K & K Meador (+2): life in april

Brooke started off the month by attending Evie Funderburk's 12th birthday party. It was technically a sleepover, but since we don't do sleepovers (much to my kids' disappointment), I picked Brooke up around 10:30 that night.

Evie and her school friends are into theatre, so apparently they did a little Shakespearean role play. Brooke had a great time, but I got a good laugh out of the picture Mandy sent me.

While Brooke was at the party, I took Colby to the Daulton Glow Dance, where he ran around like a crazy kid. He was incredibly sweaty by the end, but it was fun to see him so happy.

I was released from the Relief Society Presidency, and although I will miss working closely with Shawna Anderson and Melanie Danielson, I welcomed the change. Sometimes the calling felt heavy to constantly be worrying about people. I know that learning to 'mourn with those that mourn" is part of our divine mission here upon the earth, but it felt difficult at times. There are still people that I worry about and pray for continually, but having a different mantel felt refreshing.

During one of our first activities, I had the girls write notes of thanks to the leader who was released. Sister Sanford served as Activity Day leader for several years and was a great fit for that group of girls. She loved all things crafty and baking and was extremely patient with them. I dropped off the card after activity days with a bouquet of flowers, and although she wasn't home when I dropped them off, she later sent me this picture and expressed appreciation for the gesture.

Sunday dinner at Grandma and Papa's ended in milkshakes...

I spent Good Friday just hanging out with my littles :) And although we're in baseball/softball season, they kept asking to play soccer together. Notice how Colby is in a t-shirt and I'm in my winter coat?? I'm definitely turning into my mom, haha.

They're definitely getting a little too big for the airplane, but that's been a staple at the park since they were tiny!

The kids didn't have games one Saturday, but we still found ourselves outside for hours playing soccer, catch, pitching, and cleaning the boat cover.

Nay Nay and Papa sent the kids sweet Easter cards and some money, which they were all too thrilled about.

We finished up the cover in time to go for our first boat ride of the season. Naturally, we invited the Hawkins family to join us.

We had enough wetsuits for all the kids that wanted to get in, and Colby officially moved up to Kevin's childhood wetsuit. It's starting to rip up the back along the seams, but there's a lot of history with that wetsuit. And just look at the beautiful water!

I guess he jumped in later WITHOUT the wetsuit...

We always joke that one sign of a great boat outing is how many life jackets are hanging up to dry. Well, this outing definitely qualified as a good one. The boat cover will also not look this clean again until next Spring when we clean it again, so I had to document. Those darn ducks won't stay off of it and they leave their dropping everywhere as evidence of their visits.

Lunch dates with my littles will always be one of my favorite things!

And Colby needed to document his new lunchbox. We don't own any video games, but I'm still fun if I buy him the lunchbox, right?

I helped decorate the 4th grade hall for their STAAR practice last week. The teachers were the masterminds behind it all, but it was fun to be part of it. These kids are honestly so lucky because their teachers are always going above and beyond to make their experiences special. Each teacher decked out their rooms with neon and black lights and had special stations with games and reviews to help them prepare.

Colby was invited to Logan Funderburk's birthday party at a Nerf arena and he was beyond excited. It was basically a little boy's paradise with all the Nerf guns and unlimited ammo. I still am not a big fan of them because I don't like hearing all the gun talk, but I recognize that it is a pretty common thing for kids to play with. Which I guess is part of the reason I don't like it. It just seems all too common to talk about shooting people when we live in a world where wicked people do just go around shooting people with a complete disregard for the sanctity of life. But I agreed to take Colby to the party and allow him to participate, even though I knew it would mean having to answer ALL the same questions again about why I don't want Nerf guns in our house.

Brooke chose to wear her baptism dress to church one day and I about died when I realized that her baptism was nearly TWO years ago. Time is seriously a thief!

I hate that Kevin always misses the Sunday Selfies, but he's usually gone before us and gets home later, so this just isn't his season to be in the pictures.

Colby was feeling yucky Sunday night, but after 15 hours of sleep and some dry heaving, he started to feel better! We were sad to miss his baseball game on Monday night, but he ended the evening with a fudgsicle and trampoline time, so I'd say he's doing better.

Brooke is still going strong with Daulton Dashers and I'm super proud of her commitment and dedication. She definitely prefers to run outside rather than being stuck in the gym, so this Spring weather has been perfect.

Colby had his ENT follow-up in Southlake with Dr. Saadeh and his ears look great. Both tubes are still in place, which means that we'll just check back again in 6 months.

Before taking Colby back to school, we grabbed some lunch and had a car picnic. He was so happy to miss a few hours of school.

Whenever I get my hair done, my mom always wants to see a picture, hence the car selfie. I feel like the most difficult client because something always so wrong with the toner and I have to awkwardly say something to my stylist, but she is usually able to fix it, which is a relief.

We had a planning session with the Activity Day girls since I wanted their input on future activities. I also had them write their names next to something they wanted to teach the group.

I went shopping for cruise outfits and really loved these pants that I found...

We planned to go for a boat ride one Saturday, but it was SO windy and a little chilly. So, we decided to call the marina and find out if the slip next to us had been renewed. They confirmed our suspicions that it was abandoned, so we cleared a bunch of junk, reorganized the furniture they left behind, and will most definitely enjoy the extra space until it's taken over.

Brooke commented that she felt like Cinderella sweeping the deck, but they were both great helpers!

Jerry had a few surgeries this year, and after one of the surgeries, he stayed in a rehabilitation center that was part of UT Southwestern. He was there for 6 weeks (or longer?), so we tried to visit every Sunday. Sometimes we would coordinate our visit with the Peacocks so we could have family time together in the lobby. They didn't let children up to the rooms, and since they sometimes needed Kevin or Jeff to assist in getting Jerry downstairs, the lobby visits made the most sense. During one visit, Aubrey did Brooke's hair and Emery was rocking Brooke's headband. I was always impressed with the kids' ability to entertain themselves when we stayed for hours.

The visits were good for Papa's soul :)

Coach John opted for practice at DBat so the girls could get more experience hitting off faster pitches, and since Zalaya needed a ride, I made the girls pose for a picture. It's always more fun to show up to practice with your friend.

During our planning session a few weeks prior, the girls expressed interest in having a spa night. Since Brooke learned how to make sugar hand scrubs at the RS event we hosted at our house, she wanted to teach the girls how to make the scrubs. We also painted nails, then finished off the night with hairstyles.

Brooke was so busy helping with other people's hair so she barely had time for a few tiny braids, but they were all feeling quite fancy.

The sun was out, which meant that we went on a beautiful weeknight boat ride. Before we even left the slip, Colby had his shirt off and informed me that he was "working on his tan." He's gonna be cruise ready!

The hand heart was totally Brooke's idea, and I can't help but love Colby's squinty eyes. This is most definitely our happy place.

First stop: the gas pump

We had a great time at the lake and even had a surprise visit from a mama duck and her 14 babies.

I wasn't sure if this was going to be the last day of Daulton Dashers, so I made sure to get a picture. Brooke completed 25 miles this year and I couldn't be more proud! She wanted SO badly to get the award for the most miles, and although I was under the impression that they gave an award for the girl in each grade with the most miles, Brooke started worrying that it was only one girl in the whole club. Well, the suspense was killing me, so I decided to email the teacher regarding the end of year awards and she confirmed that it's only one girl and one boy from the whole club. Sadly, a third grade girl had 28 miles, which meant that Brooke wouldn't get the award. We were both pretty bummed, but I tried to remain positive about how much she had accomplished throughout the year.

I made cookies for Colby's baseball coaches to thank them for all their time and dedication to the team. We really have been SO happy with Coach Brett and the other dads who are at every single practice to help. Kevin wishes he could be one of the helpers as well, but his work schedule just doesn't allow it.

We made another visit to the marina and Brooke took selfies while I used the restroom, haha. She's the silliest, but I just love her to pieces.

The YW held their annual fundraiser for camp, and while Brooke played on the playground with friends, Colby played with his newly re-discovered beyblades with some of the other boys.

The pool opened early this year, and I nearly peed my pants laughing as I saw Colby take off towards the park/pool with his snorkel mask on. I can't say that I've ever seen a kid swinging with a full-face snorkel, haha.

It was only in the upper 60's, hence Brooke's need for a wetsuit...

Brooke asked me to twin with her one Sunday, so I happily obliged. That skirt won't fit her for long, so we better twin while we can :)

The boys didn't care about getting a picture, so I took an unofficial one on the way into the hospital to visit Papa. Notice the sweatshirts and water bottles? Like father, like son.

I already mentioned Colby's recent obsession with beyblades, but he even asked the missionaries to play with him while they were here for dinner. It was pretty cute because both Elders said they played with them as kids as well.