Aprilcadabra

I'm not really sure how April just disappeared, but it was here and then it was gone, just like that! Once again, we filled the month full. I'm thankful for these highlight reel posts because sometimes I get so caught up in the day-to-day living of this crazy life that I forget to appreciate all the wonderful moments along the way. These posts are such great reminders of all we have to be grateful for.

Clay and I did some drawing to kill time while waiting for the other boys at a Scout event.

Girls' Weekend in Big Bend

Clay was a big helper in picking out and moving tile into the house
for our big bathroom remodeling project.

We basically scrapped the bathroom we had and started over.
We are so happy with the finished product!

Clay took some refresher swim lessons to get ready for our beach trip this summer.

Jeff and I had a couple of dates to Local Pint.

Max led the morning exercises.

I had the opportunity to be part of Central Elementary's Career Day,
and I absolutely loved every moment of it!

Ruth got to attend a fancy Sweet Sixteen party for one of her friends.

These two turned up matching my Central Elementary mug,
and we thought it was photo worthy.

Clay found a "sushi" recipe in his cookbook to make for us.

There is not much better than chunking rocks in a body of water!

Weston was selected to be a member of the Order of the Arrow,
which is a special service oriented group of Scouts.

The boys had a field trip to LLELA to learn about small pond creatures.

These three rolled themselves up in a giant sibling burrito.

Supporting their baseball playing brother

We were thankful to get to spend Easter with family.
We were also thankful for all the amazing wildflowers on the way,
including a solid red field of poppies.

Clay bought himself a multi-tool, which he is very proud of!

Ruth got a job at City Vet, working in their kennel.

The flowers at our house were very happy!

Last day of Arrow for the year:
Weston wore every name tag he had neglected to wear for the last ten weeks.
Clay dressed up like Leif Erikson.
Max dressed up as and gave a presentation on Robin Hood. 

Arrow's Spring Handmade Market:
Clay sold slingshots; Max sold chocolates; and Weston sold loaded popcorn.
They all sold out of their products and felt very rich by the end of the evening. 

At Arrow's End-of-Year Celebration, each of the boys got to
demo something from one of their classes.
Clay performed with his dance class.
Max sang with his history class about the plague.
And Weston participated in a mini debate and gave an impromptu speech.

The kids were gifted a couple of drones, which the boys took to immediately.

Max got to spend some time on the mound in a couple of games.

We had fun hanging out with Mimi at Bumbershoot BBQ/Gnome Cones.

We took Mimi to brunch at Cafe Komali and hiking on the Katy trail.

We played pub trivia a couple of times at Vetted Well and had so much fun.

We kind of went crazy at the library's book sale. This is only half of what we bought.
We bought somewhere in the neighborhood of 172 books, 11 movies, and 1 puzzle.
The deal of buy one bag at $4, get a bag for free was just too much for us to resist.

Clay couldn't believe the whole store was celebrating Cinco de Mayo
when we went to pick out some things for his birthday party.
I think he thinks that day is just for him!

Transformation Tuesday

While our boys are away, Ruth and I are making the most of our girl time. Today we enjoyed a trip to the salon. We both knew we wanted drastic change, and we were pleasantly surprised to find out that our unwanted hair could be donated to an organization that provides wigs to cancer patients at no cost to them. That's definitely what I call a win-win!

Before

After

Why are girls mean? And other hard questions.

Sweet Ruth,

Today you cried through Math class. And, finally, I figured out that it had to be more than not understanding scientific notation or trying to figure out how to solve for x, so I asked what was really going on. You then preceded to break my heart in a way I didn't think was possible now that my own pre-teen days are over.

"Why are girls mean?" you asked.

And, this is the part that broke my heart because I couldn't give an answer or "fix" the problem: "I don't know, " I replied, "but I know they are."

"Well, why all of a sudden do boys and girls seem to have to be totally separate? Why is it not cool to hang out with boys I've been friends with forever?"

Again, "I don't know."

Sweet girl, I wish with all my heart that I could hide you and protect you from all the hurts, both real and imagined, self-inflicted and outwardly imposed, that are likely to afflict you in the next few years. I remember all too well the real pain and heartbreak of mean girls and awkward relationships with boys. It's a very hard time of life. Maybe the hardest.

This is a time when boys and girls are trying to become men and women. You are all trying on different personalities and ideas to see what you like, to see what fits, and to determine which ones you want to take on for good. And, you're trying to do that through the filter of fluctuating hormones and a host of insecurities. Like I said, it's extremely difficult.

I wish I had clear, easy answers for you, but I don't. What I can promise you is that I'm here. And, I love you. And, more than likely, you will survive this time in your life and be better for it. You just keep being amazing, perfect you (as if you could do otherwise)!

All my love,
Mom

Matchy-Matchy

Years ago, Ruth discovered some outfit in her closet that resembled an outfit in my closet. She was absolutely thrilled and couldn't wait for us to have a matching day. And, then, when the day came, she was even more thrilled. That's a quick way to a mom's heart, I can tell you. And, in a moment of prophetic clarity, I saw that those moments would be fleeting and that there would come a day when she would want to look like anyone but me. So, I decided right then and there that I would not force, but would completely embrace, every one of those opportunities until that sad day. That is why I own a pair of zebra-striped, cowboy-style rain boots. Oh, and because I'm cool. But, I digress. These days I feel like the dreaded fulfillment of the prophecy could be just around the corner, and I'm especially sensitive that every opportunity for us to go out all matchy-matchy could be the last. Which is why I put my non-island body into my island dress, even though it was too chilly to wear it to the ladies Bible study we were attending together this evening. And, why I had Jeff take our picture. I will definitely want to remember this sweet stage when it is no longer something to be grasped.

Just the Girls

We left the little boys at my parents' yesterday afternoon for their "Nana Camp," and girl time commenced this morning. Our first stop was Sonic, of course. Then we visited the "hometown variety store" in Kingsland, the resale shop in Granite Shoals, and finally the outlet store in Marble Falls. We bought some fun things, got some great deals and enjoyed each other very much. We had a late lunch when we got back to my in-laws' house, spent some time reading our individual books, spied a baby fox on the back porch, played a crazy game of Monopoly (in which I got creamed), and surprised a mommy fox near the BBQ deck. Our mother/daughter days are few and far between these days, and I soaked up every moment.

Three's A Crowd

2, 10, 5, 15, 4, 7: All acceptable numbers of little girls that can play happily together. The only number that just doesn't work is 3. This has been true at least since I was a kid, and I find that the formula still works now that I have a little girl of my own. It remains to be seen if this is a cross-gender phenomenon, though I suspect the trouble lies almost solely in double X chromosomes. This makes certain play dates a little difficult, though no less insisted upon. Hopefully, it is something that will be outgrown at some point--or at least overcome by sheer force of will.

Girl's Night Out

Some of my long-time (since Ruth was a baby) girlfriends took me out for dinner tonight to celebrate the imminent arrival of Baby Watts. We all have busy lives and don't get to see each other as often as we'd like, so this was a truly special time. Thanks so much, ladies, for treating me not only to some neat and much-needed baby things, but also (and maybe more importantly) to a night out.