VBS ended with a splash...they had a water day to finish off the week. It doesn't seem like she learned anything but she had fun with all the crap...oops, I meant crafts! Nevertheless, she had a GREAT time! Tonight Maggie invited a friend over to spend the night to watch the opening ceremonies for the Summer Olympics in Beijing. She has been looking forward to this for months.
We went to Aunt Karen's work today to see her new office and to eat lunch. Afterwards, we went to the pond in front of the building to feed the ducks. As you can see by the picture, Maggie did not prefer to be chased by several dozen hissing geese!
Maggie and I stumbled across this heart on a Girl Scout camping weekend at Camp Misty Meadows last Spring and couldn't resist taking a picture!
Today we went to Sea Center Texas marine fish hatchery in Lake Jackson with neighbor friends. It was a unique experience...learned all we wanted to know about the life cycle of the Red Drum fish! We went on a tour of the hatchery with a very knowledgeable guide, took a look at the aquariums indoors (the touch tank was closed!), created rubbings of different marine animals, and walked along the boardwalk to see the salt marsh. All in all, it was a fun experience!
Our anniversary plaque came in...doesn't it look nice? It is hanging next to the back door on the patio. We hung it up today to surprise Ian. VBS started today but unfortunately will be cancelled tomorrow due to Tropical Storm Edouard! Maggie had a great time in "God's Backyard" and is looking forward to returning on Wednesday. We looked around for Mario Cart for the Wii but had no luck finding it. Instead, we came home a did a jigsaw puzzle...thanks Grandma Vicki!
Aunt Kate trying Maggie's GREAT idea...
Dad's birthday is really tomorrow but Kate came in from Austin and Brent came in from camp today to celebrate Dad's birthday. We went to Spanish Village for dinner and Ann made a yummy pistachio cheesecake!
Can you tell...this photo is from a year ago!
Galveston is not known for beautiful shells...they are practically non-existent! Maggie cleaned up her cache of shells from Tuesdays Galveston trip...it's a sad collection!
I've always wanted to introduce geocaching to Maggie but never got around to it because we do not have a GPS system. Then I found out about letterboxing. I was intrigued. After reading an article in her August issue of Ranger Rick we decided to give it a go today. We found out they are EVERYWHERE...just look on the Internet to find them! We set out to Memorial Park for our first hunt...and had great success! The hunt we chose was called "diamonds are forever"...it ended up meaning baseball diamonds! We stamped our stamps (Maggie/elephant and mom/2 hearts) in their record book and we stamped their baseball stamp in ours. We can't wait for our next discovery! 
I stood my ground and said "no" to every request 
Maggie spent the day playing with one of my first graders from last year...how cute is that? I'm pleased she'd rather play with younger girls than the older! They spent the day at her house and the new Bellaire Aquatic Center...looks like fun! 
The main reason for initiating the whole Galveston trip today was to visit the NOAA sea turtle hatchery to see if it could be a suitable field trip for my 1st grade class next year. It’s an unprepossessing set up, behind the campus of Texas A&M, but fascinating. We took a tour with one of the marine scientists and heard about all the work they do... rescuing eggs, monitoring hatchlings, testing shrimp net escape devices etc., as well as see a real Turtle Excluder Device in a fishing net in the yard. Maggie was really impressed with the simplicity of the TED device...a special net that allowed sea turtles and other marine animals to easily escape shrimp nets. We especially enjoyed the unlimited, up-close and personal time with the sea turtles!
Being an avid admirer of quilts, I knew we had to check out the Quilts of Summer exhibit at the 1861 U.S. Custom House! Maggie and I could never agree on which one we liked the best...they were all spectacular!
We went to the Galveston Historical Museum and the best thing about it was the brass beacon light from the Galveston South Jetty Lighthouse! The original light was an incandescent oil vapor light with a power of 23,000 candles! The South Jetty Lighthouse was automated in 1972 and the brass beacon light was removed and placed in the museum at that time. It was truly amazing to see up close! Afterwards, we went to the Pier 21 Theater to see The Great Storm. Last year in school Maggie was required to read The Day it Rained Forever so she had a bit of an interest in furthering her knowledge concerning the devastating hurricane of 1900. Many times today, Maggie commented on the seawall that was built because of the hurricane and how wonderful it was for the city to continue to live and grow.
Ian would have loved The Bishop's Palace! It was built of stone/steel for the Gresham family and one of America's finest examples of Victorian exuberance and Gilded-Age extravagance. It was purchased by the Galveston-Houston Archdiocese in the 1920's and served as the Bishop's residence; thus it became known as The Bishop's Palace and has been operated as a museum since 1963. We bought Ian a book about the house...we hope it will adequately tell it's story!
Going to Stewert Beach was a very last minute decision! Maggie has never really been to a real Galveston Beach...sounds crazy...but true! She danced around like a crazy girl, loving every minute! She loved the thrill of looking for shells and building bridges in the sand. She didn't love the water...sure that a shark or jellyfish or catfish would eat her up! The water never went past her big toe...me neither!
Sacred Heart Catholic Church was right next door to The Bishop's Palace...you know what a sucker I am for churches, so we took a peek! It was your ordinary Catholic church...beautiful. We took a moment to light a couple of candles and say a few prayers for Grandma Jean and the father of Maggie's classmate that recently lost his father unexpectedly. May they rest in Peace.
Maggie and I decided to spend a marathon day in Galveston together. Believe it or not, we NEVER go to Galveston and we decided it was time to go! By the end of the day we promised to return because we had only scratched the surface of the iceberg of things to do! Maybe we can get Ian to go next time if we promise not to spent too much time on the beach...
Today we went to the all new Goodykoontz Museum of Girl Scout History...what a name! We had a wonderful docent show us around and really enjoyed ourselves. They had a lot to look at...old memorabilia, uniforms, photos, etc. Maggie enjoyed the dress-up area and games. We could only spend an hour and a half there because I had a tutoring gig...I promised we would go back another time this week! Maggie is looking forward to scouts now that she is a big Junior...I'll miss my little Brownie!
Today I took Maggie along with three 1st grade girls from my class last year to see the movie, Kit Kittredge: An American Girl. It was from a Bash item at the school auction that their parents won... we had a great time! Aren't they adorable?
We picked Maggie up from camp today. 
Tonight was Closing Campfire. Closing campfire embodies the core values of camp...Caring, Honesty, Respect, Responsibility and Faith. Each session one camper is chosen from within their cabin to be named the Honor Camper, the one who has represented the core values to the highest of standards. (I think something amazing may have happened...it looks as if Maggie was chosen Honor Camper again this year!) If I remember correctly...the evening ends as everyone circles the fire for one last campfire round up as they sing the camp song, a time to remember forever.
Today was Maggie's last day of camp. It appears to me that the unthinkable has happened... someone pretty incredible got that girl in a "canoe-like" boat (I need to know who's hand is in the picture!!!) and I may even see a smile on her face! I'm glad to see she got to go to rifles (yep, you're in Texas)...last year it rained and she didn't make it. I think she has a little bit of Ian in her! I'm glad to see her try fishing...we don't do much of that in our everyday life. I asked Maggie to consider trying one new thing this summer at camp...it looks like she did!
"heart art" by Maggie '08
It looks like Maggie went horseback riding (in her swimsuit!) with her cabin...they are all there! I hear there was a little bit of rain but it ended pretty quickly and there was a luau later...fun! 
What a breathtaking sunset on the waterfront! 
Yep...you read that right! Clementine got a letter from camp today. (Meow, meow, having fun, meow, meow...you get the idea!) This picture was taken as we were packing for camp...he kept trying to get inside the trunk to take a cozy nap! Update: It seems Maggie's friend Caroline ALSO got a letter from camp today! She reports that she loved opening campfire, has gone banana boating and tubing, and ate pizza for dinner last night. Life is good.
OK...it's slim pickings on Bunk1.com...these are the only "Maggie sightings" I could muster for today! Her unbrushed self appears to be having fun. She's the one in the red helmet below waiting to take the plunge on the zip line! Her friend Emily (the one looking at you in the front) looks happy, too!
Today was our 10th wedding anniversary...hard to believe. I've known Ian for more than half of my lifetime! We had a quiet dinner to celebrate and exchanged gifts. I went for the modern...aluminum plaque (sadly, it wasn't ready). Ian went for the traditional...diamonds! I love you, sweetie!
When Maggie and I were in Tahoe mom presented us with two beautiful crosses she had made using diamonds from Grandminnie's jewelry. We love them and will treasure them always...I know she would be pleased. We miss you Grandminnie...
Can you believe it? Bunk1 has already posted a batch of photos from their first evening of camp...they don't waste any time...good for an over-anxious momma like me! It appears that they have been given camp t-shirts for their cabin photos (I'm glad to see Madeline...as she had not arrived yet when we left) and taken their swim tests. I wonder how Opening Campfire went? Last year rain prevented the campers from this experience...so Maggie was really looking forward to it this year!
Today Maggie left for camp...finally! She has been waiting all summer for this moment to arrive. She had a hard time sleeping last night, despite putting herself to bed before the sun went down. Her excitement grew as we made the first turn onto camp property...felt like home. Some of her school friends joined her this year...she hopes they love it, too.
We have 8 big pine trees in our front yard and every year about this time the squirrels turn into pine cone pigs! Ian sweeps up their mess weekly for a couple of months. Shown are the before and after shots...with a little help from Maggie. The mess will be back in a few days...
Tonight I went to see Mama Mia with a group of girlfriends. The movie was absolutely delightful (if you enjoy musicals and ABBA!). I don't believe most of our husbands would have said the same! Afterwards, we had dinner and drinks at an old favorite, Benjy's. Yum, Yum. Maggie was at a birthday sleepover so poor Ian was home alone on our first night back from Tahoe. Sorry Ian! 
It's GREAT to be home. 
We had a great time in Tahoe this summer, Mom and Howard. 
Sadly, the time has come. We went to the beach for the last time today. The surf was really up and Maggie had a great time playing in the waves. Good way to end our time in Lake Tahoe...
After years of missing the open times of this small pioneer cabin...we finally made it in. It was worth the wait! Watson Cabin was delightful...2 bedrooms, bathroom, 2 living areas, porch and a kitchen. It was built just after the turn of the century and believed to be the first cabin in Tahoe City. Afterwards, we stopped at Izzy's Burger Spa for lunch. Stupid name...nothing "spa" about it! It's one of Maggie's favorites.
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