NO STOPPING BUT STILL SMELLING THE ROSES

The first half of 2019 has proven to be so busy that I'm going to make this first post about the entire first 6 months. It hasn't been JUST busy, it's also been very joyful and fulfilling.  Jett has continued with baseball and made great strides in his batting and general knowledge of the game. Delilah is still enjoying her time dancing, reading & drawing.  Rich has settled in nicely as Lieutenant at Station 4.  And, I have been very blessed with a full plate of work, family & wonderful friends.

JANUARY
We started the new year with some adventures down by the creek.  Although it was pretty cold, it was still very fun to do a little exploring.

Rich & I took some time for a little "adventure" ourselves... We met up with some neighbors and friends to celebrate Taylor Starr's birthday in Blanco.

Lately, the Twins have really gotten into a couple of baking shows on Netflix.  Nailed It & The Great British Baking Show were their 2 favorites.  So, we thought it might be fun to let them bake a cake of their very own.  They/we made 2 different cakes, 1 chocolate & 1 Funfetti & layered them, iced them & decorated it.  They were "quite delicious, if I do say so myself" (said in my best British accent).

Next, it was time to decorate for Valentines Day.  I didn't do much... just added a few things to our 3-tiered tin on the bar.

In late 2018 Delilah had colored and submitted a picture for a contest.  Well, she won 2nd place!

Another HUMONGOUS thing happened... our pool was finally complete!!  Due to the frequent rain that started in September and persisted though the remainder of the year, it took a bit longer than anticipated.  But, it's done and we are beyond excited!

Jett & Delilah both received awards for the all A Honor Roll as well as for Advanced Reader. We are so very proud of these kiddos!

Jett continued with Jiu Jitsu where we saw him really develop more strength, flexibility and self confidence. At his last seminar and promotion ceremony, he received his 3rd stripe on his belt.

On one very cold Sunday in January, we got down a couple of cool birthday gifts that they had received at their party, back in September.  We had so much fun making hair bows and lava lamps.

Our baby girl received the Character Award for Judgement on January 25th.  She stood up in front of the whole school to accept it & this Mommy just couldn't stop the tears.

Not to be outdone by his sister, Jett also received quite the compliment from Ms. Bartholomew & Coach Vrana.  They sent us the sweetest letter telling us all about our kind, little man!

I don't want to conclude the first month of my blog for the new year without including a few pictures of our fur-family. As well as some that live on the  neighboring ranch.

And, here are a couple from January that I wanted to include:

 FEBRUARY
I started out February with a Realtor tour of some really neat homes in Blanco.  I met up with a friend and made a few more along our mimosa filled bus ride.

One of Delilah's most favorite times of year is the Daddy & Daughter Dance.  We dressed her in the most adorable dress, did her hair in an up-do, painted her nails and even bought her a corsage.  Then, her & Rich danced their hearts out.  Meanwhile, Jett & I hung out at Nicole's house with the rest of the gang.

Valentines Day at school is always so much fun... We decorate boxes for the kids to collect their valentines in and they even had a Valentines Day party in class. We even sent Ms Bartholomew a special Valentines Day treat of her own.
While the kiddos were at school Rich & I met up for our own little Valentines Day snack... chips, queso & margaritas! Then, we ended the special day with heart-shaped pizza-pies.

For the February break from school, we met up with the Strottner-half of the Stranderson's for a little camping.  We spent 3 nights in Fentress on the San Marcos River, at a campsite called Leisure Resort.  It was SUPER chilly at times but we had a great trip!  We hadn't been camping since Labor Day so it felt wonderful to meet up with friends and soak up some nature and fresh air.  (And of course I ordered us new "Stranderson" shirts for the new year).

 Family game night at our house never disappoints...

 A few from the month worth adding:

I finished up February by adding a bit of St Patty's Day green to our kitchen:

MARCH
March started out filled with lots of friends! First, a dear, high-school friend, Paula Lowry, came in town for a visit. It's always wonderful to catch up.

Then, we attended a birthday party & crawfish boil in honor of our sweet friend, Chasl Whelan.  So much fun!

As a member of the Student Council, Delilah and a few others went to a local Assisted Living facility to host a Mardi Gras event for the residents. I love that she's learning about community involvement.

Delilah also had the pleasure of attending a birthday party for Ava Ruston.  They got to put on make up, paint their nails, and then even walk the run way.

With all of their excitement for Spring Break, I decided to make some special decorations for the car for when I picked up Jett and Delilah from school.  I even added a couple of fun camping games. After I picked them up from school, we stopped for ice cream at the Spring Branch Store.

For Spring Break, we went camping at the same spot we visited in February, The Leisure Resort.  But, this time, we met up with another firefighter family, the Ulrich's & also met a new family, the Felux's.  Clarence, Milagros, Brisa & Leia also came out for one day & the kids had an absolute ball playing in the river. I can always tell just how much fun we had by the mounds of laundry that I have to do after getting home.

We did a couple of things to celebrate St Patrick's Day this year.  First, we popped by Chick's to listen to some live music, let the Twins play & have a cold beer.  The following day, me, Jett & Delilah met up with some old friends at The Branch for lunch.  It's always wonderful to see and catch up with Sylvia, Ellen, Jessica & all of their kiddos.

Spring wouldn't be complete without the annual Bluebonnet pictures.  I had to work so Rich was sent out to complete the task. I think they turned out great!

Jett started Spring baseball with a new team, The Bulverde Red Sox.  I sponsored their Team and therefore had our Team name on their jersey's as well as a banner for the field.  I was happy to help them & so very proud of our boy!!

All of the second grade classes joined together & performed in a "sing along" where they all sang songs from the 1950's.  Jett & Delilah had parts in the song Surfin' USA.  It was really cute!

Delilah just couldn't wait any longer... with the pool temperature still in the low 80's, she dove right in!  she swam and played for about an hour and then went straight inside to a very hot shower.

March was Jett's month for being recognized with a Character Award.  His was for Responsibility!  Way to go, Buddy!!  We are so proud of him!

The school had the kids Spring photos taken... I'll admit... it makes me a little sad to see just how much they change each year!

This year was our first time to participate in the Knibbe Ranch Chili Cook-Off.  The Anderson's partnered up with the Starr's and made some very delicious Keto-Chili.  While we didn't win a place for the taste of the chili itself, we DID win for our presentation, ha ha!!  So much fun!  We can't wait until the next one!

We finished up March with some more baseball.  Delilah was at each practice, supporting her brother.  Ok... maybe "supporting" is not totally accurate.  She read most of the time.

A few more random pics... work stuff, play dates and our "pets":

And finally, decorating for Easter...

APRIL
Earlier in the year Delilah had decided that she wanted to participate in the PTA Reflections Contest.  This year the subject was "Heroes Among Us".  Of course Delilah chose her own, personal hero... her daddy! While she didn't place, she did receive a participation ribbon and had the honor of walking the stage to be recognized for her amazing effort. We are super proud of our little girl!

Delilah and I have been having so much fun with her long hair.  We've been searching for hair-do's on Pintrist and trying new ones any morning we have the time.

Our Team, The Rangel Real Estate Group, had our Annual Client Appreciation Event at Bigz Hamburgers.  We are blessed to be able to help so many amazing people and this is our way of saying "thank you"!  There was food, prizes, balloon artists and a candy bar.  Fun for everyone!

After the Appreciation Event, I managed to squeeze in some "girl time".  First, I met up with Priscilla and Christi for yummy food and even better drinks at Verde Bistro.  Then, on my way home, I popped in to Max's Roadhouse for a couple of drinks with the crazy ladies from the neighborhood.

While I had a super busy evening myself, Rich took the Twins to see the Rampage play a little ice hockey.  It was First Responder's Appreciation Night and they did a presentation for Scott Deem.

Jett & Delilah's second grade class took a field trip to the San Antonio DoSeum.  They got to try out all sorts of fun things!

 

The Arlon Seay Student Council made and sold Tootsie Pop Flowers.  I think all of the kids had a great time putting them together.

One beautiful Sunday afternoon me, Rich, Kevin & Angela took a little trip to Fredericksburg to try out some new wines!

So, Delilah has been testing her boundaries a LOT lately. So, we've revamped out punishment schedule... now, for sassy talking the kids must do sit-up, push-ups & burpees!! They may continue to be back-talkers, BUT they'll also be fit as a fiddle.

Sandra Rangel, our Team Lead, was recognized at the NAHRP Awards. Rich attended with me and we had a very nice evening eating dinner, sipping drinks and cheering on my Mentor.

One of the Twins precious friends, Thomas Chick, left the cutest surprise for them.  He "egged" our yard by leaving special eggs for Jett & Delilah to hunt.

The kids are always having fun at school:

Easter weekend was full of family, friends & celebration.  The kids had a school holiday on Good Friday.  Grandy & I took Jett & Delilah to Chicks to relax and have yummy sno-cones.

Saturday we spent the day at the Wagner's home.  There was a HUGE Easter egg hunt for all of the children and the adults took the opportunity to snack, drink & catch up.

On Easter Sunday. after searching for the hidden baskets, we invited the Handke's, Walker's and Grandy over for dinner, drinks and Easter egg hunting... we even had a special Easter egg hunt for the adults. And, even the water was still a bit chilly, the kids had NO problems taking a swim! The day was so busy that we totally forgot to dye eggs.  So, once our company left and showers were done, we dyed a few Easter eggs.

More baseball and Delilah helped to hand out the Team snacks after the game:

To celebrate Rich's 44th birthday, we went camping at Canyon Lake's Jellystone Park.  We had to make our way back to town on that Saturday for Jett's baseball team photos and one game.  But, then, we quickly made our way back to the campsite.  The kids swam; met a sweet friend, Elle; We made steak for the birthday boy's special dinner; and we had cake for dessert.  the following evening we had s'mores by the campfire with our new friends.

Some extras from April:

 MAY
Early in May, Jett & I participated in a Kickball tournament.  It was a fundraiser for the Seth Strong foundation, benefitting children and families of children with life threatening illnesses. While I feel a bit too old to play such a game, I'm proud to post that I didn't fall and break a hip AND we had a blast!!

 For Mother's Day, we took the opportunity to have more friends over to relax and play by the pool.  All of the husbands were awesome and waited on us MOST of the day. It was fun and a great way to celebrate one of my most favorite day of the year!

For Mother's Day, the kids filled out questionnaires about me... favorite color, favorite food, favorite drink, "what did Mommy do before she had kids..."  HYSTERICAL BUT TRUE!! Man, I sure was fun before I had children!!!

With the end of May comes the end of baseball.  While the Bulverde Red Sox didn't win any trophy's, I feel that Jett truly enjoyed every minute (well, mostly) out on that field.  I absolutely LOVE cheering him on and am looking forward to Fall Ball!!

The last month of school also means lots of end of the year banquets and parties.  Among the first of those was the Student Council one.  It was also a special celebration because we all said goodbye to Ms. Garibay, a very loved teacher at Arlon Seay.

 Next up was Field Day:

The kids had another vacation day from school for the Friday prior to Memorial Day.  So, we decided to join Grandy in Blanco for pizza, wine and walk by the Blanco River.  It was such a nice & relaxing evening.

While spending the night with Grandy, her and the Twins decided to go to the cemetery and place flags on all of the headstones that were marked as Veterans.  So proud of these kids and thankful that their Grandmother is teaching them these graces.

On Sunday afternoon our dear friends, The Handke's came over to spend some time by the pool and hang out.  This kids a blast playing and we love visiting with Joe & Rachel.

On Monday, Memorial day, we loaded up in the golf cart and headed to the Starr's casa.  Lots of neighbors, food, water & fun!  I love our beautiful neighborhood and the wonderful people IN it.

Every year the Elementary School puts on a talent show for the all of the students and parents.  Jett and Delilah joined forces with the Starr & Gledhill kids for their part.  Jett & Hunter did a comical skit with all of the girls following that up with a hula hoop dance. They all put on quite the performance!

Every year, to send off the classmates and Teacher, we always make and pass out special treats.  This year, we gave Mrs. Bartholomew a big, green bucket filled with as many GREEN things as we could find.  Green is her favorite color so boy, was she surprised!  Each student received a super her cup filled with a candy and snacks.

The end of the school year always calls for the school carnival.  They had a book walk, ball toss, fishing for toys and face painting.

The very last day of class was packed full of excitement and the class awards ceremony.  Delilah and her friend Lane were the  hosts of the occasion and each student received recognition for a special trait by their peers.  Delilah received the Sunshine Award and Jett received one for being the Best Listener. (Uuuhhh, guess he uses all of THAT special power at school).  They both also were recognized for being advanced Readers as well as their standings on the A Honor Roll.  My heart just gushes with pride!

To celebrate the end of a FANTASTIC 2nd grade year, we filled the car with balloons, a banner and a couple of pool toys.  They were SO excited as they left the school for the Summer. We celebrated with sno-cones at Chicks and then a nighttime swim.

A few fun/quirky pics that are worth seeing:

JUNE
We kicked off June with a play/swim date with some of our favorite friends, the Ruston's.

A little bit of tagging along with Mommy, to work...

Then, it was off to Galveston for a week of fun, sun and sand with the Strottner's.  We floated; soaked up the rays; took several ferry rides; sipped cool drinks at Murdoch's; hung out an a really cool guitar lounge; celebrated Patrick's birthday; and even squeezed in a quick dinner with Roberta and Johnny Garton.  Cheers, Galveston... until next year!

On the way out of town, headed back to Spring Branch, we stopped at the cemetery to visit the headstones of Bun, Grandaddy & my Mom.

The very next day after getting home from Galveston, we took a short jaunt to Boerne.  We ate lunch, did a little browsing in a few stores then stopped to feed the ducks and turtles at the river. This is always a good way to beat the post vacation blues.

Next up was Delilah's dance recital.  She's been taking dance now for over 2 years and really enjoys it.  This year she showed off her routines in ballet & hip-hop.  Daddy had to work that day but me, Jett & Grandy clapped loud enough for the whole auditorium to hear.  Way to go, baby girl!

We celebrated Father's Day with gifts, steaks, golf cart rides and swimming!  I'd say the this #1 Daddy had a pretty awesome day!

With what little spare time we had, we filled them with playdates and swimming.  I'd say this first year with our new pool is paying off.

Can't forget these cats of ours...

We finished out this amazing month of June by celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary. With as busy as our lives have been, we opted to celebrate close to home... we had an amazing lunch in Wimberly, hit a winery, did a little shopping & ended our special day with a bottle of prosecco at Wine 101, in downtown Bulverde.  Our life isn't perfect, but, I must say... it's pretty damn close!

Well, friends, that's it... 6 months of Anderson fun, in a nutshell!  Thanks for indulging me this far... IF you made it through this entire thing.
Hope y'all are all enjoying our Summer as much as we are... Until next time...