January 2016

1/31 - We slept in some. By the time we got up for showers etc it was about time for lunch. Somehow while resting kids got breakfast, practiced piano and read for the day.

We went to Freebirds watching some girls set up a cookie booth.

After lunch we worked on painting pinewood derby cars. Then the boys went to soccer and football practice. Kasey and I went to see my friend Marisa and her new baby Aubrey and family. Aubrey is about the size Kasey was when she was born. So little and sweet.

1/30 - We tried to sleep in some, but didn't work very well. The car dealership called at 7:30 to tell us the 4runner was ready. We got up, got ready, took Nanny's car back to Grandma and Pops, then went to get 4runner. The kids and I went to drop off cookies and went to Walgreens for a few things. We all went to lunch. After lunch I was crunching number for girl scout cookies, Greg and Landon went to practice football and Kasey was playing with her toys. Then we got ready for basketball. Landon's team had a tough game and loss, but overall I felt Landon played stronger than he had been.

Landon got to go home with Colin for dinner and some boy time. Kasey and I got to have dinner at Zorbas with Tracy and Elisabeth and then we went to Pacuigo. It was fun, but a little different without some wine. The girls had a good time at Pacuigo drawing on napkins and making a fort with kids tables and chairs.

Greg, Dave and Doug went out for boys night. They tried a new place called Knife.

1/29 - Landon had a soccer game. I barely got home in time to go with them to the game, but I made it. FC Knights won the game. It's fun, but wish we could have dinner with friends on a Friday night. Soon.

1/24 - Greg and I got to sleep in some. Went to get the kids. At my parents house we had some fun playing with Alexa (my parents Echo). Pretty cool. Then we went to get Kasey at Grandma and pops. Kasey had gone to church to sell and distribute girl scout cookies.

We got some lunch and got ready for pinewood derby workshop. We went to lucy's house to work on Kasey's car. Landon got to do some with power sander. Kasey got to help Greg use dremel tool, scroll saw, and hammer nails

At the end we took Landon to football practice, then Kasey and I rode bike/walked to practice with Patch. After practice we let Patch run in practice area - she was going crazy.

1/23 - Greg had all day scout university. He had to get up about 6 and left about 7. He left his wallet so came back for me to meet him at the front door. Of course the dog went crazy barking even though it was just Greg. Needless to say that woke up both kiddos. We all got up. I got showered as the kids played piano and got ready. There was some issue with my plan to go to starbucks for breakfast. Landon didn't want to go, then he didn't want breakfast, then he didn't want to get dressed. We discussed/argued until he got dressed and we went to get simple drink (hot chocolate for kids) and small breakfast. We got home to eat let the kids watch a show. We got ready for Landon to head to cub scouts and Kasey and I ran a few errands. Then we came home. Kasey and I started to play a game til Landon got home. We all played together. Then we decided to head to lunch. After a bit of argument we agreed on La Madeleine. We had a good lunch. In the morning the kids practiced piano, but they still needed to read. So they did. Then it was about time to get ready for soccer and packing for overnight at grandparents.

We left for basketball game with everything for overnight with grandparents. We got everything distributed. The kids went home with grandparents, I went shopping a little from Kohls, and Greg finished up university was mentioned.

We went out that evening to a friends 40th birthday party. It was fun to catch up with friends and be out with just adults. After the party a few of us went to have a drink at Mi Cocina - we had a nightcap and closed down the place.

1/22 - We had another Friday night soccer game. We had dinner at home, I got home from work and ate quick before we left. We were short a few people at the game. During the game, Sutton hit head to head with one of the boys from another team. They hit pretty hard. She was crying, but got right up ready to play. The other kid was down for a bit and walked off the field. Strong girl. She had a pretty good black eye the day after. Needless to say the kids won their game (love this team and families). It was Micah's birthday so his parents brought cupcakes for all the kids. One of 4th grad teachers Ms Wheeler also showed up to cheer on the team.

1/17 - of course kids didn't sleep in. I tried to :) We finally got up and showered so we could have lunch. After lunch Landon had a friend over. Kasey and I went selling some more girls scout cookies. Several people were home so that was good. Greg went to help with pinewood derby and kids and I hung out at the house. We ate dinner at home and just chilled.

1/16 - We tried sleeping in, but kids didn't sleep in to much. We got up and Kasey and I got started selling girl scout cookies in the neighborhood. Most people weren't home, but we still sold several. We came home so we could go to Elke's for lunch. She was making yummy burger special so we all got it. Kasey and I shared one. We went and did a little Kohls shopping to get Landon more sweatpants since he keeps tearing holes in them. After that we went to Grandma and Pops for a bit so Greg and Pops could shop for pinewood derby stuff. Landon worked on lego and Kasey played a game with Grandma while I tried to sort cookie money :)

Then we went home and I took kids to friends house. A family that used to live near us and played sports and scouts with us was visiting from Austin. The kids got to visit and so did the adults. It was fun to catch up some until we had to leave for basketball. The boys played hard and won the game. Go Warhawks. Of course the game started an hour late and we hadn't eaten yet. We settled on Spazo for family Italian dinner. Again we got kids to bed little late.

1/15 - I left the office in Shanghai at 3 to head to the airport. I couldn't get connected at the airport to tell anyone I was leaving, but I did. Almost 13 hour flight on the way back. I got to see a few good movies. I saw the Martian, Ricki and the Flash, Trainwreck, We are your Friends. When I got back a car service picked me up and took me to Landon's indoor soccer game. Our team played good and won. Fun game to watch. After the game most of the families from the team went to a burger wing place. We all ate and then they started karaoke. Landon and Kasey didn't, but several of the kids got up to sing. Landon and Kasey sang too, but from watching. At any rate, we all had a great time. Love the families from our neighborhood and school. Kids went to bed late, but it was fun.

1/11 - I was flying to China. We took the kids to school and Greg took me to the airport. Its almost a 16 hour flight to Shanghai, but its direct. I was on new plane so had lots of good movies I haven't seen, I got to see the Intern, Straight out of Compton, Magic Mike XXL and a few others. I even got some work done.

1/10 - We had a good day. We slept in some. Went to Bonnie Ruth for brunch which we always love. Then we went to do some shopping. Kids bought a few things with Christmas money and got Landon some football gloves. That afternoon the boys had flag football practice. Kasey and I walked/rode bike to the park. We played with patch on the blacktop. I had to fix bike chain for a boy out there. After I fixed it Kasey said, both of my parents are engineers - made me smile :)

Landon and I walked Patch back home. We hung out and ended up just eating left overs at home for dinner.

1/9 - Landon had a basketball game later in the day. Kasey was starving even before the game. We made it through. The boys played hard, but lost this one by a bit. After the game we went to dinner the 4 of us at Cotton Patch Cafe. We had a few laughs and all split chicken fried steak and grilled chicken with sides. It was yummy. We spurged and got chocolate cake for dessert - yum!

1/8 - Landon had a Friday night indoor soccer game. FC Nights won 4 to 0. It got a little rough at times, but kids played hard and had fun. After the game, Landon and I went to dinner at Roman Cocina for dinner. We waited for a while, but had a good dinner and enjoyed it. We had to wait a while and the kids were tired, but it was nice :)

1/4 - We had a busy day. We woke up and Landon and I decided to go see Star Wars: The Force Awakens in IMAX 3D. It was really cool of course. We came home and went to lunch. Then Kasey and I had girl scout meeting with her troop - we practiced selling cookies :) The boys were at basketball. After that we finally went bowling. The kids had been asking all break. We went to Splitsville, bowled a few games and had some dinner. Good times to end holiday vacation!

1/2 - The dog woke me up about 5am. I wasn't sure I could go back to sleep, but then later woke up and it was 9am. Greg had made eggs with the kids. I had a meeting with my co-leader for Daisy scouts. We met at Startbucks and did good planning for the spring. Of course the family was texting for me to come home, but they didn't like that I smelled like Starbucks. Oh well. I picked them up and we went to lunch together. The kids wanted to go bowling, but Kasey didn't have socks on. So we came home and instructed her to always wear socks with closed shoes.

Greg and I spent some time looking at some vacation options for 2016 and the kids got bored. They did spend some time playing, but mainly complaining :). Then we did some bowling in the house and made some dinner. Kids picked okra which I roasted and celery for vegetables (neither of which Greg will eat). But they went well with Greg's chicken enchiladas.  

1/1 - We all slept in. Landon slept til 8:30, Kasey slept til 9:38 and they woke us up after that. We got up and showered and decided to go to lunch out. We watched some football in the afternoon, played some Clue and Greg and I enjoyed some wine. The kids went to play outside some and Greg made his chicken enchiladas since the kids asked him to. We had enchiladas, homemade guacamole, black eyed peas and baked okra. Good dinner and good start to the new year.