Random reflections on recent events

Warning: this blog skips around a bit, with stops in Texas, Colorado, California, and even Greece.  I'm not making any promises about its chronological accuracy.  

Here in Texas, we may not have much rain, but at least we have Blue Bell.  Aunt Ann, Jake, and I took some time out of the day to go to Brenham, Texas to see where this delectable treat is made.  And the best part--at the end of the tour, you get a generous scoop of ice cream!

John went out to Colorado this summer, fishing the mighty Taylor with his dad.  Here's Tom, braving the elements.

Tom and John S., his friend from the olden days.  Fish: beware.  They might look chummy, but they are merciless.

 Back in Texas again, still no rain.  Certain ants are having a heyday, as you can tell.

Not all the water is gone, however.  There's still thick, stagnant green stuff that is kind of pretty.

As most of you know, John was in California recently to defend his dissertation.  So that means officially, from our end, we're both completely done.  There was nothing left but to give God the glory by having a party with lots of food. 

Here's Annamarie modeling a new and exciting recipe I've found: brie cheese with a brown-sugar, honey, nutty glaze.  And to be modest, it was as good as it looks.

To test their observation skills, we asked everybody at the party to write down what they thought our dissertations were about, respectively, in fifteen words or more.  Answers varied from "It was the best of times and the worst of times," to "heresy in northern Italy."  We were impressed!

A couple weeks ago, we traveled out to Salado, TX to have a family reunion.  Jake and Andrew (plus parents) met us there.  They look so darling in their matching polos and shorts.

And even when they're trying to look strange, they still look darling.

The time at the reunion is usually pretty relaxing for us, and this trip was no exception.  Here's John holding court in our hotel room as we sipped wine, ate fancy cheese, and discussed college football. 

No wine and cheese here, but I can still sense a discussion of college football.

We're bouncing back and forth a bit, but can any one guess who this little darling is?  It's little Luke, of the East Coast Mike and Janelle clan.  I hear it was bitterly cold in Santa Barbara when John was in CA, so Luke came prepared.

Ah, bedhead.

And more bedhead (Cheri seems to have escaped it).

Back in Texas for the third time, here are Mother, Father, Brother-in-law, and me at the Greek Festival in Houston.  It's a family tradition and the food is oh so good.  I'm holding a gyro, while the rest of the family elected to get the full Greek meal, complete with spanakopita, pastikio, and other things I can't pronounce or remember.

To finish off, here's Natalie doing laps--until Daddy gets in the way, at least!