. She freaked out swatting it off her and said it bit her. We thought nothing of the bite and assumed it just scared her. After a little research, the Asian lady beetles DO bite. So I believe the ladybugs look-alike the Asian lady beetle is what we found and what pinched Riley.

Our next activity was checking out the new paleontology exhibit at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. The kids LOVED it and we handsome much fun experiencing it with them. Riley pointed at the first fossils we came too and said, "bones!" so cute! She and Owen looked tiny next the the fossils. Owen went 100% the whole time asking us if we had even seen this and showing us around the exhibit. It was precious! If you're in Houston, check it out! Awesome summer activity out of the heat.

More later. Ciao!

 

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Our new family addition!

My big brother and his wife welcomed their 2nd child into the world July 1st, Aimee Christine! Ashley and Aimee are both doing great. Lee says Kara wants to hold her and touch her nonstop. So sweet! I've been able to FaceTime with my parents and Cody and been e-mailing with Lee. It's hard being away from the family. The first time I meet Aimee, she'll be 4 months old! Congratulations Fithians! She's precious!











Ciao!

Imaginations

My sweet children's imaginations were running wild yesterday with the help of some fun costumes. First thing this morning Owen wanted to be Thor. He kept saying "I'm Thor, the Norse God of Thunder" and carried his hammer everywhere. He wore it to his friends house, to the park... All day until about 4pm when we had a wardrobe change to Spiderman. He was Spiderman last Halloween. The costume is getting a bit small but still wearable. He wore the mask for a long time! He was so excited and kept making web-shooting sounds. So cute!

Riley began the day as Belle, a dress given to us by friend see met here. She kept twirling, saying the flowers were pretty, and pointing to herself saying "princess". After her nap, I thought for sure she'd like to dress up as Cinderella but I was wrong. She went for the monkey costume Owen wore his 2nd Halloween. She flipped out, ran everywhere, jumped on the bed and kept squealing in delight! She loved it! It was really fun for me to see her in the same costume Owen wore. Next she was on to Cinderella which lasted he rest of the day.

Both de-robed for dinner surprising Nathan when he got by being just in their undies. They had loads of fun!


Ciao!

Location:Talatona, Angola

Angolan Grocery Adventure

Going to the grocery here in Angola is usually an adventure. You see crazy outfits, exorbitantly overpriced products and never get everything on your list (not to mention the sometimes frightening drive to the store). A typical shopping list can be fulfilled with trips to Kero, Casa dos Frescos, and Shop Rite. Sometimes Maxi too if needed. So to my Dad when you took me to the Super Walmart in May... yes, my eyes were huge because it's a 1-stop shop! Veggies, craft glue, new swimsuit, and a movie... all in one place! I know we haven't lived in Angola THAT long... but weekly trips to the market add up and slowly replace the memories of the conveniences HEB, Walmart and Target offer.

All of these pictures are at Kero. I converted the Kwanzas to US Dollars on the pictures. I forgot to use the $10 El Paso brand salsa picture! A small jar too...

$30 for a Winnie the Pooh doll, $19 for a 6-pack of yogurt similar to Activia, $54 for a Moxie doll

$40 for Barbie doll (no accessories or additional outfits), $60 for Cars Walkie Talkies, 

$18 for ONE Barbie dress, $150 for a Hot Wheels set

We have come to accept the prices here for what they are. I still have a hard time buying $20 yogurt so we are getting the local brand which is pennies compared to the imported stuff. The emergency bread we buy mid-week is typically $15 for a loaf (that's when we can't get to Kero and have to shop at the place down the street.) Sliced lunch meat is between $15-$19 bucks. Nathan found some gorgeous large strawberries in a 6-pack... $12! The end of the month is the worst time to hit the big markets. Everyone gets paid at the end of the month so EVERYONE is at the store... 

with multiple carts and kids in tow.

Ciao!