Aren't weekends for relaxing?

Not around here!  Sorry, Daddy!

We are usually pretty go-go-go on the weekends, and this weekend was no exception.

Saturday we were off to the Children's Museum of Houston in the morning (I had visited with the kids last June but this was Roy's first time).  We enjoyed ourselves for a couple hours, had a snack (can't complain about the $1 fruit bars, ice cream, and popcorn at a place like that!), bought a membership and hit the road back home.

After Riley was settled in for a nap, I went off to do some shopping while the boys ... while the boys ... I don't know what they did to be honest.  I think they BBQed some shrimp or terrorized bugs with the new bug zapping racquet or something.  When I got home, Riley and Roy mowed the lawn while Leighton and I made some homemade BBQ sauce.  And he actually dipped his pork into it and then sipped the rest from the bowl.  I was shocked.  Not expecting him to consume anything else called a sauce or dip anytime soon, though!

Sunday we were at the Christening of Luke and Douniazed's daughter, Soraya.  After the ceremony, we went for lunch at Garson, a fantastic Persian restaurant not too far from our house.  The food was fantastic. 

After lunch, we drove home to get changed into our bathing suits so we could meet Ben, Jenn, and Julius in Pearland at their community pool that just opened for the season recently.  For those of you that don't know, they are the ones completely responsible for our move to Houston :)  Kidding,  Sort of.  We came to visit them as part of our summer vacation last June, and Ben "innocently" asked if Roy wanted to give a talk while we were here.  Roy loves sharing his work, so of course he accepted the invitation.  And then sometime between his talk and dinner, he was offered a job.  When he tiptoed into the bedroom that all 4 of us were sleeping in and whispered that to me, I thought he was joking!  Guess not because he came back in the fall for a formal job talk and interview and that's how we ended up in Houston!  I think Ben knew that would happen all along ;) 

Anyway, back to the pool.  What a fantastic facility.  There was a large pool, a small kiddie pool, and another small kiddie pool with fountains and buckets that dump water sporadically.  There is also lots of shaded seating for those times when the crazy 20 month decides she needs a snack after pool hopping all afternoon .

After our swim, it was back to Ben, Jenn, and Julius' house for dinner and then home.

After the kids were in bed, it was time for me to get busy in the kitchen.  It was Roy's turn on the rotation to bring in food for lab meeting, and I always like to bake/cook for him instead of buying things for him to take.

I made a new recipe for homemade granola bars.  They were super.  I have great luck with the recipes from her site.  And it's a totally flexible recipe, so you can totally customize them.  I used craisins, pecans, almonds, and white chocolate chips for my 2-3 cups of dried fruit and nuts.  I think the liquid sugar content could likely be cut in half next time.

I also made my trusty maple scones and Roy & Leighton requested my pumpkin cream cheese muffins (even though it's not fall and I kind of thought we should do something more spring/summer-like!).  For the muffins, I always cut the sugar in half, use part whole wheat and part all purpose flour, toss in some ground flax seed, skip the cardamom, and flavor the cream cheese with brown sugar and vanilla.  These muffins have been a big hit in our house for many years.  I recommend trying them!