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.

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.

First Month of the New Year

We are already a month into 2019, and I honestly can't tell you how we got here. It just went by so quickly! It was a month packed full of family, friends, and fun! Our new year is definitely off to a great start, as you can see from the following highlight reel of January:

We spent the first week of the month in Houston,
making special memories with our Watts family

Ruth gave an Instagram tutorial to her aunt and Mimi.

Clay was glad to get back to school. He was excited to work on his reading,
discover a new love in Ken-Ken puzzles, and teach us all a money game.

Jeff spent two weeks in Mexico in an immersion Spanish class.
The vendors wouldn't approach him because they said he looked like Secret Service!
Nevertheless, he was able to track down all kinds of fun surprises to bring home.

We celebrated Max's 11th birthday with doughnuts, cake balls, and gifts.
And we spent the day at Corky's, playing arcade games,
throwing axes, and escaping from Alcatraz.

Weston and I got to attend Ruth's CAP banquet, where, among other things,
we saw her march in with the color guard, be recognized with her CyberPatriot team,
and receive an award for "Americanism" from the American Legion. We are so proud of her!

Max got a baseball pitching machine for his birthday,
and the boys have had a big time trying it out.

We somehow managed to survive WINTER STORM 2019. 

We made out like bandits at the library used book sale.

Clay adores his big sister and couldn't resist surprising her with flowers!

Mimi and Grandpa came to visit twice during the month,
and we had so much fun hanging out with them.

We attended the Minutemen Disaster Response open house and had a great time.
We were especially impressed with the 28-bed bunk trailer.

Ruth achieved the rank of Master Sergeant and
the title of First Sergeant at the CAP promotion ceremony.
She also gave a recruiting speech to encourage cadets
to attend Airman Leadership Training in the spring,
which is an event she will attend as medical staff. 

Clay started golf lessons and is absolutely the cutest little golfer ever!

The boys got new dressers, and I acquired
some new skills by putting them together.

Ruth brought me these beautiful tulips for no reason!

Weston spent hours climbing every tall tree in the woods.

Weston spent a ton of time working on Scout stuff this month.
He attended a Merit Badge College, where he worked on three
different merit badges. He hiked a total of 65 miles to complete
his hiking badge. And, he went on the monthly campout with his troop.
He also interviewed and was accepted to be on staff for one of the summer camps,
making him one of the youngest Scouts to receive such a position.
He has already attended one training session and begun practicing his speeches.
He loves Scouting so much, and we are so proud of his hard work and dedication!

One of my book clubs got together to throw axes, and we had so much fun!