April 2021

 Started the month off with getting my garden ready for the season.  Having a puppy and fresh dirt to dig in DID NOT go well together.  We ended up making a little fence around the garden, which actually helped for the tomato plants and cucumber vines. 

Howie growing like a weed!

Kate helped make some Easter cupcakes for our company coming for the weekend.  Adam, Natasha, and their kids all joined us for the Easter festivities. 

I took the girls rock climbing for the first time and they loved it! Kate will go all the way to the top, but Jane is still a little hesitant to go to the halfway point.  I've tried to make it a point to go at least once a month to help build confidence and a different skill set.

Rebekah

Jane

Kate rappelling

Jane rappelling

Stacey and I at a baby shower for a co-worker.

Lots of my co-workers.

Kate and Jane at a Spring Festival to celebrate Easter. 

Decorating eggs.

I believe the instructions called for putting rice in a bag to make the eggs tie-dyed. 

Looking for hidden eggs Easter morning. 

Found one!

All the cousins and their goodies!

The girls had a Spring Concert at Northside Baptist Academy.  Kate had a couple solos in The Boston Tea Party play.  She was nervous, but does so well under pressure and is excellent at memorization. 

Jane sang the sweetest songs with her Kindergarten class.

Kate did amazing with her songs as well.

Jane with all her little friends.  They adore her the most!

Kate's best friend Hadassah. 

Family pictures at Belton Lake with the bluebonnets.

He just keeps growing!

The Sacred Music Festival at Mary Hardin Baylor College for a piano competition.  The girls were nervous, but did great!

Waiting outside the Veterinarians office to get some shots.  Poor little guy. 

Bryan and I did a little front yard transformation.  The cold winter had killed about 5 bushes in our front yard.  I decided putting rocks would be a great contrast against the mulch and trees.  It was a lot of work, but I think it looks really good.  

Best friends at work.

May 2019

I started my first garden this year.  Squash, tomatoes, sunflowers, basil, strawberries, and carrots.  We released ladybugs to help with keeping the bad bugs away.  

Bryan and I had two triathlons this month- a super sprint distance and an olympic distance.  We both did great! 

The girls first rodeo.

Bryan and my first Terrain Race in Austin.

The girls graduated from gymnastics class at Texas Tumblers. They both learned so much over the school year.

My mother's day- flowers, drawings, PMD, and a necklace.  The best part was not being called in to work and hanging out with my family. 

We drove out to Salada, played in the water, and

drank lemonade and

rootbeer.

November 2018

I am very proud of my little garden of lettuce.  Our house had these tiny raised gardens and I figured I'd try to use them for the winter before we move them to somewhere not in the middle of the yard in the spring/summer.  I had put in some beets and peas, but they didn't make it.  Only my lettuce has survived.  But that is a good thing, since I can barely keep my house plants alive! 

 Bryan went to San Antonio  to present his fellowship before the board of Optometry and became a new fellow! Congratulations to him!!

We camped at McKinney Falls State Park over the Veteran's Day holiday.  It was a little wet and a little cold.  But the girls did great.  This would be a beautiful place to visit in the spring and summer when the water is warm.  

We also ran 9 miles in San Antonio over the Veteran's Day holiday with one of Bryan's friends, Joy.  Because it was such a small race, most of us got first place in our age group! It was a very cold run.  I guess this prepared me for my other very cold run in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

 Kate's school picture!  Look at that fake smile!

I went up to Oklahoma before Thanksgiving to run a 1/2 marathon.  Basically, I am trying to keep up with my friend Jennifer and all her different state medals.  This run was so cold. It was so cold I ran the fastest I've ever run- 1:52! A new PR!

The worst part about this race was that I lost my car keys that were hidden under my car.  I had no cell phone or money because everything was in the car.  Nothing was stolen out of the car. No windows were broken.  My keys were just taken out of thin air.  I found a kind sole that let me warm up in their car, call a pop-a-lock guy, and wait until my car opened was opened.  I took an Uber back to where I was staying (Adam's house) to shower and really get warm.  Then I had the car towed just in case someone were to come back and claim the vehicle.  Bryan was able to first class mail the extra car keys, thank goodness- because a new key costs like $250!  It was a crazy, cold adventure!

 But I got my Oklahoma medal!

For Thanksgiving, we all traveled to Michael's home in Ardmore, Oklahoma.  It was Wendy and her family, Adam and his family, Bryan and our family, and Stratton.  Amy and her family came a few days before, but left early to have Thanksgiving in New Mexico.  We played ultimate frisbee, ran a 5K, played at a trampoline park, swam at a hotel, watched Ralph Breaks the Internet, went bowling, drove through a park with Christmas lights, ate Braum's Ice Cream, and played with cousins. 

It was lots of fun!