Spring Break 2016 Part 2

Monday and Tuesday were pretty normal with the 4 kids.  We went to the YMCA each morning and had lunch with B.  We went to story-time at the library and played games together.
Wednesday started off normal and we went to the YMCA but then B texted me and said he wanted to leave Wednesday after work to head to OK.  He said we could make it to Dallas and get a hotel.  He was just ready to get out of town and I didn't blame him.  So I texted Mary, the woman who keeps Cooper, and asked if we could bring Cooper a day early.  She agreed, so after lunch I ran home and tried to pack.  Suzan came over with Joe and Faith so the kids could play a little.  Once B came home we packed up the car and took off, first dropping Cooper off, then heading North to Dallas.  I texted Uncle Waldon, since he lives outside of Dallas and he said we could stay with him.  He was the best host.  We arrived around 11:00 pm and he welcomed us in with beds already made for us.  Thursday morning he made us breakfast and played cards with the kids while we waited out a hail storm.  It was pretty crazy and the kids have never seen hail before.

Storm has a few dents, but nothing terrible.  I think we got back on the road around 10:00 am and made our way to Edmond, OK.  Our first stop in OK was at Carol's house to pick up the Cadillac that my mom bought from her.

B drove the Cadi and I drove Storm to meet his parents at Raisin' Canes for a late lunch.  They know Canes is one of my favorite places to eat.  After eating, we walked to the Great Clips down the street so B and the kids could get hair cuts.  W decided he wanted a mohawk like A so now he has a cute style.  Since everyone was looking good with their new do's, we went to the mall to take our annual Easter Bunny picture. 

While at the mall, we were tempted to just take the kids to see Zootopia, but I was afraid I would fall asleep so we thought it was better to just head home.  We fed the kids a snack and then gave them a bath before putting them to bed.  We hung out with P/V for a while and talked before heading to bed around midnight.
Friday morning we all ate cereal and then headed out for the day to meet Cousin Robin Hantla for lunch.  She works in Edmond, so we first went by her job to see her show room then ate at a sandwich place called City Bites.

It was a cute little shop and I'd definitely go there again.  After lunch we made our way to the Cowboy and Indian Museum, which is a place B had been wanting to take our kids.  He was excited about sharing this part of OK history with them since living in NC, they've heard nothing of Cowboys and Indians.

  We stayed until they closed at 5:00 then went home and made dinner.
 V made her mac & cheese and we had veggies & fruit as sides.  The kids enjoyed playing with B and Papaw in their backyard and their new fence looked really nice.  Friday was coming to a close, but it had been a really fun day together.
Saturday morning we had bowling reservations at 11:00 in Bricktown, so we went to see the Land Run statues first.  The kids were very impressed with the Land Run, especially because B just told them about it the previous day at the museum.  Bowling was a lot of fun and even E bowled by herself.  She was the cutest thing running up there with the 6 lb bowling ball.

  After bowling we ate lunch at Fuzzy Taco's, another new place, and I'd eat there again.  There's actually a Fuzzy's near the Fort Bend YMCA so if we want to go, we know that we like it.  We were all pretty tired so after eating lunch, we headed home and the kids stayed with V so B and I could run to the store for food for dinner to make Chicken Caesar Salad and some snacks for our ride home on Sunday.  After all the eating out, we welcomed a nice salad for dinner.  The kids watched a little of Tinkerbell before heading to bed, and we were not that far behind them since we had an 8 hour drive the following day.
Before getting on the road, we ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel and it was delicious.  I had forgotten how much I enjoy Cracker Barrel.  I usually request Golden Corral for my mother's day breakfast, but maybe this year, I'll ask for Cracker Barrel.  Before leaving CB, V bought "The Sound of Music" for us so we could watch it on the way home.  I was happy about that movie choice because I was tired of listening to Sid the Science Kid and Princess Sofia.  B drove the Cadillac and he followed me.  We talked on the phone a lot and made several stops.  I had a cooler full of snacks to minimize food stops as well.  We did take an hour to stop at Falls Creek so B could show the kids where he went to church camp every summer.

It seemed like a very cool place for church camp.  We also made a bad choice of stopping at a Buc-ee's which took over an hour because of all the PEOPLE!!!  We will NEVER stop at that Buc-ee's again during day time.  I think we finally made it home around 7:00 pm and we ate dinner then put the kids to bed.  Since this was the end of spring break, R/A had school the following morning and B had to head into work.  Only W/E and I had the luxury to be lazy and take naps when we were tired.  All in all, it was good to have some normalcy again, but our spring break was fantastic family fun time. 

VBS 2016 Submerged

Last year I volunteered at VBS and my kids had a great time.  This year I was asked to be one of the preschool directors and I LOVED it.  If they want me to help out again, I would say yes in a heartbeat.  I had such a great time and I felt like it was an opportunity to get more plugged in at SCBC.

BLA station 1

BLA station 2

BLA station 3

 Melinda Phillips asked me plan the Bible Learning Activities & the entry activities for the preschool classes.  She also asked me if I had time, if I could plan some toddler crafts for the younger kids since they don't have a specific craft time.  I was sort of going into this blindly because I hadn't done anything like this before but I enjoyed it because I'm a teacher and I know how to plan a lesson.  Before VBS, the leadership team had a few meetings and we, as a preschool team, had to meet a few times on our own.  I worked closely with Erin and Amanda and it was fun getting to know them better.  The Wednesdays leading up to VBS, SCBC hosted workdays where volunteers could come in and help prep the snacks, crafts, and BLA for the week.  Those days were essential to VBS running smoothly and they were fun as well.  I got to know some new mom's that were members of SCBC and some that were not but it was a great way to minister to some other ladies.  The volunteers we had for VBS were wonderful and they did a great job.  Since I was a director, I had to be there early and stay late, but again, it was well worth it and I would do it again.  

Dallas Soccer

A wanted to play soccer again so we signed him up at the YMCA and he was on a team of 8 kindergartners.  A's team had 6 boys and 2 girls and he knew one little boy from his school.  Coach Aaron knew a lot about soccer and said he's played at the next level (not sure if that means college or what....) but his son, Brody, is one of A's buds from school.  A has played 2 seasons of soccer so he already knew the basics.  This outdoor season was 5 v 5 with 1 goalie and 4 field players.

A scored in most of his games, but his natural tendency is to play more defense.  We had to find something to motivate him to want to score and finally settled on money (we should have known).  I think in the small games they play we want to see him run up and down the field and play both offense and defense but if he continues to play to the point of actual positions, I can see him playing a defender and then not going up to score as much.  He also enjoys goalie, and he was good at it too, but I don't think that's where he will end up.  But what do I know?  He's only 6 and seems to be athletic up to this point.

His coach, Aaron, asked us at the end of the season if we would consider joining the Lamar Soccer Club and playing under him.  He's trying to put together a team of kids that have talent and potential and coach them and keep them together season after season.  A doesn't even realize that this is really a nice thing that his coach wants to develop him, so it's something that B and I will have to discuss.  We like the Y because both soccer and t-ball games were played at the same place, but the thought of A having a coach that actually knows stuff about soccer is nice as well.  Lamar Soccer Club is offering a soccer camp in June, so that's our first decision, is if we are going to sign A up for soccer camp.

A's first game April 2016

First Family Camping Trip

Last summer B bought a tent that would fit our entire family plus extra room, so we could go camping.  We had plans to camp back in November, but a thunder storm caused us to cancel.  So we made plans to camp in May at Brazos Bend State Park

on a Friday night, May 20th.  Our kids had an early release day so we left our house at 2:00 and checked in.

W had his last Tball game that night so we would eat dinner out after his ball game, but we would eat s'mores over the campfire after getting back to the camp site.  When we checked in and got settled, B set up the tent while the kids just walked around and explored the woods.  We were pretty far from the bathrooms so it took about 20 minutes to make a bathroom trip.  After the tent was set up, we drove around to the look out points to try and look for alligators.

We were unsuccessful and figured we might try again in the morning but it was time to head into town for W's t-ball game.  His last game was a lot of fun and after it was over, we stopped by the house to let Cooper out and grabbed an extension cord and then headed back to our camp site.  When we got back to our site, I noticed that the cooler lid was up and I just figured we had left it open.  Once we got closer and parked, I realize that a raccoon was in our cooler trying to take our food.  Bryce put the van in park and chased the racoon away and came back with our pack of chocolate bars that the racoon tried to take.  Fortunately it was still sealed closed and the racoon dropped it and B was able to it back.  The racoon kept coming back trying to get back in our cooler so the kids were on look out all night.  R worried about the racoon and finally I told her just to stand watch with her flashlight and let B know when the racoon was back.  We had berries and eggs inside our cooler but fortunately the racoon didn't try and take any of that. 

For some weird reason, he tried to take our chocolate bars.  B worked on getting the fire started and the kids watched out for the racoon.  Once the first was started, we made s'mores and enjoyed the fire before heading to bed at 10:30.  All four kids were covered in bug spray, sweat, and dirt but they didn't care because they were so tired.  None of us showered and none of us cared.  We had to wake up and head out by 9:00 am because A had his last soccer game Saturday morning.  Before we left Brazos Bend, B took the tent down, the kids played in the woods, and we had s'mores for breakfast.  All in all it was a fun camping trip and made for a funny story about the racoon.  The racoon stressed R out and she couldn't sit and relax knowing that he would keep coming back.  Finally B started shooting rocks at him using the Pocket Shot that Marcus gave him.  I'm not sure if B actually hit the racoon or if it just scared him, but he finally stopped coming around.  We put the cooler in the van and didn't leave anything outside to attract other critters to our site.  This was our first outdoor camping trip but it certainly won't be our last.  We had a great time camping.

Last Days of School

May 31, 2016 was A's Kindergarten program.  The entire Kinder class sang a few songs an then the teachers called out each student and recognized them for finishing Kindergarten.  A wanted to dress up so he picked out his Easter clothes and I spiked his hair too.  He surprised us by not telling us that he would be a student conductor for one of the songs.  He was really enjoying his time on stated and sang his little heart out.

June 1, 2016 was R's 2nd grade awards ceremony.  The 2nd graders do not sing or dance like the Kindergartners but they did have a nice award's ceremony.  Each student was called out and 2 awards per student were announced.  Inside R's folder she had many certificates for her achievements throughout second grade.  I wanted to check her out after her awards, but she did not want to come with me.  So I left her at school and just checked A out instead. 

June 2, 2016 was the last day of 2nd grade for R and Kinder for A.  Both kids had a great year at Williams Elementary School and we are looking forward to a fun summer together.  Next year I'll have 3 kids in school and they are going to rock it!

You can really see how much A grew over the year

Rin's Talent Show

It took R forever to decide what she wanted to do for her school's talent show and finally she decided to dance.  She's been taking ballet this school year and has enjoyed it.  She made up her own dance to the same music for her dance recital and she wore her recital costume as well.  Instead of having a school wide performance, they had grade level performances during the day.  The 2nd grade performance was on April 12th and it started at 10. 

In addition to her ballet performance, R also performed with Ms. Lucky's class.  They danced as a group to Wipe Out and it was super cute.  

Diva Run in Galveston

I like to work out and I enjoy exercise, but I don't really love to run.  I've had to run a lot playing soccer but running has never been my favorite form of exercise.  But, I met some nice ladies at the Y named Carrie and Colleen, and we started running three days a week after our HIIT class at the YMCA.  Carrie and Colleen both have run half marathons and full marathons but I've only run a 5K.  Colleen asked us if we would be interested in running in the Diva Run in Galveston and I said I would run a 5K but nothing more than that.  Carrie said she'd run the half, but she would be busy with soccer that weekend.  Colleen and I both signed up to run the 5K and we would both have our families with us.  Colleen is a mom to 5 kids and her oldest is 13 and her youngest is 2.  Together with our 9 kids, we pack out the childcare room at the Y.  We have a lot in common and she's very kind and down to earth.  

Since moving to Houston, we haven't visited Galveston so we took this opportunity to make a family weekend out of it.  We made a hotel reservation for Saturday night and drove to Galveston after the kids finished their soccer and Tball games at the YMCA.  I had to pick up my race packet before 5 so that was our first stop and then we parked on the street and walked along the beach (Sea Wall Blvd).  We wanted to walk along Pleasure Pier but it cost too much just to enter, so we decided to eat at Fishtales instead.  We were told we'd have to wait 45 minutes but it ended up only being 20 minutes before getting a great seat on the balcony.   Dinner was nice and the weather was great for sitting outside.  After dinner we checked into the hotel for bed since we had to wake up at 5:00 am. 

Morning came quickly and the children were tired, but they were troopers about getting up so early.  B and the kids took me as close to the start as they could and then I met up with Colleen.  B walked around with the kids to find them breakfast and I told him to be back at the finish line about 30 minutes after the start, which was at 7:00 am.  Colleen and I estimated that we'd finish the 5K in about 30 minutes and we lined up towards the back of wave 1.  There were so many people...almost 2000 people signed up for the 5K.  The half started at 6:30 and then the 5K at 7:00.

 I followed Colleen at the start as we weaved in and out of the crowd trying to find our pace and space.  I think we weaved in and out for the first entire mile and then between mile 1 and 2, the crowd started to thin out.  At one point I had to stop and tie my shoe and then when I caught back up with Colleen, she told me to go ahead if I could.  I didn't want to leave her, but she said she couldn't go any faster and if I could run faster then I should.  So I did.  I ran and listened to my iPod and my mindset was I would just run and pass the person in front of me one at a time.  I ended up finishing in 25:16 and B and the kids didn't get back in time to see me cross the finish line.  It was fine because I had told him not to come back until 7:30.  I ended up finishing 2nd in my age group and my average mile was 8:07.

 I never ran than fast with the ladies from the Y but Colleen said you always run faster on race day because your adrenaline is flowing.  I had a good time and the whole vibe was very positive and fun.  After getting my award, we went back to the hotel to pack up and check out before going to the beach to meet Colleen and her family.  Colleen, her husband, Doug and their 5 kids (Logan, Sarah, Matthew, Grace and Anna) were waiting for us at the Galveston State Park.  We met them there and the kids played in the sand and water for a few hours together.  It was really windy and a bit chilly for my taste but the kids didn't really care.  We didn't even have their swim suits because we hadn't planned to go to the beach but Colleen and her family invited us so we thought it would be fun and it was.  Doug seems really nice and we enjoyed spending some time with their family.  We left a little after noon and stopped at Sonic before getting on the road back home.  While driving home it rained pretty hard and I was very thankful that it didn't rain like that during the race.  Our family had a great weekend in Galveston and even R wants to run with me in the Diva Run next year.  We will see, but I'm thankful for Colleen and her encouragement to run the 5K.