Super Saturday

This is the first Saturday since late August that we haven't had a kid's sporting event to attend. We enjoyed sleeping in, and since we aren't all going to be together on Weston's birthday in a couple of weeks (or on his birthday party day a couple of weeks after that), we decided to go ahead and celebrate his birthday today. His main request was Krispy Kreme doughnuts, which we don't have in Flower Mound. So, the men headed over to Roanoke to pick up the doughnuts, while Ruth and I went to workout. (For me, this is working out in the very loosest sense of the word, but I'm thrilled to be cleared to do anything that even resembles exercising!)

All the doughnuts!

Later, we gave Weston his birthday gifts, which included tickets to the OU/TCU football game in Norman, OK this evening. He did not see this coming and was thrilled about every part of it: football, TCU, two top-ten teams, going to another state for the game, and the fact that it was happening this very day. It was awesome to watch his face light up! I just love to give gifts that truly make the recipient happy! And, experience gifts are the best!

A new "Saturday shirt"

I can't tell you how happy this face makes me!

After that excitement, we headed over to Denton for the Pistons and Paint Car Show. It was so fun to see so many cool cars! But our favorite part was seeing Junior Brown, who is one of our all-time favorite musicians, perform live. Jeff and I have been trying to catch him live for more than a decade, but it just never worked out until today.

Max's favorite!

Clay asked several times how someone could get up in this

Weston's dream vehicle

I loved the pink Cadillac!

Junior Brown doing his thing

When we left the car show, Jeff and Weston took off for Oklahoma, and the rest of us came home for Clay's first Star Wars movie viewing. For all the other kids, we had decided they could see the movies when they turned seven, but since the new movie is coming out in December, the older kids voted unanimously to let Clay into the Star Wars Club at 6 1/2. And, they want him to get all caught up with the previous movies before the new one hits theaters next month. Clay was ecstatic!

The last thing on our Super Saturday agenda is tacos from Taco Ocho, and you can't ever go wrong with that! I'm so thankful for this happy day and the time spent with my people doing things that make us smile. 

From Colorado to Texas and back again

Yesterday, we drove from Colorado to Texas so we could pay a visit to the DPS office this morning and pick up a very important piece of paper. The lady in the office was blown away by Ruth's organization and couldn't believe she had all the necessary paperwork. She said she thought it was the first time in the history of the county that someone actually got their permit on the first try. Today, we turned around and drove back to Colorado, because we're a little crazy like that. But, our new driver did get some time behind the wheel, so that was pretty exciting. We are now at one of the best KOAs ever, just outside of Durango.

Apparently, Texas was glad to see us!

This is how younger brothers wait on big sister

She's official!

Not everyone is lucky enough to do their
beginning driving in a beauty like this!

Lunch in New Mexico, Christmas style

The Caboose Cafe and Pavilion at our KOA

Pizza and a movie under the pavilion

Half-birthday fun

Today, Weston had his half-birthday. Eleven and a half years sure go by quickly! To celebrate, we toured the Broncos stadium, which gave Weston a few more NFL career options to think about besides just player. He was especially interested to learn that all approved media personnel receive free entrance to all home games and free food throughout games. He thought that sounded like a pretty sweet gig.

Ready to tour the stadium

Trying to look the part

It was pretty exciting to be down on the field

Half-birthday Boy

After the tour, we headed over to Sloan Lake Park for a picnic lunch. It started to rain, so we spent a good portion of the afternoon holed up in the RV, while Jeff regaled the children with one of his awesome made-up-on-the-spot stories. Eventually, the rain subsided and gave way to a gorgeous afternoon, so the boys and I wandered around the lovely lakeside walking path.

Sloan Lake

Walking with the boys

The boys amassed quite a collection
of goose feathers during our walk

Weston picked the dinner spot for us, which was a nice Italian place in Denver called Venice Ristorante. We wined and dined and toasted the half-birthday boy. It was a fun way to end our time in Denver, a city we have thoroughly enjoyed and hope to visit again.

Dinner at Venice

 

A sweet treat to celebrate the occasion

Weekend Recap

On Friday, Clay turned six. We celebrated with a trip to Dinosaur World in Glen Rose. Nana met us there, and we enjoyed the beautiful morning amongst the dinos and fossils and then paused for Chick-fil-A, birthday cake, and presents, before getting in some awesome playground time. In the afternoon, Nana and I took Ruth to her riding lesson via Starbucks, while Jeff and the boys returned to the house. After the lesson, I drove my Mom over to Plano to visit a family friend in the hospital. Traffic was all there, and we took the same wrong turn twice, but we enjoyed the time together and eventually made it to where we were going and back again. We ended the day with a very small Cinco de Mayo party, which included several bags of tacos and sides from Taco Ocho. Our evening entertainment was trying on all our fancy cruise clothes for Nana. When the kids found out there were a couple of "gala nights" aboard the boat, they all agreed (which is a miracle!) that we should definitely get formals and go all in. They have been giddy with excitement in the picking out of their clothes and shoes and are eager to try them on every chance they get!

Birthday Morning

Party at Dinosaur World

We're so fancy!

Saturday, Weston and Clay had their last games of the spring season, but the times overlapped, so we had to divide and conquer. Mom stayed with Weston and got to watch his championship game, while I took Clay to his baseball game. Weston's team made FloMo youth football history by not only coming away with the victory but also ending their season without ever being scored on. Weston absolutely loved playing on the Rebel team and will miss the fantastic coaches and amazing team he was a part of this year. Max also had a baseball game, and Ruth had a make-up riding lesson, so it was a busy day but lots of fun. Mom left shortly after all the sports were finished up, and Jeff and I snuck in our last date before the summer road trip, which promises to be full of epicness but will not offer much in the way of privacy!

Undefeated and never score on! Way to go Rebels!
(Picture borrowed from my friend Tracey, who is the team mom and always takes amazing photos of our team.)

Trophies and cupcakes to end the season

Yesterday, we spent the entire day packing and checking and double-checking our various lists, in preparation for our departure later this week. Everyone's suitcase is now at least 90% packed, and our little RV is stuffed to the gills and ready to go. We will either leave on Wednesday or Saturday, depending on how Max's game goes tomorrow.

Ready to Road Trip!

Weekend Happenings

I started my weekend a little early by meeting up with my mom and some family friends in Canton to check out the First Monday Trade Days offerings. This was my first trip to Canton and my first solo trip in the RV, and I now feel as if I'm initiated into a whole new level of shopper's club and an elite class of RVers who know how to do things like back a large vehicle and hook up to campground electricity. We shopped during the day on Thursday, laughed and ate all evening, and shopped some more on Friday morning. This was pre-tornado, and thankfully, we were gone long before the bad weather moved in, though I'm very sad for the destruction of property and loss of life in that little community.

Fun in Canton

On Friday afternoon, Mom and I caravanned back to Flower Mound, where we got in on the tail end of Ruth's riding lesson and observed all of Clay's swim lesson, before celebrating Mom's birthday on the patio of a nice little Italian place, on a beautiful evening, while listening to live music, followed by gelato.

Rocking the goggles at swim lessons

All dressed up for Nana's birthday party

On Saturday, the predicted rain held off, and we were able to see all three boys play their sports and do so wonderfully. And, in the afternoon, I tagged along as Mom took Ruth birthday shopping, while the boys watched movies and played outside.

Saturday Sports

This afternoon, we paid a visit to the batting cages and Gander Mountain, before heading over to a very windy and slightly chilly baseball practice. The rest of our day was spent doing some serious trip planning, as we are only about 10 days from leaving on our epic summer trip!

First time at the batting cages

It was a wonderful weekend, and I'm so thankful for those I got to share it with!

Spring Sports

If you're wondering where I've been lately, your best guess would have been some sort of field where sports are played or enroute between the various fields. The practice schedule has been a little brutal, with two kids practicing in different locations on Monday evenings, one kid practicing on Tuesday evenings, two kids practicing at different locations on Wednesday evenings (plus, my not-to-be-missed yoga class in yet a third location), a practice on Friday afternoon, a practice on Saturday morning, and two practices in different locations on Sunday afternoons. And, this last week, we threw in a couple of make-up riding lessons, a pep rally, and an academic contest, just to keep things interesting.

On Saturday, Weston had his first football game of the new season, which his team won in a big way. Weston played half the game on defense and the other half on offense and was just as happy as he could be the entire time.

Weston is one of the captains for his team this season--
a responsibility he takes very seriously

Blocking like a boss

Shortly after Weston's game was over, Clay played his first baseball game of the season. He hit twice off the pitcher and didn't have to use the tee at all, so he was pretty proud of himself. Weston and I didn't get to attend the game, as we had to go to Denton for the PSIA contest, but Dad made sure we got lots of picture updates.

Slugger

Headed for home

Getting a little help from coach with the catcher's gear

On Monday evening, Max finally got in his first game as well. He was one of a few boys who got a hit and one of even fewer who put points on the board, both of which he was very proud of, even though his team didn't get the win.

The big hit

Coming home

I'm proud of all the kids, and I love to see them doing what they love--even if it means I spend almost as much time in my car running between various fields all over town as I do at home.

The Weekend of All the Sports (plus a few other things)

Yesterday morning, Weston had his try-out for spring football. He felt good about his performance and had a good time, and he got selected by the same team he played for in the fall, which was exactly what he was hoping would happen. To me the most astonishing part of this try-out was the weigh-in, where he found out that he weighs almost exactly what I weigh! Wow! My little boy is definitely not so little anymore!

Shortly after the try-out, Ruth had a make-up riding lesson. And, as soon as she was done, we headed to Ft. Worth for a brief break in the sporting fun. We had a late lunch at The Cheesecake Factory and then stopped by the Ft. Worth Water Gardens to have a look around. What a unique park and a fun place to spend a nice afternoon!

Eventually, we left Ft. Worth and made our way over to the Big D, so we could catch a Mavericks basketball game. We had a blast cheering for the Mavs and watching them beat the Pelicans, while checking yet another item off our DFW bucket list.

Since we also planned to attend the Dallas Stars hockey game this morning in the same arena, and since we had quite a few hotel points saved up (and since the American Airlines Center frowns on overnight guests), we booked a room at a nearby Element hotel, which made the whole experience seem a little more vacationy and exciting.

After enjoying the hotel's fantastic free breakfast, we ran to Academy to outfit our little baseball players for the season, before heading back to the miraculously transformed American Airlines Center for the hockey game. Clay repeated several times, "But wasn't this a basketball court?!" The Stars didn't fair as well as the Mavs, but we had so much fun learning more about the game, being part of the excitement, and adding another check mark to our list.

When the hockey game was over, we stopped by Checkered Past Winery for a wine tasting and mid-afternoon meal, which the kids enjoyed calling "linner." After much eating and drinking and merry-making, we headed back to Flower Mound, just in time for Max's first baseball practice of the season--the perfect end to our (mostly) sports themed weekend.

Special treats at The Cheesecake Factory

The Ft. Worth Water Gardens

Dallas Mavericks Game
(If you look closely, you might be able to tell that we are on the second row from the very tip top!)

Dallas Stars Game
(Our seats were at about the same level, just a few sections over.)

Checkered Past Winery

P.S. In case you missed my Facebook announcement on Friday, I finally got the fourth Geography Explorer book, Explore Mongolia, published. All of my books wanted to get in on the party and put themselves on sale. If this interests you, you can check them out here or over on the right sidebar.

Weekend Entertainment

On Friday evening, Jeff and I snuck away for a little date at the Pocket Sandwich Theater, where we ate and drank and laughed at the silly melodrama unfolding before us. It was a fun night out, but I have no photographic evidence.

The boys had a "men's day" on Saturday, and Ruth and I spent the day doing girly stuff. Ironically, the boys started with breakfast at a place called Mama's Daughters' Diner. Then, they played at two different awesome parks, before heading over to Max's baseball tryout. Meanwhile, Ruth and I shopped and lunched and sipped coffee. Later, we all met up and headed to downtown Dallas to see the Family Friendly Improv Show at Dallas Comedy House. Some members of our group even got some stage time, which was super fun. Afterwards, we had dinner at All Good Cafe.

Coffee break at Trio Coffee 

Dallas Comedy House

All Good Cafe

Knowing we had several hours of snacks and sitting in our future today, we decided to spend the morning hiking at LLELA (Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area), after first having brunch at Tierney's. It was a beautiful day, and we enjoyed soaking up some sun and warmer temps, after several cold, cloudy days. Finally, we celebrated Weston's favorite holiday: Super Bowl. It was a great weekend!

Enjoying the great outdoors at LLELA

Super Bowl Party