Sunday we hung out at the neighborhood pool.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
we stayed close to home and ran a couple of errands.
The girls are playing the world geography game.
The kids finished up their corral reef mural.
Knitting hats for the homeless.
Keika taught Lauren to play the Mario Brothers game song, they are now teaching Micah.
We pulled weeds in the garden and showed Keika the different vegetables we are growing.
Thursday we visited the Houston Museum of Fine Arts.
Here the kids are creating a film strip story.
Keika is learning to make pizza dough.
Everyone went grocery shopping with me at HEB and Walmart. Keika was amazed at the enormous size of the stores and laughed at how big the cucumbers were and asked to take a picture of them. Curious of what a Japanese cucumber looks like I researched it online.
Suhyo is a long-time favorite cucumber in Japan, that produces long slender cucumbers, 1-1/4" x 18". The cucumber skin is dark green and has small spines. The flesh is firm, crisp and delicious. http://www.evergreenseeds.com/japcucsuh.html
Friday we took a stroll at the
I have never seen this insect before. So we took a snapshot and had to research it.
It is commonly known as a Cow Killer or a Flaming red velvet ant.
According to BugGuide, the female Cow Killer: "Invades the nest of bumble bees, especially Bombus fraternus. Female searches for bumble bee nests, digs down and deposits one egg near brood chamber. Larva of the Dasymutilla enters the bumble bee brood chamber, kills those larvae, and feeds on them. Larva pupates in the bumble bee brood chamber."
“In south Georgia in the early ’60s, farmers used to tell me that this wasp got its name by getting into the cloven hoofs of cows and stinging them there. The cow would then run madly off and sometimes be injured or fall, breaking it’s leg. Thus the name, as the lame cow would then have to be put down.
“
http://www.whatsthatbug.com/category/velvet-ants/
Bumble Bee
Dragonfly
Played at the park for a few minutes after our nature walk.
My little monkey on the monkey bars.
The pond near the entrance of the Botanical Gardens.
We printed a scavenger hunt
http://www.hcp4.net/mercer/ and completed about half of it. We were running out of time and the little ones were getting hot and tired.
Can you guess what this is in the shape of?
For dinner Keika and Lauren prepared and cooked pizza with some guidance from mom.
This is Keika's 1st homemade chicken pizza.
Lauren cooking in the kitchen.
Keika and Lauren's pizza.
Making marshmallows. These turned out great, but have to admit took some time.
Ingredients : 2 tbs gelatin unflavored, 1/2 cup cold water, 2 cups sugar, 1 cup hot water, pinch of salt, 2 tsp vanilla, powdered sugar.
Directions: Soften gelatin in cold water. Combine sugar and hot water. Boil to a soft ball stage. Add gelatin and salt; beat until stiff. Add vanilla. Beat thoroughly. Pour into a 8" x 8" pan which has been dusted with powdered sugar. Allow to stand until it can hold shape. Then cut and roll into powdered sugar.
The kids LOVED these and it was fun to make it with them!
After dinner Friday night we were accompanied by grandpa to the
Sunday Keika prepared for us her delicious curry chicken for dinner. I was late in getting started on the rice so we had it with pasta.
Keika's
favorite food this week: waffle and pizza favorite activity this week:
Mercer Arboretum and Botanical Gardens
When I asked her what she found funny she replied, "Hannah." Keika experienced many new things this week of which her favorite was learning to cook. Something different from Japan: our driver seats here in the states are on the opposite side than that of the vehicles in Japan.
