Brooke was the only girl again at Daulton Dashers, but she did't seem to care! I actually think she secretly likes it :) After signing her in, I got back in the car to drive home, then had the thought that I should go back in and watch for a few minutes. I'm glad I did because I loved seeing her confident, happy smile as she ran around that gym.
Kevin had his last session of Rookies at the beginning on April and even played in a pickup game that morning. We went to show our support, but I made the mistake of wearing sandals and it was freezing inside! I'm not sure why I didn't think of that since it's an ice rink, haha, but I was definitely not prepared.
Our semi-annual conference campout usually gets its own post, but I didn't take near as many pictures this year, so I'm throwing them in the April post. We started this tradition when Brooke was a baby and we all love it. Such a great time to be with family, camp, and be uplifted by the messages shared from our prophet and other church leaders.
We always love roasting marshmallows at the end of the night!
All ready for bed and waiting for the adults so they could head out to the tents :)
All tucked in for the night. I didn't sleep well at all, but I guess that's part of camping, right?
Brooke and Aubrey did each others hair the next morning...
Sweet cousins...
Brooke and Emery are best buddies, and we all laughed when Emery insisted on pushing Brooke around on the Little Mermaid ride-on.
Sunday Vibe: Coloring, candy, snuggles, and quiet listening to the conference messages. Colby informed me that his "favorite thing about Conference Campout is the candy, the camping, and the cousins."
The kids did a pretty good job of listening quietly during all the sessions of conference, but I definitely think they would get more out of it if they were listening at home and not wanting to go play with their cousins, haha. We've talked about how long we will keep this tradition going because it's also pretty busy with all the food and camping activities, but it's been fun while it's lasted.
Lots of snuggles...
Colby was invited to a birthday party for his twin friends (Nathan and Jackson) at KidStrong in Mansfield. He LOVED all the movement and active play.
I ordered the Eggmazing Egg Decorator and we were all loving the creative outlet. In my opinion, this was WAY better than dying eggs the old fashioned way.
One of my old Young Women, Rafaella Ghio, invited me to her "Decision Day" at the AT&T Stadium. Basically, the students were announcing where they plan on attending college. It was a pretty long event for all the students that attend the different Uplift Infinity campuses, but I was glad that I was able to attend. Rafi seemed excited to have me there, and I sat by her family and a few friends so it made the time more enjoyable.
Since Joanna and I always chat after school, these kids have learned to just entertain themselves, even if the only thing nearby is a utility box. I just love their friendship so much!
Brooke's backpack literally fell off one afternoon as we walked to the car thanks to a busted strap, so we had to go right after school to buy her a new one. This cute checkered one with daisies seemed perfect for my girl.
Loved the spring afternoons in our backyard and his crazy faces, haha.
Colby was pretty grumpy one afternoon and kept getting upset with Brooke, so I recruited him to help cook dinner. Problem solved :)
Career Day at school with Dr. Meador...
Apparently she was the only third grader that dressed up, but she owned it. I mean, when you have a personalized lab coat, it only makes sense to wear it, right? I guess they took her pic with a nurse that came for career day because they were matching in their lab coats and stethoscopes.
We decided to buy a new trampoline because our old one was falling apart. By the time we would've ordered all the parts than needed replacing, it made more sense to just sell our old trampoline for $100 and put that money towards a brand new one.
The new one doesn't feel quite as springy as the last one, but it's a little bigger and nice and clean, so that's a win in my book.
We finally had time to do our annual boat detailing so we can get that thing back to the Marina. Colby was my number one helper with the floor of the boat, and Brooke performed lots of detailing on the exterior with Papa. By hour 3 the kids were losing interest, but we encouraged them to stick with it and they did (with minimal grumbling.)
We even installed the new bimini top and cover, which looked amazingly black compared to the old ones.
The final task of the afternoon was hanging up Papa's new "Texas Mastercraft" sign in the garage.
Lunch/recess duty with my dude! I can't believe he's almost done with his kindergarten year! (Side not: Notice how my phone blurred out my crazy hair? The wind in Texas has been insane. I honestly don't remember it ever being this crazy before.)
Ridge and Colby...
Despite the wind, the afternoons have been beautiful. Brooke has definitely outgrown her bike, but it's just so cheerful!
While the boys were off playing football one Saturday morning, Brooke and I went for a walk/jog. I was enjoying the never-ending chatter when we thought we saw Kevin driving down the street. We started waving, only to find out it wasn't Kevin. We were cracking up and I just loved that moment with my girl. It might seem like a silly moment to document, but the carefree laughter was good for my soul. As well as the fresh air.
The skies were very moody, but we enjoyed feeding the ducks and turtles once we made it over to the pond.
When they got home, we went on a family adventure and rode 4.5 miles along the Walnut Creek Linear Trail. The kids had a few fights about who got to lead the pack, but overall, it was a great afternoon.
We even found a cute little green snake! I was very tempted to pick it up, but since I had no idea what kind of snake it was, Kevin advised me to leave it alone.
One Sunday, as I opened the door in the church parking lot, I saw that Colby was rocking his new sunglasses. I tried to get a pic before he pulled the glasses off and it totally looks staged. The Easter Bunny really knocked it out of the park with those shades.
Hanging out on Daddy's new-ish truck before we headed out to buy Brooke a new bike. She's had her eye on that pink/black bike at Walmart that was priced at $280, so when I saw the exact same bike on NextDoor for $100, we decided to get her an early birthday present.
Play dates with friends who just so happen to have an adorable puppy (and were puppy-sitting their puppy's brother).
Friday afternoon was spent at the library. Brooke was excited to find a Babysitter's Club graphic novel to read, and has since read it like 3 times cover-to-cover. Colby found a stack of book, then wanted to play games on the computer and check out the toys that haven't been out since Covid ruined everything.
Nothing like a Saturday afternoon boat ride with Papa...
The water was a chilly 70 degrees, but that didn't stop these kids from playing in the water. Thank goodness for wetsuits, haha. And by some miracle, Brooke still fit into Kevin's old wetsuit. It is starting to come apart at the seams, but hopefully it will last a bit longer for her.
The kids LOVE to ride in the bow, but once in a while Kevin and I get a turn up there as well :)
Oh, and Colby wanted to drive the boat with me and kept doing donuts! He has a need for speed and loves doing crazy things. I will definitely have Kevin teach him to drive, haha.
