The Past Few Months in Pictures

Rockstar Noah - this boy loves music!

Best buds

Another soccer season!

Dirt, a magnifying glass, & a ziploc bag kept this kid busy "exploring" for a long time.

Always.

One of their favorite things to do with Grandpa.

A little ukulele session

Noah & Grandpa during Ruby's soccer game

I don't know what the kids are doing, but they love their Grandma!

Donuts w/ Dad at Ruby's school

Zoo field trip

These two!

Noah's letter to Ruby: "I am sorry. You're the best girl in town." How can I make that boy never leave me?!

???

Ruby started Activity Days & loves it. How is she old enough for this?!

"My new bed" - Noah went through a phase where he would sleep under his bed every night & kept this sign up until he decided that his bed was actually more comfortable. 

Little angel w/ the cutest freckles

Easter

Easter was a great one this year. We all missed having our bunny Lucy around (R.I.P.), but we pulled out the kids' traditional bunny ears & had them hunt for eggs. These kids are fun, & holidays are infinitely better with kids around. We spent the week doing Easter activities & reviewing the story of Jesus' Resurrection which is my absolute favorite. I can't help but feel happy & hopeful this time of year because of the knowledge I have of Jesus Christ. Happy Easter!

Spring Break in Mexico

We went to Rocky Point for Spring Break with some friends of ours & had the best time! It started out a little cloudy & cold, but the last day we were there was absolutely perfect. The sun came out & it was warm - the perfect beach day. We happened to stay at the same resort that Tyler & I honeymooned at almost 16 years ago. A lot has changed in the past 16 years, but I forgot how much I love Mexico! I've been dreaming of eating mangoes with lime on the beach every day since we got home. The kids were in heaven having some of their favorite friends there with them & after playing on the beach or in the pool all day we ventured out for tacos & the best churros we've ever had. I'm hoping to make this our new Spring Break tradition!

The Brown Shirt

Ruby had her first-grade play/musical & was one of the three bears. She made her great acting debut with the line, "Goodness gracious, what shall we do?" We spent many family dinners giving her suggestions on different ways to say her line with different accents & inflections, which ended up in a lot of laughing & her turning down every one of our suggestions. Probably a solid choice on her part. She was nervous but she did great! Our family waved & smiled & gave her thumbs up throughout the performance & she kept her game face on the whole time - such a professional;) 

She was supposed to wear a brown shirt for the play. No problem, I would just pick one up from Hobby Lobby super last minute. Like, the night before the play (that was in the morning) last minute. I sent Tyler right before Hobby Lobby closed & he called to tell me there were no brown shirts. Hmm, no problem, just run by Target - no dice. Try Walmart? Tyler called me & said there were no brown shirts anywhere. I told him to come home & I would go find a brown shirt. I was confident I could find one & he just wasn't looking hard enough for it. I ran into a different Target before they closed & searched high & low with no luck. Then I headed to Walmart (my only option now that it was past 10 pm) & searched everywhere. I spent an hour in that store, panicked, thinking how Ruby would always remember the time that she was the only "brown bear" who wasn't brown. Why hadn't I just Amazon Primed it?!? After searching every section of the store & considering sewing one for a hot minute (I don't sew or own a sewing machine), inspiration/desperation struck. I found a white shirt & brown dye & headed home. Did you know that dyeing a shirt requires stirring a big pot on the stove for about 45 min. at just the right temperature? And then you have to wash it so the dye doesn't bleed all over you. I don't even know what time it was when I finished, but I woke up early the next morning to move the shirt to the dryer, & it was still brown! Then I sent Ruby off to school in a still warm brown shirt that will never be worn again & was thrown away after I washed it again & it bled all over a bunch of clothes & ruined them. Mission accomplished.  

Running Club

I signed Ruby up for the school's Running Club this year & she was so mad at me. Ruby's not a fan of trying new things & doesn't love participating in multiple activities. But mother knows best (I hope), & that girl is super athletic & a great runner, so I couldn't resist. I thought it would be so good for her, & sure enough she did really great at it. Her races were against girls from several other schools' grades K-3rd & they ran a mile. Ruby gets this look of determination when she's competing & has set her mind to something & to her surprise, she ended up getting a medal. For the final meet that was way bigger she ended up getting 4th place! We were all super proud of her & it was a great confidence builder for her. Once the season was over she said, "I loved Running Club mom, but please don't sign me up next year." And I said, "We'll see." So yeah, I'm 100% signing her up again next year. 

A 5th place finish at one of the meets & the best brother ever!