August

Whoa! What happened to July?!? Thanks to all of those snow days that we enjoyed? endured? this past winter, the kids did not get out of school until very late - June 26th (!).

Right after school ended, Caitlynne went to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland for crew camp. 

The girls stayed on-campus in the dorms and ate in the cafeteria so Caitlynne got a little taste of college life (although at an atypical college). Unfortunately, her desire to attend the Naval Academy was probably quite a bit diminished as the plebes arrived while she was there and, according to Caitlynne, "they looked incredibly miserable and sad. Why would anyone want to go through all that?"

As a belated anniversary celebration, the day before the camp ended, Kevin and I went to Annapolis for the night. We stayed downtown at the Marriott and took a water taxi across the harbor to the Chart House for an incredible dinner. Very early the next morning, we were able to catch the girls as they left the Academy for their morning rowing session on the Severn River. 

What a great experience it was for Caitlynne and what an absolutely amazing place to row! 

Christopher drove with my brother and sister-in-law to Turtle Town, Tennessee where my sister and her husband just purchased a beautiful lake house. Christopher did all sorts of things that I would not approve of...

And, having never eaten a fried insect or worm while living in Thailand, he dove right into these bacon and cheese crickets...

After he returned home, Christopher went to a basketball camp for two weeks at the high school that he will attend. He won the individual "Hot Shot" contest the first week of the camp and his team won the league championship both weeks. He was happy to add some more hardware to his collection! 

The camp was run by the high school basketball coaches and some of the current players so he got some great exposure to them and the program and is looking forward to basketball season.

The other day, I realized that, although school is not even in session, I have been at the high school at least once, if not twice, every day this summer with the exception of Saturdays, Sundays, and July 4th. One or the other kid always has something going on there and it is only going to get worse as back to school activities begin! Both kids have been weightlifting and conditioning in the high school gym three days a week (and, of course, on different days and at different times). Caitlynne has been training for crew as Fall rowing will begin in early September and, until today, Christopher had been conditioning for football. This morning, Christopher began "two a day" practices for the freshman football team. For the next three weeks, the team is dressed and on the field at 5:50 a.m., ready to begin their practice. They take a 1 1/2 hour "break" to eat lunch inside and have team or position meetings and then, at 10:50 a.m., they head back out to the field to practice until 2:00 p.m.

Other than the obvious concussion/injury concerns, my biggest problem with Christopher playing football has been trying to figure out what to feed him. He does not like to eat in the morning but, really needs to eat something to fuel him for the morning practice session. He and I talked about what I could make or get for him to eat in the morning and a quiche was one idea that he was agreeable to. So, yesterday, I very quickly threw together a quiche. And I mean quickly...I was very pressed for time. It wasn't pretty but it turned out really well. 

I combined a few recipes that I saw on-line and created this "Bacon, Spinach, and Onion Quiche". 

I would have preferred to make my own pie crust (or at least take a few minutes and make this ready-made one a little "prettier") but I didn't have the time. 

For the filling, I used 7 eggs, 3/4 cup of half and half, one cup of  shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese, and 2 cups of shredded Cheddar Cheese. I did not add salt or pepper and, after tasting it, I don't think I needed too. Next time I might add some dry yellow mustard for more flavor. 

I covered with aluminum foil, baked for 50 minutes at 350 degrees, and then took the foil off to bake for another 20 minutes.  

 Voila! Lunch is served.

This is certainly not a low calorie meal but, at 5'9" and 122 pounds, Christopher can use all of the calories he can get. And then some. Before he left the house this morning (at zero dark thirty), I warmed a piece of the quiche in a Tupperware container and he ate it in the car on the way to practice. 

Figuring out what to pack for his lunch was much easier.

The first day was hard but he made it through and will probably sleep like a log tonight!

Have a great Monday!