SANDCASTLES, CAMPING & 8 YEARS OLD

Whoa!  Where do I start?!  Since my last post, we have had so many adventures!  We've been camping; gone to the beach several times; Jett & Delilah started second grade & have turned 8 years old.  All of our lives are so very busy but so amazing at the same time!  Jett is thriving in Jiu Jitsu & recently started playing baseball.  Delilah is still taking dance (ballet & hip-hop) & also in her second year of representing her class as student council rep.  Rich has found his new chapter as Lieutenant at station 4, close to down town. My real estate career is still going great & I'm really enjoying it.

MAY 2018
Delilah was recognized for being a great example for her peers... She received the Mighty Maverick Award.  Way to go, Birdy!

Arlon Seay had a "Spring Fling" event at the school.  The kids sang some songs & the parents were able to see some of the fun projects they had been working on.

The entire first grade class was supposed to have a field trip to the zoo.  Well, down came the rain and washed those plans away. But, we made the best of it & took the twins to see a movie instead.  Afterwards, they played in the rain... in their undies!

The make-up field trip to the zoo went great!! Rich & I went to chaperone and we had a ball, too!  Afterwards, Rich took the kids by his new station to check it out!

Somewhere in the middle of the month, the students had Invention Convention.  Each child chose an inventor to dress up as & write a report about.  Delilah chose Mary Anderson, inventor of the windshield wiper.  Jett chose Markus Persson, inventor of Minecraft... OF COURSE!

To celebrate Cinco De Mayo, we went up to Chick's, the local Meat Market. They had a band playing, sno-cones fore the kids & of course, cold "beverages" for Rich & I. Before calling it a day, we took the golf cart for a little spin down by the creek.

 Since Mother's Day is now one of my most favorite holidays (& with good reason), we always celebrate big! Rich was on shift on Saturday, so I started the weekend by meeting up with Priscilla & the kids for some fun at Spring Creek Gardens. On Sunday, we had a wonderful brunch with family and friends at Chick's & then I snuck away with the ladies from our neighborhood to see a movie.  It was a great day! My favorite part is receiving the fun papers from the kids where they write things about me...

 We got another chance to break in the new Travel Trailer... We took a quick trip to Bandera & stayed at Antler Lodge. We swam, played some of the games inside the lodge, drove around the ranch and spotted some exotic animals & went into town for some yummy pizza & good music. We even made a quick stop at the Frontier Times Museum.

Jett & Delilah really enjoyed being in Ms. Stanley's class for 1st grade.  For Teacher Appreciation week, we came up with just the right surprise... a metal bucket filled with a lot of her favorite things!

 When the school year is almost over, what else can you do but have an End of Year School carnival!

Jett & Delilah helped me in getting their end of year class gifts together.  We gave them each a popsicle holder with their names on them. We even added in the popsicle!

 Here are a few photos from May that I wanted to include...

 JUNE 2018
The last day of every school year is always so special! Exciting while thinking of all of the fun that lies ahead; sadness for missing friends over the next few months; BUT always so fun! After the kids class awards in the library, (Delilah received the award for "Smartees" & Jett for "Mr. Goodbar") we took them for pizza at Trilogy's THEN icecream at Beez Neez. They each got sundaes with lots of toppings. We finished off the day at ASAH, where Jett takes Jiu Jitsu… Mr. Charles had an end of school get together for all of the kiddos and the families.  There was pizza, cookies, a bounce house & of course some vino for Mom & Dad!

Delilah had her very first dance recital, with Diamond Dance Studio. It took place at the High School & she did an amazing job!  We couldn't be more proud of our baby girl!

In June our neighborhood started "Friday Nights at the Park" down at our Amenity Center. A group of us all meet for swimming and making great memories.

We took a quick trip into the town of Boerne for a little lunch.  The twins played a few games on the porch of the café.  Before heading home we stopped to feed the ducks.

Rich was on shift this year, for Father's Day. So, we decided to spend some time at the fire station with him.  Playing with the hoses never gets old.

On a slow weekend Delilah decided she wanted to dye her hair pink! It was Summer, after all... what the heck! So pink it was! Not to be outdone by his sister, Jett had to spray some blue into his.  Then, we spent some time by the neighbors pool.

On a lazy Sunday, Rich on shift, & just too hot to be outside, Jett & Delilah played the longest game of Twister, ever known to man.

June 2018 was the very first Stranderson's Beach Vacation!  The Anderson's & the Strottner's rented a beach house in Galveston, on Crystal Beach, on Bolivar.  We had such an amazing time with these great friends! We played in the sand & waves; relaxed; had wonderful dinners; made s'mores on a grill; visited Murdoch's Souvenir Shop  & had a game night. These are the memories that will last a lifetime! Can't wait until our 2019 Beach Vacay!

Gotta add these extras from July...

JULY 2018
We decided to spend the 4th of July in Port Aransas this year & we are so glad we did! We took the camper down to Port A RV for 5 days. While there we met up with some special friends... the Wagner's, The Camacho's & the Rustons.  Other than a slight hiccup with Delilah getting Swimmer's ear, the trip was great fun. We caught a bunch of rays while playing in the ocean & watched the amazing fireworks show down by the Port A Ferry bridge. Before heading back to Spring Branch, we stopped at the local candy store for some road-treats!

 

The week after returning home from Port Aransas, Jett & Delilah attended a week long camp in New Braunfels, called T Bar M. It was 5 days of learning Christ's word, while building new friendships and making new memories. We will definitely we returning next year!

More fun times at our very own park & pool... "Sundaes on Friday" was a big hit with the kids, big & small.

We love spending time at Chick's Meat Market... The owners have a son, Thomas Chick, that go to school with Jett & Delilah.  The entire family is adored by the community! On this particular Sunday, we attended a Gospel Music Brunch. Fantastic food and the sno-cones are always a favorite!

One very hot Saturday morning, we decided that we'd go to the Bulverde Humane Society and "Read to the Dogs & Cats".  Our kiddos are avid animal lovers so I knew they'd enjoy it!

While Aunt Sue was in town, Jett & Delilah went on an adventure with her and Grandy. They went to the museum, ate some lunch and then snuggled up on the couch with some books.

Every once in a while, we have "girl days" and "boy days". This day, Rich & Jett went to Alexander's birthday party & Delilah and I got pedicures and had ice cream.  We love spending one on one time with each of them.

 Throughout the month, we had several play dates &  visited Sweet Moo's Dessert Shop.

Late July we took yet another camping trip to Port Aransas. While we were there we caught up with my boss & Team Lead, Sandra and her family for a day.

 A few more special pics from the month of July:

 AUGUST 2018
Rich & I kicked off the month of August just right, with a date-night with some precious neighbors, the Williams. We jaunted off to a neat, little place called Verde Bistro, in downtown Bulverde.  They have BY FAR the best martinis that I've ever had!  Our night was filled with Tapas, martinis, friends & good old fashioned belly laughs!

Cousin Mandy had a precious, baby girl this October.  So, in August, Delilah & I attended her baby shower while Rich, Jett & Grandy had a play-date of their own.

I always love to include some photos of our fur-family in these posts... Now that we live in Spring Branch, that doesn't include JUST the kitties, but the neighboring cows/steers/deer, too!

While approaching 8 years old, a particular little girl has really started testing her boundaries.  Especially me ME! While some times I decide to pick my battles and turn a blind eye, there are those days when I call her to the carpet.  This was one of those days:

The end of summer called for another camping trip with the Stranderson's.  This time we headed to Kerrville & the Caroll's even joined us.  The fishing was fabulous & so was the company!

Along with the end of Summer comes the preparation for a new school year.  That means fresh hair cuts, school supply shopping, Teacher-bribe gifts & meet the teacher night.  This year, we even "stocked the break-room" with lots of yummy goodies for the teachers to snack on.

 The weekend before school started, a dear friend celebrated her birthday. A group of friends gathered at the restaurant Whiskey Cake to wish Nicole Wagner a very happy birthday!

The first day of school is always so fun & exciting! I made a special breakfast of cinnamon rolls in the shape of their initials and a "2" for second grade.  Then, came the 500 photographs to document this big day!

Right after kid-drop off, LOTS of Mom's (some crying and some cheering) met up at Chick's Meat Market for some live music & mimosa's!

 Here are a couple of extras to finish off August...

SEPTEMBER 2018
Well, 2018 is the year that I turned the BIG 5-0!  It's still hard for me to wrap my brain, because I just don't picture myself as 50, haha!  We definitely celebrated this milestone... We first threw a little shin-dig at a local Distillery, with lots of friends.  Then, the following weekend, we took out the Travel Trailer for a camping trip on Canyon Lake.  Of course, the Strottner's joined us and as usual, we had a blast!  Until the torrential rain storm came through on Sunday morning...

And, here's the camping trip:

Rich had to work this year, on my actual birthday... but, the following day we had the kids new favorite dish ("Chinese chicken") and cake. Then, I was given a few of my favorite things.  I must say that I feel pretty darn special!

 I finally had the Team over to our house for a meeting & making our pop-by's together, for the month of October.  The boys couldn't make it but it was great to have Jacki and Sandra over.

I managed to have a little time with the "ladies in the hood" a couple of times in September.  The first one, I hosted a sign painting party. Always so much fun mixing our crafty sides with cocktails.  The second was Bunco night at Tana Leonards. I just love these crazy ladies!

The twins were invited to a very special birthday party of one of our neighbors.  Jensen Williams had a dinosaur themed party complete with a huge bounce house and dinosaurs that came out of the woods!

I smartened up on picture day this year... since Jett & Delilah never quite look like the same kids in the pictures, as when I send them off to school... I decided to take a few of my own:

 Speaking of birthdays... Jett & Delilah turning 8 years old just seems impossible!  I swear it wasn't THAT long ago that we brought them home from the NICU.  Tiny, red & screaming!!  We celebrated their big day with a Camping themed party down by the park & pool.  One of their best friends Olivia, who has the exact same birth date as them, joined us & we shared in the festivities! The "triplets" had a great time! Guests got to snack on treats such as "deer poop" (jelly belly's); camp fire flames (Cheetos) & branches (cookies) while swimming and going on a scavenger hunt. After everyone was worn out and really hungry, we ordered pizza and had cupcakes. Before heading home, each friend was given a little spiral notebook, a pen and a piece of candy as a thank-you!

On the night that they went to bed for the last time as 7 year olds, we found them snuggling together.  It warms my heart to see how close they are becoming.  There truly is something so special about the bond of multiples. Before they woke up the next morning, we hung streamers across their doors.  Apparently Delilah remembered when we did that many years ago & has been asking for it again, ever since.

On the following morning, on their actual birthday, we took them to breakfast at Ay Chiwawa!  They both ate their weight in pancakes and bacon! Then, we rushed straight home for them to open their what seemed like a million gifts.  We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family.

September isn't quite complete until we celebrate one of my dearest friends... Kevin Walker.  For his birthday, we attended a very special and delicious dinner prepared by a chef and served to us at Kevin & Angela's home.  It was a great evening.

And finally, a few strays from September...

Well, that's all I got! We have literally tried to cram as much fun into these last 4-5 months as we possibly could! Beach trips, camping, birthdays, school, working, sports... you name it!
So, goodbye for now... Next up is October and Halloween!!!