Snips and Snails and Puppydog Tails

It’s officially been over 2 months since I last posted. And believe it or not, I still have summer fun posts to write up. But for now, a quick catch up.

We’ve officially made it through busy season at work. And as if busy season isn’t bad enough, corporate dropped a pretty big bomb on us right at the start of busy season – they’re closing our Fort Worth office. Now, before you get too worried about my employment situation (because I know you all lose sleep over whether I have a job), they are moving all operations to our facility in Carrollton…40 miles from our home (and we have one of the shorter commutes post-move). But at least we still have jobs. The official reasoning is that we own the building in Carrollton and lease the space in Fort Worth, so we’ll be saving boo-Koo money in rent. The unofficial reasoning (one of many) is that the company just spent tens of millions of dollars to revamp the Carrollton space and they want to make “good use” of it.

Needless to say, this didn’t go over too well with a lot of folks, us included. And just as we were set to start looking elsewhere, my department got the word that we’d be allowed to work remotely…100% of the time. We’ve got a lot of work to do to really be ready to be 100% remote, but I’m really looking forward to it. I’ll still have to make the trek to Carrollton at times, but even once or twice a month is better than every day. (If it helps with perspective, it’s a minimum hour and half one way…) And, to make me feel even more lucky, not every department was offered this. The decision about how often a department had to be in the office was left up to a certain level of management, and was dependent on the nature of the work that needs to be done. And we’ve had some losses – a few people, including Bryan’s boss, took advantage of the severance packages they were eligible for. So the transition won’t be easy, but (and forgive me for sounding like I’m towing the company line here; believe me there’s still plenty going on that I don’t agree with) I am really looking forward to a new remote environment, and what it can mean for enhanced family time.

All this change at work has just sapped my writing energy after hours, so that’s a big part of my lapse in posting. Now that things are winding down, I should be able to get back to more fun glimpses into my life in a house full of boys. 🙂

Next up, some Icepocalypse 2013 fun!

Boy, do I know how to drag out Summer Fun posts or what? But, since it still sorta feels like summer around here (yes, in October), it’s not so bad to still be posting about summer fun, right? Right? Also, for all my friends who got their first dusting of snow last night, maybe this will make you feel a little warmer.

Our beach vacation really had it all. There was boat time (times two, with the kayak!), beach time, pool time, and these times, also:

Popsicle Time on the Deck

Kiddie Pool Time on the Deck

Superhero Time

And, of course, some relaxation…and some wrestling!

That wraps up the summertime fun posts. . . from the beach trip. You just THOUGHT you were done with summertime posts. Hahahahahahaha – fooled you! There’s one more trip to share, and it involves mountains, bikes, hikes, and more unrivaled cuteness! Stay tuned…

A summer trip to Grandma and Grandpa’s is not complete without some time in the surf.

The big boys wasted no time getting out as far as they could into the waves.

Sam was initially content to play – and direct the play – in the sand.

Eventually the whole family got in on the sand play.

(Sadly, that picture is the ONLY picture of all 5 of us from this trip.)

Then, it was time for more fun in the surf – this time with Sam, Grandma, and Aunt Ruth joining in, too!

And now, I’ve saved the best for last. No, really, this is about my favorite shot from our beach time. It’s the wallpaper on my computer at work.

Doesn’t it look like it should be in a magazine? I just love this shot of all my super-duper good-looking guys coming out of the surf. *sigh* I’m such a lucky lady.

Part of the summer fun at the beach house this year was Jacob getting to go deep sea fishing with Grandpa, Daddy, and Aunt Ruth. (Caleb was supposed to go, too, but he woke up with an earache, so he opted to stay on dry land.) The anglers had a great day and came home with some yummy dinner!

Jacob got to drive the boat some.

Jacob’s catches – a dolphin fish and a king mackerel

Ruth’s catches – a dolphin fish and a shark

The whole haul – and Jacob holding the king for some size perspective.

**Edited to add that Daddy was also on the boat, and that the picture credits all go to Daddy, Ruth, and Grandpa.**

For Christmas this year, Santa brought the Brandt family a 2-person kayak. They were nice enough to let us test it out on our trip to the beach house this summer.

In related news, we’re now in the market for a kayak ourselves. 🙂

I have SO MUCH FOOTAGE of the swimming antics at Grandma’s house. Fear not, I have culled the plethora of images and footage and have picked some of my favorites. Enjoy – we sure did!

What’s that saying about how to eat an elephant? One bite at a time, right?

We had SO much fun this summer. So much fun that I was too busy enjoying it all to do much posting. Rather than do one or two  REALLY long posts that wouldn’t do any of the activities any justice, I’m going to break it down into several easily digestible bites.

Today, you are going to enjoy baking cookies with Aunt Lynne Cookie.

First, they combined all the ingredients.

Next, the mixing commenced.

Then, the portioning out of *just* the right amount of dough onto the baking sheets.

And finally, showing off the fabulously messy hands.

I’d post pictures of the final product, but they were too yummy and we ate them all too fast.

It’s no secret that I’m not a cook. No, really, ask any of the people who live with me. It’s not for lack of trying (I’d like to note that nobody has gotten sick or died from my attempts – yet), but it seems to be a talent I just don’t possess. Still, I love-love-love the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond both for her cooking and her love of basset hounds. She has two. Named Charlie and Walter. (Which are perfect names for bassets. As are names like Ears and Feet.)

We had a basset for 13 years when I was growing up. Waddles (yes, that was really her name) was the Best. Dog. Ever. Really. She had more personality than most people. She liked to watch TV…upside down…lips and ears all splayed out everywhere. She would sit on your feet when she didn’t want you to go anywhere. Or when she suspected you might go somewhere. Or maybe just because she liked feet-pillows. She liked to snorkel for spiders and frogs in the pool,  and she was known to stand on the diving board to bark or sniff the air, but she hated to swim (even though she was good at it). She rang a bell with her foot to go outside and come inside. She LOVED pizza and popcorn. She was AWESOME with kids…really with people of all ages.

Today, I indulged in reading (and in some cases, re-reading) the Charlie category of The Pioneer Woman’s blog. This conversation with the hubs was the result:

Even with that *stunning* logic, I don’t think I’m getting a bassett anytime soon. 🙁

In mid-June, Caleb enjoyed a week at TCU’s Art camp. He really enjoyed it, and says he wants to do it again next summer, too. And since a picture says 1000 words (or so I’ve heard), enjoy this novel. 🙂

These three sketches are ones Caleb did “in his free time” at camp, and the lower left bunny/suit/duck is from his print-making class. I think we have a budding cartoonist!

These are the three pieces Caleb chose to put in the end-of-camp art show. I love them all!

These three pieces are from his pottery and sculpture classes. I think they’re phenomenal!

These are other pieces he worked on during the week. I am so impressed at the quantity and quality of work they do in just one week!

I must admit there is one other piece of artwork that I’ve not included a picture of, out of respect for the artist’s wishes. There was one piece of work, in particular, that he didn’t even want to show us after camp because he thought it was so terrible (it wasn’t). So, while I have a picture of it, I’m opting not to traumatize him by posting it here (I hope he remembers that little detail when he’s in therapy as an adult. 🙂 )

I’m already looking forward to the masterpieces he will bring home from school this year, and from art camp next year!