May Memories

Rangers' Game

Max acted as a math tutor and
also came up with a creative way to
do his own math scratch work.

We celebrated Clay's 8th birthday!

Jeff and I got to have a series of dates
in McKinney while the kids were
doing end-of-year teasting.

Jeff was officially invited to join the
199th training class of U.S. diplomats!

Clay and I got take a little trip to
my sister's to visit with family.

Mother's Day

We had some fun playing around
with our new ice cream maker.

Clay loved getting to launch rockets
with the Cub Scouts.

Ruth had a fun swim party with her
 friends to celebrate her birthday.

The last Scout meeting of the year
was a big one. Weston received a
couple of merit badges and was elected
SPL (leader of whole troop), even though he
  wasn't even running for the position.
Max received his Scout status and
was elected as Patrol Leader for his patrol.

Clay's last Scout meeting was also
fun, and he got to go through the face
painting ceremony recognizing that
he completed all the Wolf requirements
and is ready to start down the Bear path.

Our little baker was busy all month
making cookies, monkey bread,
and a birthday cake for his cousin.

We were thankful to have family
in town to kick off the Memorial Day weekend.

We had so much fun hiking and
hanging out on the Katy Trail.

A fun evening at Pokey O's

We were delighted to discover Earl's.

We had a blast celebrating Weston's
half-birthday at Main Event.

Ruth turned 17, and we celebrated in style.

We got to spend some quality
time in the closet waiting out a tornado.

After a busy month, we were
glad to begin our vacation in Florida.

Time MARCHes On

How on earth is it the last day of March??!! Once again, we packed the month full and have many wonderful memories and experiences to show for it.

Max has been taking a Lego Robotics class at Arrow
this year, and he was excited to get to show off for us.

Ruth participated in a number of track meets this month,
mostly in cold and/or wet weather.

Max got to go on his first Boy Scout campout.
But, first, he and his patrol had to practice pitching the tent.

Max and Clay got to go on a field trip to the Sci-Tech Museum in Frisco.

We discovered Bumbershoot Barbeque in Argyle.
It's a food truck with an amazing outdoor area that's fun for kids and adults.

Clay got to be an only child for a weekend, so we visited the Crayola Experience,
which was just perfect for this sweet little artist!

Jeff finally made it onto the official register for the State department!

Weston participated in a three-day speech and debate tournament.
He advanced to finals in impromptu speaking and ultimately won 6th place.
He and his debate partner also advanced to finals in their debate division and won 2nd.
And, Weston won 1st place as overall best debate speaker for his division.
We are so incredibly proud of him!

Ruth made a delicious chocolate pie for our Pi Day celebration!

The boys worked for days with their friends to build a fort in the woods near our house.
They were super proud of it and even invited me to come visit!

We had an awesome St. Patrick's Day cookout with some new friends!

Clay got to go hiking with his Wolf Den.

Ruth achieved the CAP rank of Senior Master Sergeant.
She also got to attend two leadership camps--one as a participant and one as staff.

Baseball season has started, and Max is loving it!

I published my sixth Geography Explorer book.

Max and Clay had their first natural science classes at LLELA.

"Wow, Mom, you made two things this week with spinach that were actually good!"
(Documenting in case anyone tries to come back to me and tell me they don't like spinach!)

While the other kids were tied up with various activities, Jeff and I took Clay
to the used book sale at the library. He was in heaven! (And so were we!)

It's been so fun watching our tulips grow this month!

Our little pastry chef has been keeping us supplied with sweets!

Weston participated in PSIA again this year.
He won 4th in Mathematics, 2nd in Modern Oratory,
and 1st in Number Sense. He advanced to State in those last two.

One of Weston's bucket list items was to have a chicken taste test.
We thought it was the perfect way to celebrate his PSIA victories.

February Forever

To be the shortest month, I always feel like February takes forever to get through. But we did get through it! Here are the highlights:

Weston developed a case of cellulitis (on top of poison ivy)
and had to spend some quality time at the clinic.  

Super Bowl Party

Clay's Scout den visited the police station,
and he got to sit in a squad car and get a mugshot.

Brothers and friends!

Ruth, Weston, Jeff, and I got to go bowling at Main Event

Meanwhile, these guys were building bonfires at Mimi and Grandpa's house.

Jeff and I had a day of dates which included a visit to the Haltom City farmer's market,
brunch at the Omni Ft. Worth, a quick stroll through the Ft. Worth water garden,
and a wonderful cultural experience at Mercado 369, where we heard an artist,
whose preferred medium is coffee, give a speech and demonstrate his craft, enjoyed
coffee samples from a craft roaster, and viewed many forms of Latin American art.

Jeff and Weston tried out VR gaming at Source Gaming Lounge.

We played lots and lots of games!

We helped pack and deliver boxes for Lovepacs of Lewisville.

We celebrated my half-birthday with singing, sushi, and tulips.

Weston was chosen to be the MC for the Scouts' Court of Honor at the last minute,
and he was completely nonplussed, even though he had had no time to prepare.
He was also recognized for his most recent merit badges and his latest rank of Life Scout.

Valentine's Day Celebration:
Movie and a Chik-fil-A bouquet for the kids,
fancy dinner at J2 steakhouse for the grown-ups

The younger boys and I traveled to Seguin to celebrate my nephew's birthday.

First track meet of the season, where Ruth ran in the 100M, 200M, the 4x200.
Her relay team captured third place!

Ruth's CyberPatriot team had their end-of-season party.

Sometimes it was hard to get through the school day. 😴

Weston and Clay had a brother rodeo.

Spring tried half-heartedly to make an appearance

Clay helped me work through some of the projects that will be included
in my soon-to-be-published Explore Australia book.

Clay got to be part of the Color Guard at his Scout pack meeting

The Cub Scout Blue and Gold banquet was fun for everyone!
Max helped pass out tickets, and Weston helped
welcome the boys bridging over to Boy Scouts.

We took advantage of one of the really lovely days to have a cookout and picnic.

Max officially joined the Boy Scouts.

We had a field trip to Medieval Times with the boys' Arrow history classes.