life in april

We enjoyed a beautiful General Conference weekend, which meant watching hours of inspiring and Christ-centered messages from the prophet and other church leaders.  We didn't make cinnamon rolls like we usually do, but opted for cinnamon roll coffee cake instead.  That was definitely the wrong decision because it wasn't nearly as good, so Colby begged to make pretzels that afternoon.  And guess what? They were delicious and definitely worth the extra effort. 

The Solar Eclipse was on a Monday, and since we were in the path of totality, the district purchased glasses for every student to participate!  I planned on going outside just before my teletherapy speech session, but when I noticed it getting darker in the house, I looked outside to see neighbors gathering in the lawn across from our house.  I decided to go outside and join the Hawkins family and I honestly felt a little bad that I hadn't thought to keep my kids home so I could experience the eclipse WITH them. 

During the few minutes of totality, the sky turned dark, street lights turned on, solar lights illuminated, the wind changed, and you would never have imagined it was 1:40 in the afternoon. Such a cool experience!!

Colby made the class Instagram page, so at least I had a picture of him experiencing it.

Also from the class Instagram account...

Colby is SO close to earning his 20 mile charm at Daulton Dashers!  I'm super proud of his dedication.  And I'm loving his new blue shoes!!

I look gigantic in my cozy jacket, but I have to post about the sweet stake activity that Brooke and I attended together.  The theme was "We Are Daughters of God" and everything was so beautifully done!  We enjoyed listening to a few speakers, picked out tiaras, then crafted together.  Unfortunately we had to miss lunch to get to Brooke's soccer game, but we loved our time and were grateful for all the effort that went into the activity. 

Meanwhile, the boys attended the Father/Son Fishing Day at our community pond.  It was very well-attended (crowded, haha), so Kevin took Colby over to the marina and they fished in our slip.  I called to check on how they were doing and in that moment, Colby felt a nibble and caught his first (and only) fish of the day.  To say that he was excited would be an understatement :) Just look at that smile!!

One day we went to pick up our boat seats from the upholstery shop in Fort Worth.  Kevin had to stop and use the bathroom at Whataburger and it somehow turned into milkshakes for everyone, haha. I joked with Brooke that she looked like an employee with all that orange :)

The Young Women invited the Activity Day girls to join them for a "pampering" night.  Brooke enjoyed herself and is excited to join them in January!

I was able to rearrange my work schedule to chaperone Colby's second grade field trip to the Fort Worth Zoo.  At the parent meeting that morning, I reconnected with Noelle's mom and we planned to keep our little groups together at the zoo.  Such sweet kiddos!

My kids have always LOVED feeding the giraffes...

I had the best day with Colby!  I loved our time at the zoo, our ice cream date right after, and walking around Tyler's with him.  But parenting isn't always that easy.  The next day was a really hard parenting day and I shed quite a few tears at the end of it.  But a few days later, when emotions settled, all was well again.  (Posting thing a few days after the fact reminded me of my old mantra that there is no such thing as perfect children or perfect parents, only perfect moments.

An impromptu afternoon water gun fight with our neighbors, Kayla and Annayiah.  I wish Spring would last forever!!

A very belated birthday lunch to celebrate Andreia's birthday!!  Friends for 17 years and counting.  I really feel SO grateful for these friends and the support and love they have always shown towards me.

I think this picture was from a night we had the missionaries for dinner.  Brooke was in charge of setting the table and she was feeling creative :) We try to have them over once a month and we always enjoy having them in our home.

Colby put in a lot of work this week preparing for his baseball game.  He used Brooke's weighted balls and tee from her softball days and I think it really helped :)

We planned an "outdoor game" activity for the Activity Day girls, and since the boys didn't have an activity for some reason, we let the boy siblings of our girls join in on the fun.

Springtime is for chalk art...

The last day of Daulton Dashers was spent playing dodgeball and eating donuts.  Colby was disappointed that he "only ran 22 miles", but he's already talking about how many miles he can get next year!  Way to go, buddy!  I'm super proud of what he accomplished.

Colby's newest obsession: wall ball.  He plays every day after school and then begs us to play together as a family.  He even convinced Brooke to leave her painting project to come and join the fun. 

Impromptu bike ride around the neighborhood to end our Saturday evening.  We just can't get rid of the chopper, haha.  Colby was the first one to pull it out of the garage, but then Brooke wanted to ride it out along England Parkway, haha. 

Brooke was really loving her new outfit, so nobody complained about a Sunday picture.  Love these two so much!!

That's a wrap on April :)  I have learned that May is insane with all the end-of-year and end-of-season activities, so I am gearing up for the madness and fun!!