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.

March

March was full and fun! Here are the highlights:

• A visit to the C.R. Smith (American Airlines) Museum

• Mom's Night Out mug exchange

• Lots of track meets with improved times almost every time

• Weston and Max started an online coding class that they really love.

• Weston attended a couple of 4H meetings to see if that is something he is interested in participating in for the coming school year. 
• We discovered Local Pint and kind of made it "our place" since it's within walking distance of our house and since it's a pretty fun place to hang out.

• We saw A Wrinkle in Time, which was pretty disappointing as a movie but still made for a fun outing.

• Paralympics

• Weston went on a Boy Scout campout. He also worked super hard on merit badges throughout the month.
• We celebrated Pi Day in a big way, with pie for every meal.

• Jeff went to yoga with me.
• I participated in the next wave of a longitudinal health study I've been a part of since I was in high school.
• We decided on the spur of the moment to take a long weekend in Sallisaw, OK for Spring Break. We had fun hanging out at our KOA, hiking through the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, and hiking at Devil's Den State Park in AK. 

• We started making our plans for the next school year.
• We finalized all our plans for our upcoming summer trip to South America.
• We spent a night in Allen, TX, where the kids were delighted to find a putting green and swimming pool at the hotel, in addition to the awesome breakfast buffet. 

• Ruth took a practice PSAT test and did very well.
• The bluebonnets started blooming!

• Weston and Clay participated in the district PSIA meet, and Weston brought home ribbons for Math (6th) and Number Sense (3rd).

• We hiked the Katy Trail, which runs for three miles through downtown Dallas but feels somewhat removed from the city. 

• We discovered Bishop Cider Co. aka Cidercade, where we had fun trying some hard ciders and playing vintage arcade games.

• We had a Wind in the Willows picnic, which we all agreed was the most epic picnic ever.

• Ruth took her first CAP orientation flight. She actually had control of the plane for about 15 minutes in the air, and she had a blast. I think she's truly hooked now!

• We finally got around to visiting the Shannon Brewing Co. in Keller, which we've been meaning to do pretty much since we moved here. The kids enjoyed the yard and table games, and Jeff and I enjoyed sitting on the patio sipping on stouts. I'm sure we'll visit again.

• Clay lost his first tooth with absolutely no fanfare. In fact, the baby tooth just sort of disappeared (seriously, we have no idea when it fell out or where it went!), and his permanent tooth is already filling up the gap. 

• Jeff and I took a cheese making class at Dallas Mozzarella Company.