life in february

Colby helped me make wonton soup from start to finish! He said his favorite part was grating the ginger, but unfortunately, he didn't like the finished product. Neither did Brooke, so that was a little frustrating, but I did enjoy the process with my little sous chef. 

It was Colby's turn to get a jaw expander, but poor kid had to get them on both top AND bottom.  He was a total champ and has adjusted quite nicely.  He was especially excited for a chocolate peanut butter smoothie, pudding, and applesauce.

The Young Women hosted a fashion show/pamper night for the Activity Day girls and Brooke was SO excited to attend.  She felt super cute with her curled hair and the necklace she made an hour before the event. 

I love my little glamour girl :)

Open House at Daulton was mid-February and the kids were both excited to showcase their work. My favorites for Colby: his clock monster, Statue of Liberty drawing, and "If I were President, I would make a national monument for Pokemon." 

Brooke was excited to share her story with us, especially since the characters were based off Barbie and Ken :)

She was also super proud of her posters, especially the one about the climate in New Mexico. 

We celebrated the 102nd day of school this year! Colby went with the "old" theme, but fourth grade did a 101 Dalmation theme. 

I was a proud mama as I watched these two give talks in primary today!  Brooke even wrote her talk all by herself. But it took about 10 attempts before I got a picture of them not squeezing the daylights out of each other. 

Selfie with my bud :)

Then Kevin pulled in, so he wanted a pic with his daddy!

Afternoon project: painting all the pieces of the 1960 Chevy kit.  Colby was super excited to finally work on this project (from his birthday last year), but I don't think he realized how labor intensive it was going to be. 

He even let Brooke join in on the fun...

I thoroughly enjoyed a lunch date with these beauties.  It's always so good to connect with these friends, I just wish we could do it even more frequently.  Seems like we always have so much to talk about!

Colby's teacher has a classroom Instagram account and although she doesn't post frequently, I always enjoy when she does.  It's good to see my little buddy involved in whatever task they are doing. 

We went to the Daulton Spirit Night at the Arlington Skatium and my kids had a blast.  I didn't even get a good picture of Colby because he was always speeding past me.  

Brooke is one of the tallest girls at school, but she looks like a shorty next to her friend, Ava. 

They did a few group games, but they were a little unorganized because you couldn't even tell what the guy was saying into the microphone, haha. 

Wacky Day at school...

Their coats covered half of their mismatched outfits, but trust me, they looked quite special. 

Kevin and I went to the Lifestyles Unlimited Expo, which meant that we got a very rare weekday lunch date during the break.  Kevin has been a member of Lifestyles for a few years now, and while our investments haven't quite panned out how we thought they would, we are still hopeful that all will work itself out.  At least, that's what we're praying for. 

Our kids LOVE to snuggle, so although I don't remember the details of this picture, I am not surprised in the least that they're snuggling :)

Brooke asked me to pitch to her one day, and after nearly being hit in the face with the ball a few times, I opted to wear her face mask! It was quite uncomfortable since my face is much bigger than her's, but it kept me protected for a short period of time.  

We had a morning softball practice for Brooke, then headed straight to In-N-Out for lunch. 

I don't love waking up for 9 AM church, but I do love having the whole afternoon together as a family.  We worked on Colby's truck kit again, played games, and watched The Chosen.  Oh, and apparently made blueberry critters with toothpicks.

Since we had school off for President's Day, I took the kids to the batting cages. Colby nearly got pegged with a 40 mph baseball, so that was terrifying, but it was fun while it lasted. 

We also hit up Andy's Frozen Custard for a treat.  

Our weather has been all over the place, but the kids enjoyed a beautiful afternoon doing chalk together. I just couldn't quite believe that they were back in shorts and t-shirts!

My kids have always loved doing science experiments, so that afternoon, I had a counter full of messy beakers, cups, and a tray of something that reminded me of Lucky Charms.

We celebrated Emery's 3rd birthday with a princess party at their house.  The kids picked out the fanciest purple dress for her and spent lots of time making her cute notes and pictures. 

She was in heaven being the star of the show with her sisters and cousins...

My kids know that slime is definitely a counter activity, and this kept them entertained forever!  They even pulled it out after school the next day as well.

It was another busy month, but I know it's just going to get busier when sport's practices ramp up!

the cowtown

As part of Brooke's plan to be the girl with the most miles in Daulton Dashers, she asked if we could participate in the Cowtown Race in Fort Worth.  Since Daulton has a team each year, their coach, Ms. Stapp, counts the 3 miles from the race towards their total. Since we wanted to fully support Brooke's goal, we agreed. Colby wasn't super excited about the idea at first, but once he learned that he would get a medal, he was all in!

We tried "training" with the kids for several weeks leading up to the race, but it was a little frustrating.  Brooke, the one who actually loves running, gave us quite a bit of attitude about running in the cold on Saturdays, which frustrated me since we were paying quite a bit of money in registration fees. Colby also frequently told me how much he hated running.  I noted his complaints, but told him that since he already committed, he had to run this one. 

I started getting so worried on Friday night because I had no idea how the streets would be marked off and if my kids were gonna be safe in a sea of strangers.  Was I just gonna let them run off and hope they made it back to the finish line? Kevin had similar worries, so he suggested we take our bikes and try to follow the trail as best we could.  It was a great plan and we were able to see our kids throughout the whole course.  Crisis averted!!  But man, there were a LOT of people in that race.  And even though it was a Kids 5K, parents were able to run alongside them, so we will definitely do that if we ever do this race again. 

The Daulton team, which really wasn't very big!

It was a cool, damp morning, but the kids didn't seem bothered by the weather. 

Brooke could've run the whole thing without stopping, but I thought it was really sweet that she stayed with Colby and ran/walked the whole course.  We talked to them both before the race about how it's an individual thing and they could go at their own pace, but I think they felt most comfortable staying together. 

I completely missed my kids coming across the finish line because I was trying to get through the crowd on my bike and the kids shocked me by running the last half mile without stopping!  But I was still so proud and Colby was pumped about the medal.  The back part of the wagon wheel actually turns, so the effort was definitely worth it in his mind!

So proud of these two for trying something new and accomplishing a goal!

Kevin secretly bought them huge stickers that said "Runner Girl" and "Runner Boy" while we were in the Expo Center, so he gifted those to the kids at the end of the race.

You know you're in Fort Worth when there are random cows and longhorn statues on every corner :)

We ended the fun with a stop at an amazing BBQ place called Hurtados. I opted for breakfast tacos, but Kevin really enjoyed this jalapeno popper :)