Spring 2023

'Tis the season to frolic and roll through fields of wild flowers!

 Sarah & Matt visited over their Spring Break, and brought our amazing niece and nephew Levi and Naomi! Levi spotted our chess game and was into playing.

PATIO PLAY TIME

 

                                                    Naomi was into Real Kitty

hehe

We heated the pool for a fun time.

Sarah had to try the local craw fish- Ew? Yum?

Houston Children's Museum was the best!

 

                                                            Lifting Levi with Pulleys!

 

We took a ride on the miniature steamer, choo choo!

Happy Easter! The girls had a 17-point scavenger hunt for their baskets and eggs to find outside.

We had Easter dinner at a friend's house.

Lovely day for a cafe

The Stallion Singers had a great experience singing the national anthem for the Space Cowboys

The kids got a kick out of high-fiving the players.

"Oh say, can you see..."

Cheering and fireworks at the end

Yoga in the park with Lydia on Earth Day

The raft still works!

glad they all got in the pool the first day-was a stormy week

39 Candles

                                                Mrs. Applewhite is the sweetest!

Mom/Grandma Linda was in town to see both Abby & Lydia in concert!

Abby's 5th Grade Horseshoe!

Treble Choir's Pop Concert

Megan, Lydia, Charlotte

Mrs. Bouley has been amazing.  Mrs. Kolb chose Lydia as student of the year!

Abby is going to miss the 5th grade choir!

5th Grade Water Party

Lydia sang Rainbow for her recital and said good bye to Joe. She improved this year, sounded beautiful in her middle voice, and gave a great performance! So proud of her!

Soon after, Grandma Jan visited!

Gma Jan was here to see Abby do her 5th grade walk with friend Izzy. Gma Jan was also a saint to help them start packing for our Europe trip.

 

Over Memorial Day weekend we had friends over and the girls did a wave dive.

Here's Lydia's Rodeo Sunflower!

Also notable this spring, the girls have kicked off their babysitting and dog sitting careers in the neighborhood.

An early Happy Father's Day breakfast.

Rodeo & Brazos Bend

This is the girls' first rodeo!

  

They enjoyed the animals (llamas, pig, herding dogs, Xtreme diving dogs, freshly hatched chicks)

Climbing up the stadium and seeing more people than they ever had in one place!

The rodeo, the roping, bareback bronc riding, barrel racing, scramble, mutton bustin'

then the show: Zac Brown Band. Abby was so happy to experience the cell phone lights during her first concert.

2-nights camping Brazos Bend

Shelter #11 had awesome green space!

No tent set up was a treat!

The weather was cool in the morning and warmed up in the afternoon.

We were free to explore the area and a very active playground on bike and foot.

We hiked alligator (Elm) lake, walked by trees draped in spanish moss, and touched a baby alligator in the nature center.

Lydia on the grill making crepes!

Roasting hot dogs and s'mores!

catching the beautiful sunset from the tower.

Abby unlocked Age 11!

A few games to get our minds in detective mode 🕵️‍♀️ 

Ben drove the friends over to a Wizards & Dragons escape room. With hints along the way, they solved the secret spell and unlocked the door.

They all did so great and were excited to announce that they escaped!

Savannah, Abby, Tegan, Mallory

Abby picked: big chocolate cake, strawberry buttercream and chocolate curls 😁

Fun outside in the warm weather.

Her day, her way. 

On her birthday, I joined her for lunch at school with a Ham Subway sandwich and for dinner she made Taco Pizza! Gifts, cards, phone calls and learning to ride her new hoverboard! 

This year she is cheerful, confident and shining like a star 🌟 

Life holds many gifts, but nothing more precious than the gift of having this daughter to love.

HAPPY 11th BIRTHDAY

Lydia's a Teenager! Birthday Interview

 Lydia Marie    Age: 13     5'1''

Favorite Color? Teal

Favorite Toy? Uh... phone

Favorite Superhero? Black Panther

Favorite Fruit? Blackberries

Favorite Vegetable? Bell Pepper

Favorite Breakfast? Avocado Toast or Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Favorite Cereal? Honey Bunches of Oats/Only one I'll eat

Favorite Lunch? Pasta

Favorite Dinner? Pasta

Favorite Drink? ICE sparkling or Fruit Punch Capri Sun

Favorite Snack? Pizza Rolls

Favorite Restaurant? Gringo's or Chick-Fil-A

Favorite TV Show? Right now, Miraculous Cat Noir

Favorite Movie? Something on Disney+

Favorite Actor/Actress? Zendaya

Favorite Song? Changes day to day-Can I do a playlist?-Everyday Comfort on YouTube

Favorite Singer/Band? Miley Cyrus

Favorite Book? Love & Gelato

Favorite Book Series? The One, The Selection

Favorite Outfit? Leggings & Hoodie or "Indoorsy" shirt

Favorite Game? SushiGo

Favorite Sport? "Next"

Favorite Animal? Sea Turtle, Flamingo, small moon jellyfish

Favorite Place to Go? Grandma Jan's

Favorite Thing to Do? Paint

Favorite Subject? Choir, Math

Favorite Stuffed Animal? Twigs/Bows (giraffe), BunBun, Ellie, Blue Blanket

Favorite Day of the Week? Saturday

Favorite Month? September

Favorite Season? Sping, La Primavera

Favorite Holiday? Christmas

Who is Your Best Friend? Megan, Natalie, Madi

Who Do You Like to Play With? Megan, Abby, Natalie, Sumiyah

What Makes You Happy? Glitter, Glowsticks, Sequins

What Scares You? Spiders, Wasps, Fireworks, Sparklers

What Makes You Sad? When people Yell at me

What Do You Wish For? Love

What is Your Favorite Memory? Me and Natalie laughing on the gym floor for 10 minutes with tears of Joy

What do you Want to be when You Grow Up? Teacher or Doctor

Dislikes? Sports

What is Your Favorite Memory as a 12 Year Old? see above

What is you Favorite Present this Year? Phone case

What are you looking Forward to this Year? Regional Choir

BEN

He’s always up for teaching his kids a valuable skill.

He’s a loyal husband and friend.

He’s got a cookies & cream ice cream cake for his birthday.

And he’s gonna enjoy his last year of thirty-something! ;)