August was hotter than hot, but the kids begged Kevin to play baseball a few evenings after work.
Park time with my gymnast...
Last NOVA date of the summer!
We had a pool date with the Funderburks and the kids had a pretty epic water fight.
These girls love crafts, and Shawna planned a really fun activity for them. I loved seeing the personalization of each canvas.
I had to take a picture of my cute girl before bed. She was given this spa headband at a recent birthday party, and I love that she wears it to bed.
Lillard Intermediate School hosted a "Leopard Launch" for the upcoming 5th graders. Brooke was pretty nervous about being dropped off for three hours at her new school, but I assured her that she would do great. As soon as we got out of the car, she saw a girl from her class last year and lots of people that she knew on the way in. Both of our nerves were definitely eased and she had a great time. Oh, and she was super pumped to wear her new leopard platform sneakers!
While Brooke was at her school event, Colby and I hit up Chuck E. Cheese to redeem his summer reading program coupon. Of course, there was a catch and you had to buy food to use the coupon, so we left with some freshly made cotton candy. Arcades are not my thing, but it was really sweet to spend one on one time with my boy. And bonus, several games were working even without tokens, so it didn't feel like a super short visit.
He didn't actually use tokens on these vehicles, but he wanted a picture in all of them.
We've talked all summer about making taffy together, so we finally made it happen! The first batch was overdone, but tasted just like Werthers, so it was a win. The second batch was still a little hard, but my kids were obsessed. Watching them stretch the taffy brought back all sorts of summer memories of doing the same thing in my Nana's kitchen.
Spent the day at the water park with cousins, Auntie Mel Mel, and Grandma. Three of the major attractions were closed, but the kids still entertained themselves for over 6 hours!
The girls always wanna play Barbies, so Colby brought a ball and enjoyed playing catch with his Auntie, Emery, and a random boy that joined them.
We overslept and only had 1.5 hours on Saturday morning for our "Surf Sesh," but it was our best one yet!!
Brooke had her VERY best ride and I'm obsessed with these pics. She just looked SO happy!
Our HOA was selling seats in the all-you-can-eat section at the Rangers game, so you better believe that was a highlight for my kids. Colby's comment: "I can't believe how much soda you let us drink." Other highlights included the free wooden bats, Colby's amazing hits in the kids club, and several home runs with fireworks. Such a fun afternoon as a family.
Kevin was going through some old things his mom brought down from the attic and we were both impressed that he could still fit in his All-Star Little League jacket :)
The tooth fairy made a visit to our house after Brooke pulled out her own tooth.
Brooke's cute driveway drawing of our neighbor's dog, Benny.
We had a follow-up appointment with Dr. Saadeh and everything is looking good with Colby's tubes. We've had a few issues with ear infections this summer (most likely from the lake water), but overall, the tubes are doing their job.
When the grocery store stop turns into a photo op :) Can't believe these kids start school in ONE week!
We've heard about Living Spaces and their awesome free playground, so we decided to check it out. It's way too hot to play at parks outdoors, so this seemed like a better option.
We went straight from schedule pick-up to our last lake day of the summer. Brooke was happy to hang out with Beverly again, and when she kept asking to "hold baby," I placed Elizabeth on her lap and lovingly referred to them as the Triple Stack. The happiness didn't last long, but I did manage to snap a quick picture.
The Hibbert's inflatable "Chill Island" was a bit hit!
We spent one afternoon at the Perot Museum, but stopped to play before we headed in. Brooke really wanted to wear her cowgirl boots with her new flare pants, but semi-regretted it when she came home with blisters. She's officially outgrown the boots Maddy Sturgill gave her, but wants to keep them for her "future daughter."
The second experiment involved bones, rocks, kinetic sand, and an anthropology mystery.
The truth behind this beautiful photo: my kids were fighting as we tried to head out the door to meet Kevin at the lake, so I delayed our departure and made them go wash the patio windows. My summer motto has been, "If there's time to fight, there's time to clean." They were not pleased, but I was sticking to it!
It's been a long time since we've been to Hawaiian Falls on a Saturday, but when our friends (who moved away last year) got passes for the day and asked for friends to join them, we definitely made it happen.
Dad crew: Joe, Tagg, and Kevin (Photo-bombers: Elias and Griffin)
The kids took turns at Grandma and Papa's house so I could take them on one-on-one dates. Colby wanted to use the Legoland pass he earned through the summer reading program. He also requested McDonalds since he saw a sign in the window about free BTS Happy Meals (which are actually only from 4-8 PM).
I figured I should include the picture he took of me because he was sure we needed a pic of my tiny Lego creation.
Grandma met us in the parking lot of McDonalds to make the change, and Brooke and I headed to Sea Life Aquarium. The guitar fish are so crazy and always kinda creep my out, but we loved watching the sting rays, jelly fish, and seahorses.
My girl was a little hesitant at the touch pools, but eventually touched the different sea stars and anemones. The lighting was super blue in this area, which made her blue and purple hair extensions really pop.
Brooke wanted to document her cute dollhouse that she's been setting up all week. I love to see her creativity and love for all things Barbie because it reminds me of my childhood. I recently read an article about how kids are losing their ability to play, but thankfully that doesn't apply to my Brookie.
Every member of the family has a cute, color-coordinated bedroom.
I had a hair appointment the first week of school, so I reached out to Danielle and Andreia to see if they were free for lunch. I always love catching up with these girls.
Brooke left her water bottle in the car one morning, and although she would've been okay without it, I decided to surprise her for lunch and bring it. I was just hoping that she wouldn't be embarrassed and I don't think she was.
Colby likes to be right at the door to hug Brooke when she comes out, and I enjoy watching from afar...
I'm crushing on Brooke's love for skirts and bubble braids :)
My first day went great, but I could've done without the dead car battery that afternoon. Thankfully Kevin was able to rescue me so I could go do the afternoon pick-ups, but it was a whole ordeal getting the new battery that evening. It was 109 degrees that day and Kevin and I were literally dripping sweat while the kids sat in the AC. Fall can't come soon enough!
We ended our first full week of school at the lake. It was still ridiculously hot, but bearable once the sun went down. As Kevin and I relaxed, we listened and watched as our kids did a million jumps and flips into the lake. But as the light started to disappear, our not-so-little ones just sat there talking. I have no idea what they were talking about for so long, but it was really sweet to watch. It was definitely a moment of gratitude for my family.
Colby came home from school with this adorable picture of him mowing the lawn. I think the prompt was something they did over the summer, and apparently learning to mow the lawn was memorable. What can I say, he loved earning money :)
Colby sang with a pack of boys at his friend's (Frost Richey) baptism and it was the sweetest thing to witness. Colby was nervous, but he did a great job. Now he's thinking about who he wants to sing at HIS baptism.
Brooke and Kevin attended a Daddy-Daughter activity for the Stake. It was a western theme (obviously) and Brooke had her outfit planned for weeks. Kevin found some used boots on FB Marketplace that morning, and after several hours of waiting and stalling after driving to North Dallas, the boots were his. Best part: they gave us the boots for free since the whole pick-up experience was ridiculous.
Brooke and Marlie
One of the crafts was a cute frame for their sweet photo.
I cut Colby's hair every two weeks, and the day I forgot to use the cape, I told Colby he looked like a hairy wolf. Then he wanted a picture :)
I went out to lunch with my friend Chelsea and her sweet baby girl. I don't see her as much now that we don't work in RS together, so it was really nice to catch up and hear Lyla's birth story.
Figured I should officially document my second day back to work with a parking lot picture.
All went well on Tuesday, but Thursday was a "security hold" where I couldn't pull students and had to remain in my classroom. They gave me zero information about what went down, only that "everything was safe" after an hour and a half of waiting. During that time, I was so on edge wondering if this was an active shooter situation. I could see a police car in the parking lot, but I didn't hear anything else alarming. I called Kevin, who told me I should just leave. I didn't feel comfortable with that plan either, so I stayed put. After about an hour, someone came and knocked on my classroom door. The door wasn't locked, and I had no idea who it was. I was silent for a few seconds, and they knocked again. I said, "Yes?", but nobody responded. I could see their shadow under the door and it wasn't moving away. I was super scared, but I went closer to the door. In hindsight, that wasn't a smart move, but they knocked again and again I said, "Yes?" The person asked for Ms. Johnson, whose classroom I use, so I opened the door. I didn't recognize the man standing there, but since nobody wears name badges, I had no idea if he was a faculty member or if he should've been at the school. This was also the same day that I found out about the threats against Brooke, so I was seriously questioning the safety of my kids and myself in the school environment.
Over the weekend, I sent an email to the Vice Principal because I didn't feel comfortable going back to work when I wasn't given any context to the hold and wasn't sure how often that sort of thing occurred. She responded right away and apologized for how everything was handled. She told me that for privacy issues she couldn't tell me names, but basically a student had threatened another student, which they took very seriously. In the 11 years that this administrator had been at the school, this was the first time something of this nature occurred, which was all the information I needed. I didn't need details about students, but I was able to voice my concerns about doors that don't lock properly and the fact that nobody wears a name badge.
I went back to work on Tuesday, where I was met by the teacher in charge of the safety plan. He added me to the teacher/staff text group and had a folder all ready for me with information regarding their safety procedures. I was happy with how they handled my email, so I felt okay about continuing on as planned.
The kids have been begging me to go play at Lillard's playground after school, but since it's still been nearly 100 all week, I made them wait until after dinner when it was slightly cooler.
It's still kinda weird to take my kids to two different schools each day, but I managed to get a cute pic of them together while we waited for a friend to arrive.
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