life in march

The month started off with a field trip to the natatorium.  I'm the paranoid mom who watched from the upper deck because I wasn't sure how many parents/chaperones/lifeguards would be there to keep those kids safe!  It was basically two hours of sitting while they learned water safety, but they did have a brief safety test and a 15 minute "free swim." Brooke loved it and I loved watching her with her classmates.  Especially since she was nervous that it would "be weird" to see her friends in swimsuits. 

Getting our after-school baby fix :) Rachel is so sweet and patient with all the little girls that want to love on her little baby Ace. 

Colby kicked my tush twice at Monopoly Deal not once, but TWICE while we waited for Brooke at Activity Days.  Notice my complete lack of properties and money, haha. 

Lunch date with my best girl.  And just for a dose of reality, we had some tears and frustration that afternoon.  But I really do feel like these moments of connection help us work through the big feelings that inevitably always come. 

I have fewer pics of Colby because he was snuggled next to me for most of lunch and the parent tables were SO crowded, but we did sneakily take a little selfie. 

Kevin texted me one Friday afternoon to ask if I wanted to do pizza at the lake that evening since Lynn Creek park had just opened for the season.  I had been sick all day and didn't feel like doing anything, but I'm glad I decided to take one for the team because it was really wonderful!

The kids were so excited to be back at the playground and I was loving the perfectly moody sky. 

Nothing beats sand between your toes and the sound of the water.  Well, I wish the sand was less rocky, but you get the point :)

We played in the sand, ate pizza, then played Pickle as a family until dark.  The breeze did a number on our allergies, but it was definitely worth it for that sweet family time. 

We celebrated sweet Emery's second birthday (a little late).  She loves all things purple, so Brooke wore head-to-toe purple and was super excited to see her reaction to the purple purse we bought her. 

We hosted the youth devotional at our house one Sunday night, so the kids were supposed to play quietly upstairs.  I went to check on them and found Brooke reading in a little book she created in Colby's closet.  At least she looked comfortable, haha. 

Brunch date with these beauties!  So grateful that we were able to get together to celebrate Andreia's birthday. It is still so weird to not have Tracy here with us, but I imagine it will never feel complete without her here.  

I'm not sure how I'm old enough to have a child at the orthodontist!  Colby walked over to watch Brooke brush her teeth and he looked so old as well!!

I volunteered for lunch/recess duty and it was seriously the highlight of my Thursday.  Brooke "dared" me to be the volunteer that talked into the microphone during lunch (which I did), and kept coming over to hug me during recess.  She was just so happy that I was there, which made ME so incredibly happy. And I loved watching her interact with her peers and seeing her big heart in action. 

I couldn't sign up for Colby's lunch because it overlapped with Brooke's recess, but I stayed for his recess as well.  He gave me a LOT of hugs and I loved watching the Kinders play. 

Mid-month we attend Open House and Colby was so excited to show us his artwork hanging in the hall near the boy's restroom.  He was also so proud of his Inuit and penguin hanging up outside his classroom.  

He still thinks school is too long, but he loves and adores Mrs. Salinas, which makes the whole experience of going to school so much more pleasant for all of us!

Brooke also had artwork hanging in the main hallway, so we stopped to take a picture :)

Then we walked the third grade hall to find her Serena Williams poster and the essay she wrote about Ruby Bridges.  

She also showed us several projects on her chrome book. 

I didn't get a pictures of Mrs. Howell, but I did get one of Mrs. Evans.  They both told me what a wonderful student and friend Brooke is. They gushed about how kind she is and what a "ray of sunshine" she is in their classes.  I went to bed that night feeling SO grateful for my precious little ones!

Brookie was the only girl at Daulton Dashers, but she didn't even care. She ran her little heart out for 30 minutes before school and I was just so impressed by her confidence and courage to participate. 

Celebrated the start of Spring Break with an after-school trip to Bahama Bucks.  We had made this plan earlier in the week before a cold front moved in, but decide the change in weather, I couldn't convince the kids to change plans, haha.  It was 39 degrees outside, but we bundled up and tried to enjoy those frozen treats :) Colby ordered one that also came with a popsicle, so it was no wonder why he couldn't stop shivering. 

They think it's hilarious when Kevin puts them on the fridge.  It all started around Christmas time when our Elf on the Shelf started popping up in random places. 

Saturday morning hockey with friends :) Several guys from the ward decided to do the free hockey problem offered at the Star Center in Mansfield, and they had a lot of fun together because sometimes dads need to have a little fun as well!  I wasn't able to attend the majority of practices because it conflicted with getting the kids to soccer, so when my friend Katie sent these pictures I was super grateful. I did laugh about their mismatched uniforms though, haha.  I guess you get what you get when its a free program :)

Kevin, Tagg Petersen, Grant Hibbert, Ryan Hawkins, and Troy Richey

We ran a few errands after soccer one day and Brooke expressed interest in getting this bike for her birthday.  It was nearly $300. so I told her we'd probably look for something else. But "just in case", we took a picture to remember what it looked like. 

Kevin heard about an RV show happening at the AT&T Stadium, so that's how we spent our Saturday evening.  The kids loved all the trailers, but especially the ones with bunk beds. 

Oh, and we definitely had to make time for the inflatable slides and activities before we left!

We walked over to the Texas Live for dinner, and had to capture the view of the stadium before heading back to our parking spot.

The Stake Relief Society asked for a picture of our sisters, so this is the women who were in class that week :) It obviously isn't a great representation of our whole group because a lot of the women serve in Primary and Young Women, but I'm grateful for these women.

One Sunday, we headed up to Flower Mound after church to spend time with Grandma and Papa.  The big boat garage had just been repainted, so Kevin and I helped rehang all the pictures from their gallery wall.  We started this for their 40th wedding anniversary and it has become such a fun way to remember all the fun times we've had together on the water.

I didn't get a picture of Brooke helping Grandma organize her new hutch, but Colby sure loved helping Papa sand this old cabinet. 

I don't remember why I took this picture of Brooke's expander, but at least it's documented :)  We finished all the nightly cranking, but now she has to let it sit for 3 months so that the teeth don't try to move back to their old positions. The great news is that it hasn't fallen out after they finally cemented it in place. 

As I was sitting by Colby during the sacrament, I noticed that he had flipped to the back of the hymn book and was following the patterns for conducting music.  But my favorite part was that he was wearing his new CTR ring. 

Lunch date with my sweet girl after her orthodontist appointment.  It's nice to look back on these tender moments because we've had some not-so-tender moments this week as well. I honestly can't even remember what the issues were, but in the moment they felt very big frustrating.  

We went to Grandma and Papa's house again to celebrate a belated retirement for Papa with his friends from Wisconsin and another coworker (Sarah) and her family. 

The big girls all loved Sarah's baby and took turns holding her. 

Brooke, per usual, was wonderful with Emery and spent plenty of time pulling her around the yard in the wagon. 

As soon as Emery took notice of the empty go-kart, she went straight to it.  Brooke helped her get all settled, but Emery wasn't too pleased when she didn't get to actually ride it.  

My cute teammate for Kub :)

Looking at old photo albums together...

I am constantly telling Brooke how jealous I am of her natural highlights, so I took a picture of her beautiful pony tail to show her!

Once Colby learned about mine and Brooke's post-ortho lunch date, he started asking me for a special lunch date as well.  I didn't take him out of school, but I did bring him some lunch (probably McDonalds) and he was very excited to see me and hang out. 

Games after dinner!  I grew up playing a lot of games, so it's been really fun passing that tradition on to my kids.  It helps that they are also at a really great age for games requiring a higher level of skill and strategy.  

I can't quite believe how quickly the months are passing, but we are doing our best to fill the time with meaningful and productive activities.