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.

December

Weston's birthday party at Top Golf

Hiking at Eagle Mountain Lake

Master Singer's Concert
(Max and Clay are trying to spot Nana)

Medieval celebration at Arrow

Packing and delivering boxes for Lovepacs

Dungeons and Dragons is a new
favorite game at our house.

Fun at Northpark Center

The Twelve Days of Christmas at
the Dallas Arboretum

Weston achieved the rank of Life Scout.

Winter Breakfast

Homestead Heritage in Waco

Mayborn Museum at Baylor

Holiday family fun

Weston spent Christmas Eve
researching stocks and investing
in the stock market.

Weston attended Twin Arrows
Scout leadership training at Camp Tahuaya

Ruth attended a CAP leadership training
at Lackland Air Force Base

Carnival Cruise as a family of four

Cozumel

New Year's Eve

September

We did lots of fun science experiments.
Pictured here is our lava lamp and our balloon kebab.

Even though a couple of meets have been cancelled due to weather,
these two are having a great cross country season.

It has been raining almost non-stop this month,
but that hasn't kept us from having lots of fun!

I've had some pretty amazing early morning runs!

I encountered a bobcat in my alley.

Our resident bartender has put together some fun drinks. 

Weston went camping with his Scout troop in Broken Bow, OK.

The kids have played hours of Ticket to Ride.

Weston received four merit badges at the
Court of Honor ceremony for his troop.

We watched Forks Over Knives and became inspired
to experiment with a more plant-based diet.

This kid is reading more and more just for fun
(and I love the pure concentration on his face).

Many games of chess have been played. 

Many football games have been watched. 

This kid took on his first paying job.

We attended Homeschool Day at the Perot Museum

We also attended Homeschool Day at the Lego Discovery Center.

The boys worked on adding some wiring to our little barn.

I participated in two different book clubs.

Ruth got to spend a weekend at Airman Leadership School in Mineral Wells,
where she was awarded Honor Cadet for her character, enthusiasm and leadership,
 and where her flight gained the honor of Warrior Flight for 
exhibiting excellence throughout the weekend.

Jeff and the boys attended a Rangers game.

Clay worked on learning the sign language alphabet. 

Ruth earned the CAP rank of staff sergeant. 

This cutie lost his second tooth.

Ruth finally got the letter jacket she earned during track season.

Our kids became outraged when they realized that certain
books they love, including some they are currently
reading, have been banned at certain points in time.
Ironically, we discovered that our library was celebrating
Banned Books Week just after we encouraged the kids
to keep on reading the banned books. 

This enterprising kiddo volunteered to help sell
popcorn with his Cub Scout pack. 

Clay participated in the Cub Scout Raingutter Regatta and got 2nd place in his den.