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.

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!