June 2018

6/30 - We went to the neighborhood pool and met up with several families including friends from out of town.   the boys had fun playing football in the pool.   the girls had fun making up games and hanging out together.  We got pictures of all the boys together and all the girls together.  The adults got to hang out and talk for a while, several of the moms got in the pool for a little while.  We ordered some pizza and enjoyed lunch with some friend.   Great time for all.

6/29 - A friend who moved away several years ago came in town.  Several ladies went out to dinner at Wild Salsa.  We had a semi private room which was perfect for a late dinner and a few drinks.  It was fun catching up with friends, several of them our sons played baseball together when they were younger.  Fun times

6/26 - We had dinner together, and then had family time outside in the pool.  we are all thinking that we need to get a pool at our house :)

6/24 - Today we slept in some, had breakfast together, went through Kasey total breakdown and then headed to the house to work on stuff.  We have to start getting stuff moved out of the bedrooms so they can do carpet soon.   We also did some minor dusting which is hard to do.

On our way back we grabbed some pizza from Papa Murphy's.   We hung out for a while when Greg went to the store then Kasey got in the pool and really wanted the pool for herself until it was time to shower and get ready for bed.  Tomorrow we are all back to some normal schedules - me at work, Kasey has camp and Landon starts performance course to help get in shape for football.

6/23 - We left early to get the kids from camp.  We thought Kasey's pickup was 9:30 so we left early enough to get there at 9.   As we got closer we discovered it started at 9.  Needless to say we were late.  I knew Kasey would be freaking out that we weren't there.  She was very happy to see us.  She had a fun week and was ready to sign up for next year on the spot.   The counselors give the kids character traits that they see in them over the week - Kaseys were authentic, enthusiastic and devoted.

After that we went to get Landon.  He looked super tired but was also ready to sign up for next year camp right on the spot.  Landon's character traits were reliable, teachable, and persistent.

Glad they had fun.  Kasey and I both took naps on the way home.  Greg got to take a short one after we got home :)

We had the grandparents over for some BBQ for dinner and some pool time.   The grandmothers and I sat on the Jacuzzi edge with our feet in the pool.  Grammy and I enjoyed some wine.  The kids were playing and spent some time talking to us about camp.  Kasey tried to teach us some songs, but we weren't very good at it.

It was fun to all get together and hang out.  The grandfathers talked outside the pool and Greg did several things :)

6/18 - 6/22 - Greg and I had a week without kids, but we didn't really go anywhere because of all the stuff going on with the house.  I worked Monday and Tuesday and we spent most of the rest of the week shopping for house stuff.   We decided on our backsplash, our carpet for bedrooms and looked some more for furniture like couches and entertainment centers.  We will get there someday :)

That week we started staying at a friends house in McKinney.  We have been very fortunate to stay at friends houses while our house gets updated.   Greg and I got to have a few nice dinners that week in McKinney.  Once at Gregory's Bistro and one at Harry's on the Harbor.  Even being hot outside we sat on the patio Friday which was nice except for the flys.  Lots of flys.

6/17 - Today was the day we took the kids to Pinecove.  We started out slow.  Had mid morning brunch and got everything ready.  We left around noon to drive there.  The kids read in the car.  We stopped at Buccees and got a drink and snack to eat on the way.  We got there pretty early but still had a line to wait in.

We got Kasey in and settled, Greg and Landon went to his camp.  Kasey passed her swim test, got settled in her cabin with her counselor Guacs who is an Aggie.   I went with a few other moms to the boys camp.  They did their swim test and we hung out a bit then let the boys get started with their camp.

Greg and I drove back.   It rained pretty hard in a few places.  On 635 there were about 4 wrecks from people sliding from the water on the road.   We got back and went to dinner at Fish and Tails oyster bar.  We watched some baseball and had some good food and a few beers.

6/16 - Greg let Kasey and I got to sleep in after staying up til after midnight at Twilight camp.  We got moving slowly but all got showered and dressed.  We decided to go out for lunch after watching some World Cup soccer.  We ended up at Biergarden in Richardson.  We had some good food and Greg and I had a few beers while the kids had milkshakes.   We had fun.  We stopped by Starbucks for some tea.  They stayed in the car having a paper fight while I got drinks.  Interesting :)

That evening we went to dinner with Grammy and Gramps for fathers day.  We had some Brazilian food which is always good and very filling.  Fun dinner with family.

6/11 - 6/15 - This week Kasey and I had Twilight camp.  I worked during the day, actually worked out early 3 days, and we went to Twilight camp each night.  Twilight camp is one of my favorite activities in Girl Scouts which is why this is my 4 year to volunteer at it.  Its a great camp that goes from 6-10pm except Friday which was 6-midnight.   The camp is organized and activities created by older girls that this year included STEM, a fun MAZE, water activities, a relay, archery, crafts, a scavenger hunt and a night of cooking where the girls learn to use knives for cutting and learn fire safety.  We didn't sleep a ton, but it was a great week an the girls had a lot of fun.

Kasey actually slept in some days til 9:30 or 10 which is not normal.  That helped some with the late nights.

Landon was with his friend Colin.  Tuesday Greg flew to Tennessee to get Landon.  They came back Wednesday evening.  They got in and came up to camp so I could give Landon a hug after not seeing him for a week and half.   Seemed like he grew quite a bit somehow.

Landon had fun but was a bit tired when he got back.

6/10 - We had yummy breakfast with Grammy and Gramps.  We all got showers and got dressed, worked on Twilight mail some and then headed to Allen.  We got lunch to take to the house, Greg went to pick up Landon's gear from the Scout trailer, and Kasey and I started working on Pinecove packing at the house.

after that we went to get Kasey some stuff for camp at Academy, went to Grandmas to start washing Landon's stuff from camp, then headed back to Grammy and Gramps to work on mail for twilight camp.   We all got involved printing, labels, putting candy on them.

Gramps went to get Pizza for dinner which was yummy, and we enjoyed the girls working together :)

6/2-6/9 - Landon was at Summer camp for a week.  He earned First class, 4 merit badges.  Here is summary of camp from one of the leaders who was there.

Day One Summary:
The weather here is fantastic for summer.  All slept well and woke up ready for the days activities.  The scouts got familiar with the merit badge classes and locations.  We have daily inspections for our campsite, so we are learning how to keep our personal areas clean. The evening activity centered on camp wide contest for scouts while adults attended an appreciation diner.  Last night was the first of our mandatory shower nights, so everyone got a good nights rest.  The troop is working well together and is already improving on efficiency.  We are ready to take on day two.


Day 2 Summary

We had another great day at camp.  The troop is adjusting well to the schedule and learning how to get from the trading post to their class in record time.  The care packages are arriving and we are sharing them with scouts at 4pm.  Last night was troop night at the waterfront and scoutmaster vs staff volleyball.  Everyone had a great time ( including the adults).  Before going to bed, we took a few scouts to work on night navigation skills.  Everyone went to bed and we have already started classes for day 3.

Day 3 Summary 

Scouts are having a great time at camp. The weather continues to work in our favor with beautiful days and cool nights.  It was another full day of merit badge activities. We received another set of high marks for inspection thanks to our SPL and PLC leadership.  We enjoyed cooking hot dogs in camp ( vegetarian options were provided ). Our troop submitted entries into scout/scoutmaster rifle contest as well as Dutch oven dessert.    A scout is “clean” so we had our second mandatory shower night last night.  All went to bed and woke up this morning to start day 4.

Day 4 Summary 

Camp continues to provide lots of fun and new opportunities for our scouts.  Even though some are tired, I receive responsive and smiling faces from all.  We had another excellent camp inspection report and even earned extra points for our scouts direct participation in the commissioners questions.  We had a great time at the water carnival and enjoyed watermelon and cracker barrel at camp before bed.  We are well into our last day of classes where many scouts are completing their final requirements.

Day 5 Summary

Scouts had a good last day at summer camp.  All attended their final classes and enjoyed the last opportunities at free time and spent the remainder of their funds at the trading post.  Our scouts attending the mountain men program were reunited with the troop just before diner where our troop performed closing flag ceremony.  Some scouts went on a five mile hike for a rank requirement while all others started getting camp ready to go home.  We ended with a campfire where our troop earned awards and performed skits.  We held our last mandatory shower night and some scouts gave election speech’s since they will be out of town next week.



6/9 - today we woke up making sure Landon got to go home with friends from summer camp in Tennessee.  He was heading to spend a few days with a friend who used to live in town.  Greg, Kasey and I walked Patch and Landon facetimed us  while we were walking.   He looked tired but was smiling.   I told him I was proud of him for earning first class.  He said he earned 4 merit badges at camp.

We went to have lunch with Grandma, Pops, Cindy and Carlos.   We got Kasey ready for her dance recital.   She took musical Theater where they did some of Annie including Jazz dance.  Kasey had a few lines, and did well.  This year she enjoyed putting makeup on which she hadn't much in the past.

Kasey performed well.  It was a few numbers and they had fun.   At a part of it because it was Annie they took off their smocks from orphans into dance costumes.  One of the girls lost her smock but really wanted it.  Kasey went with her back stage as they tried to find it.

Greg headed to FC Dallas game.  Grammy made hamburgers for us and we all watched Justin win Belmont and triple crown.   After dinner Kasey, Grammy and I watched Mamma Mia.  We all love the music and Kasey sang and danced around for several numbers.   Fun!

6/6 - Today was a busy and long day. I woke up at 4:45 so I could go work out at 5:30am.  I came back to Grammy's to shower and get ready for the day.  It was take your sons and daughters to work day.   Kasey came with me.  She was more interested in hanging in my office than seeing all the cool demos they had in the hallways.

We found Elisabeth who was excited to see Kasey and walked around some.  Fun introducing kids to co-workers, and several of them remembered Kasey from selling cookies.    We got to see robotics, play the violin, eat lunch in the cafeteria, meet the team and hang out in the office.

Kasey did some drawing, drew on a co-workers board for the 2nd year in a row.   After lunch we hung out in my office.  Kasey spent at least 40 minutes in my office playing medical office administrator.  She was on the phone talking to patients, Drs and nurses.  She had fun and was very busy.  She was even taking notes.  She continued her pretend on the way out talking about how the phone system was good because it would tell you which Dr or nurse was calling you.  Not sure where all of this came from but it was fun to see.

I took Kasey to meet Greg and gastro Dr.  We spent some time with him telling him what has been going on with her getting sick and what we had done with allergy testing and over the counter medicine suggested by the general practitioner.   He was pretty certain and diagnosed her with cyclic vomiting syndrome.  They don't know the cause, but its similar to migraines and is neurological.   He is going to try a low dose medicine that is fairly old and mainly used to treat things like this now.   There is hope she grows out of this, and hope that this fixes her issues.  We will keep praying that is the correct diagnosis and we have a fix in place.

After the appointment, Kasey and I went to the house for a little while.  Then I took her to a friends house to play for the rest of the afternoon.   I headed back to the house to work.

This evening we had a girl scout event.  6 of our girls were there as an older troop was going to cross over from junior to Cadette.   The older girls talked to our girls about what they liked best about being a junior and talked some about their bronze award which is a big step in girl scouts that happens as Juniors.

After this our troop all went to Laynes for dinner.  We let the girls sit by themselves and moms got to talk some too!

6/5 - Today we picked wall paint colors for bathrooms and rest of the house.  We also picked grout color for kids bathrooms.  They have started putting in tile which is fun to see the progress of it.

Landon was able to get his scoutmaster conference before he left and he did his board of review while at summer camp.   He earned first class at summer camp.  We are very proud of him.

6/3 - We kind of had lazy morning.  At one point Greg and I were joined by Kasey and Patch in the bed.

We all had breakfast and got ready.   Grammy, Grandma, Kasey and I were heading to Ft Worth to see Mamma Mia the musical at Casa Manana.  It was so fun.  We listened to the music on the way there and back we enjoyed it so much.

After we got back we headed to Babes with the boys for some more yummy food.

6/2 - Landon was leaving for summer camp and a friend visit.  We had to get him to Allen by 6am.  I let Kasey sleep til 6am then we headed up there too.

After that we headed to the house to look at paint samples and get ready for the day.   Kasey and I were going to Hawaiian Falls with a friend because she sold more than 600 boxes of cookies.  We had a nice time on the lazy river, Kasey and I rode a few slides together, we all went across a ropes course with big floating things in the water, and we spent some time in the wave pool.  We enjoyed a hamburger for lunch as  part of it then headed out after that.

Kasey and I hung out at the house, took showers and then headed to swap making party and my co-leaders house.  That was fun.  The moms worked and so did the girls.

After that we headed to Grammys where she was making tacos and enchiladas for dinner.  So yummy.  Greg missed out because he went to FC Dallas game with Doug.

6/1 - I had part of work day doing community service with group at Bonton farms.  We moved mulch around, turned over and added to compost pile, and worked on cleaning up around their new building that was going up.

Really cool place, I'd like to go back and help again.

May 2018

Sadly looks like my blog entries for Jan- April of 2018 are gone :(

5/31 - Today was the last day of school.   It was Landon's last day of elementary school.  I was in charge of overall graduation stuff so I had to get up get going and get Landon to school.  Unfortunately Kasey got sick that morning.  She tried facetiming us a few times and we slept through it.  Poor baby.   Greg stayed with her because I had to go.

I got Landon to school - he read on the way and wanted to sit and read some more.   I got him to do a few pictures since it was his last day.

He headed to class and I went to work on slideshow in the gym.   The projector had to be replaced twice to work correctly.   They kicked us out of the gym and told us we couldn't reserve seats.   We helped a little with reception set up and then hid in the library until it was time to get our seats.

We had bought 4 seats for the grandparents up front and given to them at Christmas - I forgot to remind them about it.  I sat up front with them and Greg and Kasey came later and sat in the back since Kasey wasn't doing great that morning.

Mrs DeLeon did a great job with Graduation, they had an Aggie come back to talk to the students,   The kids walked across shaking hands with all 4 6th grade teachers, and Principal.  The Principal gave them graduation certificate.

Then they showed a rap video the choir kids had done, and they did the slideshow for all the kids with old and current pictures.  It was awesome and fun to see all the kids.   The 6th graders were trying to guess who the baby pictures were.

After the ceremony we got a few pictures and headed to the reception.   They had donuts and water which was really fun.  We took several pictures and kids were excited to be there.

They gave the kids writing samples from every year at elementary.  Pretty cool.  Also Landon got Presidential Academic Excellence award from good grades.

After that Greg took Kasey for light lunch, and Landon and I went to lunch at Pane Vino with Grammy, Gramps and Grandma.  After lunch we had small dessert at Griff's which is one of our favorite places.

That afternoon Landon went to a friends house for a few hours so Kasey and I headed to the salon for some relaxation time.

5/30 - I worked from home so I could go to short meeting and Kasey's 3rd grade party.    Somehow it was planned outside and it felt like 100 degrees outside.  The kids got Rita's ice and got to run around on the playground.  They had a good time.  The parents sat in the pavilion chatting and trying to stay cool.

At the same time Landon was at his 6th grade end of year party that I helped plan.  They were at pinstack bowling, eating pizza, playing games and having fun!  I think the kids had fun and had some flexibility what they could do which is nice.

5/27 - Kasey got sick late at night :(   I made a mess but eventually got it cleaned up.  We got up and got to see the kids helping aunt Mary cooking breakfast.  Warmed my heart.  We had breakfast, got showers and headed out.  We got back to Dallas.  Kids took showers and got ready for piano recital.  We had to stop by the house on the way up for clothes for Greg.

The kids played well at their recitals both solo songs and a duet (luckily they survived).   I headed back with Myers to get some of our stuff we didn't want left in the car.  Then we headed to a friends house that was out of town for the week and was nice enough to let us stay.

5/26 - We slept in a little but not to much.  Greg slept with Kasey who moves around a lot and I slept with Landon who also moves around a lot.   We got up and had breakfast downstairs then headed out for the day.

We took the neighbors for a tour around part of Texas A&M campus.  We parked by dorms, showed them where we lived, took them to center of campus and by the century tree and ole sol ross statue.  We tried to go to the MSC but it was closed for Memorial day weekend.   We then walked by Kyle field for a few pictures which is always fun.   Our kids haven't really gotten to go through campus like that when its empty before because there are so many people around on football weekends.

After that we headed to the Chicken for lunch.   Good food, the kids got to play pool and dominoes, and the adults got to hang out watch A&M baseball and have some beer.  Good times with friends.

After lunch we headed to aunt Mary's for some family times.  The kids had fun with cousins, we got to spend time with family, have good food and be entertained by the little ones.  Very fun time!

5/25 - Today we took the kids out of school so we could make it to our neighbors wedding down in College Station.   We left after lunch and got down in time to change and hang out a little bit.  Then we headed downstairs to have a drink with some neighbors.  The kids had shirley temples and the adults enjoyed happy hour.

We all headed to the wedding.  The ceremony was outside and it was a bit warm, but it was beautiful.   Always fun watching a bride walk down the isle with her dad.

After that we went inside for the reception.   We had a really good time.  The food was good, we had a few drinks, I got to dance with Greg and Landon (even though he didn't want to).   Kasey enjoyed trying to catch the bouquet and seeing the dancing and cutting of the cakes.    We all enjoyed ourselves

5/24 - We snuck out and went to see Deadpool 2.  Funny movie.  One you need to see multiple times to catch everything.

5/22 - it was kind of a long day for both of us.   I did PTA stuff all day.  Worked on website with someone new helping, attended first Ereckson PTA meeting, had lunch and got Pedis with some of Norton PTA moms, then I went to signing day for my mentee down by fair park (cool ceremony where seniors in high school share what college they are going to with family and friends).

That night after kids went to bed we went to Alamo drafthouse and had a few beers.  It was very nice outside and we enjoyed being out for a little bit.

5/21 - Kasey performed in talent show today.  She did a little skit with a few friends from girl scout troop.   They had fun.  Kasey was the narrator and did a good job.   They performed the duck song which I have no idea where it came from.   Glad she had the guts to stand up and do that and had fun with it. 

5/20 - Kasey got up around 7.   Greg and I slept in some.   Landon was coming back at 10 so Greg went to go pick him up.  Kasey and I got ready for the day.  Gramps had brought come kolaches and donuts.  Landon was able to finish his requirements for First class.  All he needs to do is have scout master conference and board of review which he should get done before the end of summer camp.

We all had lunch together, Kasey came up with nacho bar.   Chips, cheese, taco meat, tomatoes, jalapenos,  & lettuce.  It was pretty good :)

After that we hung out a bit, did some laundry, and got packed up.   We headed out in the afternoon to Grandmas.   We got tickets for Landon and I finally to see Infinity War.  We left early to get some stuff from the house.  Good thing we did since my work shoes were at the house along with the kids backpacks.

Landon and I enjoyed the movie even though the ending wasn't positive

We headed to Grandmas for dinner and to get the kids to bed.   Fun weekend!

5/19 - We slept in some, at least Greg and I did.  Kasey was up by 7.  She helped Grammy make bacon, eggs, and biscuits.   We all had some breakfast and got dressed slowly.   Kasey, Grammy and I went to Michaels to get some art stuff for girl scout camps - swap stuff and mail stuff.

After that we met Greg and Gramps at Snuffers for some yummy lunch.   That afternoon Greg went to FC Dallas game, Kasey and I worked on some camp swaps and nametags.  Kasey wanted to make flip flops for her swap and decided not to because it was to hard.  She then decided to make a beach them with foam.

Kasey and Grammy were working on making a dessert.  We heard popping sound and then the oven kept buzzing and showing an error.   When Gramps got home we pulled it out and unplugged it.  Needless to say we couldn't make the dessert.  Kasey improvised.  She had cherry and pineapple filling that she covered in vanilla ice cream and cool whip.    She let it melt then they froze it again.   It was actually not to bad :)

After Greg got back from the game we took a Lyft to Taste of Addison.  We met Doug there.  Doug and I both saw friends from work there which is fun.    Taste of Addison isn't what it used to be.   There aren't very many restaurants, none of our favorites left, and the music was just ok.  Sad, we've been going for years.

5/18 - Kasey had a fun birthday party from 3:30-9:30pm - they went to American Girl Doll store for dinner then to friends house for dessert and fun.  Landon left for campout so Greg and I got to have dinner just the two of us.  We headed to McKinney and tried Harvest.  We were able to sit at the bar and eat without a wait.  It was pretty good and good break.

We headed back to the house, moved around a few things.   Greg went to pick up Patch and I went to get Kasey.  We all headed to Grammy and Gramps to stay.  We got Kasey to bed.  

Mom and I enjoyed a bottle of 1978 Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon.    We were a bit tired and headed to bed earlier than my normal. 

5/17 - Today was Landon's birthday.  Greg ended up staying at the house, got up early and brought up donuts for Landon's birthday.   Greg took the kids to school and I headed to work.

Greg took Laynes to the kids for lunch.   We met up with Grammy, Gramps and Grandma at Spring Creek for some BBQ to celebrate Landon.  Then we got to have mini bundt cakes for desserts.

We let Landon use some of his birthday money on his video games.  He was so excited.  He even said it was the best birthday ever :)

5/16 - We've been moving, packing, recycling and getting rid of many things in our house.  Oh my the things you accumulate when you live in a house for 18 years and don't clean out more often.  Anyway the demolition in the house started today.  We spent the morning looking at carpet, tile samples, meeting stair guy, talking to AV guy about ethernet and speaker solutions for the living room.   During this time they were piece by piece taking apart the kitchen :)  It will be a journey, but I'm excited where its going.

I kept Patch in the room with Kasey and I.  Of course she woke me up like 3 times in the middle of the night acting like she wanted to go out but she didn't.  Kasey also kept putting her arm on me and woke up early to go potty.   Needless to say it wasn't a restful night.

5/13 - Mother's Day.   We had a nice lunch with my mom, Greg's mom and grandmother.  We ate at Saltgrass then headed to Grandma's house for some dessert.  She had made chocolate cake and gotten ice cream that Landon wanted and I wanted.   We were also celebrating Landon's birthday with family.  He's getting to the point that he doesn't want much for his birthday which makes it hard on all of us.

After that we came home and spent the afternoon and evening packing the house.  We might never get done, but we have to...

5/12 - We are supposed to be packing up our house, but our weekends and weeks are very busy.   Today we started with Girl Scout crossover.  The troop crossed over from being Brownies to being Juniors. We had the girls go across a zip line at a park to cross over.  My co-leader and I also went across the zip line.  It was fun.  After that we headed to the pool and had some pizza, snacks and dessert while the kids swam and had fun.

Greg spent the afternoon at FC Dallas game.  Landon headed to a friends house to swim for the afternoon, and Kasey and I headed to the salon for some relaxation.    After that we headed to Landon's basketball game.  The boys won.  From there we headed to the neighborhood spring party which is always fun.  Food trucks, kegs of beer, good music and fun activities for the kids.  The kids enjoyed running around.   Landon asked about 9:30 if we could go home, I think he was tired.

5/11 - Today was the spring carnival at the school.  We had In and Out burger and the kids got to run around and play.  They had bounce houses and games and cake walk and fun music.   The older kids were running around the gym while most of the kids were outside.

5/10 - Kasey got her braces off today.  She was so excited and her teeth look really good.

5/6 -  Kasey had a fun birthday party today riding horses.  The girls really enjoyed it.

While Kasey was at the party Landon played final flag football game of the season.     The boys didn't win this one, but they played hard.  The other team had several plays where they threw long passes for touchdowns, and we had a hard time scoring.

That evening Landon went to do swim test for boy scouts so he would be ready for summer camp.

5/5 - We woke up early to get ready and have breakfast.   We got to see some more animals up close including some flamingos which was really cool.  Then we went to feed the giraffe's and let the girls ride the carousel before we left.   I think the girls had a good time.

We got back to get ready for Landon's friend birthday party.   We had pizza rolls, a gaming truck and the boys swam for a few hours.   I think they had a good time hanging out and making up their own activities at the pool. Luckily no one got hurt except Kasey had a small nose bleed.

That evening Landon had a football playoff game.  The game was close and the boys pulled it out to win the game.  They all played well and played hard.

5/4 - I took the day off and Greg and I helped out during the day for the Boy Scout garage sale.  Greg helped move several things, I helped organize a bunch of the clothes and got lunch for everyone.   I left early to get kids and Kasey and I got ready to head to the zoo for a Girl Scout overnight.  We had to get gas and food for several of the girls.  We headed to the zoo and ate there before going in.

We got a personal tour of part of the zoo which is cool.  We got to see flamingos, reptile house, several of the birds, and the bug house.  Then we headed to the children's area where the girls got to pet an albino rabbit and a lizard.  They also got to run around for a while which they enjoyed.

December 2017

12/31 - We had a pretty lazy day.   We slept in some, we all got showers and headed to lunch.   In the afternoon the kids played together  on xbox most of the afternoon - they don't get to do that often and don't often get along.  Kasey also set up her school room with her play school kit that Santa brought her.   She has chalk board, a calendar, she  made name plates for kids, used drawers we used to use for her kitchen to store all of supplies.  Its cute except that she has a bell and whistle that she uses often :)

I worked on piles of laundry from the trip and even watched a few Christmas movies I had waiting for me.  Greg was watching football then he made Brazilian cheese bread to take to New Years party.   We got ready and headed to the Solis' for New Years party.   We started out with Vieux Carre cocktail then moved to wine.  Our little group brought our own wine that we kept in decanter away from others.  We had some Del Dotto Pinot, Cakebread Dancing bear, and Nickel and Nickel.   We left early to get the kids home.   We got out champagne glasses at home, with some cherry 7up and I had vodka Ha!.  We brought in the new year New York time and got the kids to bed.   We stayed up to welcome in Dallas New Years to start 2018.   

12/30 - Today we headed home.  We slept in some, cooked some breakfast and tried to use up as much or our food as possible.    We all got showered, packed and ready to go.  We headed down to the store to see if the kids wanted anything.  Landon got a sign with elevation on it, and sticker to start a collection for places he's skied.   I got a magnet.  Kasey still wanted the unicorn and was super upset that we wouldn't let her get it.  Greg finally let her get the unicorn after she signed a sheet of paper saying she would give up 10 pets in return :)

We had some more cheese, crackers and meat for lunch with Doug and hung out til it was time to check out.  We had a car ride pick us up about noon and take us to the airport in Gunnison.    Not quite as much snow on the ground as the day we arrived, but still pretty.  

We got checked into the small airport and walked upstairs to our gate.   Good flight home and it almost felt cooler in the Dallas than in Colorado :)

Grammy and Gramps were nice to bring our car to the airport.  We gave them hugs and headed to get Patch.  On the way home we stopped to get Mi Cocina that we picked up and took home.   Always my favorite to have mexican food when coming home from a trip.

12/29 - We've been getting up at 7 all week but today we slept in some.  We got Landon a light breakfast and just chilled out.  He got dressed and ready to go.  I took Landon to camp and he was saying that he would have rather taken skiing than snowboarding because he's not sure when he'll snowboard again.  Which is what we were telling him yesterday, but it was a little late.   When he first got there they put him with some younger kids, but then changed instructors.  Hopefully he has fun and is safe.

Kasey, Greg and I slowly got ready for the day.  We went down to the store to see if there was anything we wanted.   We found a Christmas ornament, Greg found a shirt and Kasey found a unicorn that we didn't let her get.

We then headed upstairs to be the first ones in Route 66 bar and cafe to watch the Aggies play in the bowl game against West Virginia.  Doug had gone skiing for the morning and met us there.  Kasey didn't really want to watch the game, but watched Barbie and Lego friends videos on YouTube instead.  

The Aggies lost unfortunately.   After that Doug went back to ski and we went to see how Landon was doing since his lesson would be over at 3:30pm.  We got to the area we thought he was and they yelled at us from the lift.   We got to see Landon come down Peachtree on the snowboard.   He lucked out and had a private lesson all day with Josh from Denver.  Landon says he liked skiing and snowboarding equally which is fun.   He achieved level 4 skiing and did almost all of the green trails on the mountain.  In snowboarding he got to level 3 and did well for 1 day.  

Our ski instructor Didi said that Kasey was a level 3 skiing since she was doing well turning both ways.

We came back to the room, did some packing, got Landon showered, and Greg cooked burgers for all of us.  Probably a good thing that was the plan since it was so hard to find a restaurant the night before.  We also had a few drinks and watched some football.   

12/28 - We had breakfast in the room again and then went out for our last ski lesson.  We went to little slope again.  Landon got bored fast and I didn't want to slow him down so Greg, Kasey and I stayed on the little slope and the instructor took Landon up into the Mountain.   Greg and I did stuff for a while then our feet started hurting pretty bad so we stopped. Kasey kept going and going til we told her it was time for lunch right before noon.  

We went down and met Doug, Landon and our instructor Didi.  Landon did well.  He's at a level 4 and can ski most of the greens.  He even went on part of a blue.   I think he fell once but still enjoyed it.

All of us went to our room to have cheese, crackers and meat for lunch.   Doug wanted to do some more of his skiing but we asked him to take the kids once on Peachtree.  Kasey wanted to try again as well.   So they went.  Landon did fine, but Kasey got going to fast and didn't turn so she fell at the end.  bumped her head and shoulder and it scared her.    After that I took her back to the main area and I went to get her some hot chocolate and got mine and Greg's ski gear. I brought it down and let Kasey have her hot chocolate then returned our stuff before the lines got to long.   Kasey's head was hurting and she just wanted to go see teddy in the room.  We talked with her about doing ski school the next day to keep getting better, but she decided not to.   Kasey went to the room and I returned her Ski stuff.   I got her some ibuprofen and then let her relax in the afternoon.

Landon was going on a few paths that we were ok with him skiing himself.  Of course he got bored.   He decided to wait and see if Doug would take him up one more time.  He was very nice and took him on 1 more run.  We tried to talk Landon into taking Ski school Friday instead of snowboarding but he still wanted to try snowboarding.  Greg and Landon had to wait in long lines to change out Landon's ski gear for snowboard gear, but they got it done.  It was so crazy he just brought the snowboard to the room.

We all go afternoon showers and got ready to head into town.  We tried getting into a few restaurants and they were booked all weekend already.  We found a Mediterranean place that we barely got a table but we did.   We had dinner then the kids and I came back to the room for ice cream with oreos on top.  The boys stayed and had some more beers and watched football.   

12/27 - Greg made eggs and bacon for breakfast.  I wanted to get to the rental place at 8 when they open to see if they could do anything to help make my skis hurt my feet less.    The balls of my feet really hurt in the boots.  They basically said there wasn't much they could do.  I didn't wear toe warmers and wore thinner socks to give it a try.

We went back out for morning ski class.  We were on the little slope for a while all working on turns and a few other things.  Greg, Kasey and Landon were ready to go on a lift and go skiing.  I stayed on the little slope working on my turns.   I went up and down another 8-10 times then went to rest and wait for everyone else.

They went on lift, which was a bit tricky and came down a few greens.  Landon did great, Kasey did well too until they got to the end and she decided she didn't like it (its pretty steep at the end).   Greg had a tough time and got pretty tired from going doing.   When you don't think you are doing it right you tense up and use more energy than needed.

We all met back at the room.   We ate cheese, crackers and meat for lunch which was good.  Everyone rested some.   Doug offered to take Landon out some in the afternoon.  Landon was so excited.  They went on 5 runs and he had a great time trying new things.  He came down the mountain and had a huge smile on his face.

Kasey and I hung out in the room. Kasey colored and watched videos.  I read some and just relaxed - I don't get to do that much.

We all took showers and got ready for dinner.  We had reservations at Elk at 5:45pm.  We took the bus and got there a little early.  We walked around trying to find some sprite, no place had any soft drinks without caffeine.  Kind of weird.

Anyway, dinner was pretty good except my steak was over cooked.  We bought Doug dinner since he nicely took Landon out all afternoon.

We came home and had a drink with football on.  The kids were entertaining us with silly talk until they went to bed.   We didn't got to bed quite as early as the day before but were still getting in bed around 10ish.

12/26 - We didn't get our food delivery yet so we went to hotel restaurant for breakfast.  $60 later we had buffet breakfast.

Then we headed out for lessons.  We stayed on the small area and learned how to move on our skis, turn some, stop, side step. and basically practiced that for 3 hours.   Landon was doing great, Kasey was starting to get the hang of it, and Greg was doing well but wasn't to sure.   I was doing ok, but wasn't great at turning.

We went to restaurant called Avalanche for lunch which was ok.   Kasey and I headed back to hotel and the boys went back out to the small hill in the afternoon.   They were pretty tired.  We all had afternoon showers and then we met Doug for dinner at Avalanche - their menu expands at dinner :)   The kids and Doug had fajitas and Greg and I had sandwiches because they were out of wings.

We came back to the room for a drink, but we were all pretty tired.  I think Greg and I were in bed before 9pm which never happens for me.  Of course on our roll out couch we weren't sleeping well either.

12/25 - Merry Christmas.  Today we started out with kids opening presents from Santa and us at home.  The kids enjoyed this and then it was time to get ready to go on our trip.  We were headed to Crested Butte for the rest of the week for our first crack at skiing.

We left our house about 9:30am. Took Patch and her food to Grandma and Pops house, and then we met Grammy and Gramps at the airport so they could take our car back.  We headed in, Greg's backpack with dominoes got stopped at security.  The kids and I picked up some pretzel bites and Pretzel dogs for lunch.   We had a quiet flight and enjoyed seeing some snow as we came in.  The area we were going had not gotten much snow, but on Christmas Eve they got like 9 inches which is good.

We got into town, had a share ride from the airport.  We checked in and had to put our bags in Doug's room because ours wasn't ready.  After that we headed down to get our lift tickets, confirm lessons and to get fitted for boots, skis and helmets.    We took our boots and helmet to our rooms and were getting hungry so we decided to head to town and try to find some dinner.  The kids wanted pizza.  A local on the bus gave us recommendation for best pizza place and a few of his favorites.   We went to a place called Secret Stash.  Good pizza, some beer and we had fries called crack fries.

After that we took a dark bus back to the hotel.   Greg and Doug went to grab a drink and the kids just wanted to play outside in the snow.  They made snow balls, snow angels. tried burring their heads in the snow, and they both were covered in snow.   They loved it!

We went back to the room to get them in dry clothes and got them to bed.  Somehow the kids got the comfy king bed and Greg and I are sleeping on the pull out sofa.  We'll see how long this lasts :)

12/24 - Today was our Christmas with family since we are going skiing the week of Christmas.   We got up and got ready.  We headed out to have breakfast with the Myers family and the pecan pie spilled all over his clothes and the car so we had to go home so he could change.   

We had a really nice breakfast  with egg casserole, fruit and sweet rolls with the Myers family, opened presents and hung out for a while.   We forgot Patch's food so she got to share with the meal as well.

After that we headed to Grammy and Gramps house to celebrate with them.  Gramps made a fun punch that the kids and I liked.   We had our traditional tacos for lunch which is super yummy.   We had brownie/cookies and some runny but yummy pecan pie for dessert.   We also opened presents.  Landon played with his new remote control car, we played the game Grammy and Gramps got the kids, and watch part of the Cowboys game.

Fun day with family then back to packing for our trip.

12/23  - we were supposed to pack and get ready for our trip.  We didn't really do that much, but we did go visit Nanny.  We gave her her calendar with family pictures, and walked her down to dinner.

12/22 - Today Landon and I finally got to go see Star Wars: The last Jedi.  Then the kids and I went to lunch at Wendy's followed by Landon's hair cut and some shopping at Kohls.  

12/21 - I went to Landon's class party today.  I was in charge of the super size jenga and kids had fun with that.  It was very loud.  The kids got to do jenga, blow up twister, karaoke, arts and craft and they created their own table for bottle flip :(

After school Kasey and I went to get her hair cut.   We had tamales for dinner and then all went to Landon's soccer game.  The other team had to forfeit so they ended up just playing for fun.   Landon and a few boys played on the other team with pennies.  They had a blast just messing with each other.  

12/20 - Today was Kasey's class party.  In 3rd grade they make gingerbread house - in this case they got to decorate graham crackers on mild buckets with all kinds of candies.    Kasey had a lot of fun decorating and eating candy for the party.  

12/17 - Today we slept in a little, then ended up the kids and I went to see Justice League.  Landon and I really wanted to go, and Kasey later revealed the she went to spend some time with me :)

After that we grabbed a quick lunch at Canes and ate in the car.  We actually met up with Greg and he sat with us while we ate.  Then the kids and I went to Girl Scout skating with Santa event.  Both kids got to skate.  We had 4 girls from the troop there and they got their picture with Santa which is always fun - plus they get treats, reindeer food for Christmas eve and a candy cane.

I think both kids had fun and a few of us moms got to watch and chat for a while which is fun.

12/16 - Kasey and I went to get our nails done for Christmas.  One of the ladies put snowmen on Kasey's fingernails and snowflakes on her toes - she was so excited.

Landon went to his first basketball game.  Greg kept score and our boys won the game.

We went home so the boys could get ready.  Kasey had a fun friend birthday party - a sleep under - food, crafts, presents and a movie - they had fun.

Greg, Landon and I went to dinner at a friends house. We all brought food, good wine and drinks and good company.  Fun times!

12/13 - I had a Dr appointment so I worked from home in the morning, had lunch with the kids before going to work.   That night Chip brought the 12 days of socks to the kids - Star Wars for Landon and animals for Kasey.

12/10 - Kasey unfortunately got sick early in the morning.  She wasn't feeling well, then got better and came and got in bed with me.  We watched some more Christmas movies.  Later we got up and Kasey decorated her gingerbread house - she did it all by herself except putting icing in the bag and a little help putting the house itself together.  She had fun with it and even put icicles on the edge of the roof

That afternoon the boys got home and had a little time to shower and rest.  Then we headed to the Christmas piano recital.    Its fun because several friends take from the same teacher.   Both kids did well. At the end the kids did a duet that wasn't on the program.  Though they fought most of the time practicing it was for the grandparents and I think everyone enjoyed it.

12/9 - I got to sleep in a little bit. Then met Grammy to get Kasey.  Kasey and I started out with a little shopping for our ski trip, got some Cane's for lunch, and then headed to girl scout event.   We went down to a ministry to do some volunteering.  The girls got to help them do many things like create candy treat bags, create holiday treat bags with hot chocolate, tea and hershey kisses, they sorted through clothes donations, and made cards for clients of the ministry.  It was a neat experience and the girls also got to make a swap for themselves and for the clients.

The boys got to run around the Lexington, do a scavenger hunt and Landon got to participate in the flag ceremony which was cool.

Kasey and I had dinner at Pei Wei and enjoyed some time at home with patch watching some Christmas movies.

12/8 - I went to work today, got to leave a little early to head to dinner with a friend then we went to see Lady Gaga.  The concert says it starts at 7:30pm, but apparently she doesn't go on until 9.   We ended up meeting a friend from work for a drink while we waited.  Very fun concert.

Landon and Greg left to head to San Antonio on the way to Corpus for a Scout weekend to the Lexington.

Kasey went to spend the night with Grammy and Gramps overnight.

12/7 - We started indoor soccer tonight.  FC Knights shut out the other team and won big.  They really enjoy just playing together.

12/6 - Landon started taking private lessons for french horn today.  His lesson is at the middle school with one of the brass band directors.   He was pretty excited.   We could tell he was excited about French horn because he went upstairs to practice like 4 times that night :)

12/4 - Landon found out today that he was switching to French Horn from Trumpet.   He was really excited and that day went to turn in his rented Trumpet.  We will now rent the french horn from the school.

12/3 - We slept in a little, but then needed to get up to go to Landon's soccer game.  The boys played really hard, but ended up losing in the 2nd half   It was a tough team.

Landon went to lunch and ice cream with the team. Kasey and I went to Pei Wei because we didn't have to much time.  After that we came home to get ready.  Kasey and I were going to the Allen parade with the girl scout troop.

For the parade, the girls wore matching outfits, santa hats and matching bell bracelets.  Instead of walking we had made 2 banners to put on the side of a truck and the girls rode in the back.  They did a good job waving, saying Merry Christmas, and waving flag that said cookies are almost here.  It was cute and they had fun.  3 of us moms walked behind the truck with santa hats on :)

Greg had driven us to the parade and watched us walk around.   

12/2 - Very crazy day.   We started with 8am soccer game all the way in Lewisville.  Kasey and I had to leave a little early, go pick up 3 other girl scouts and head to south dallas for a fun workshop.  It was at whispering cedars.   The girls started out at cooking.  They made girl scout cookie truffels, girl scout cookie pizza.  They really enjoyed this part - I think it was their favorite.   After that we went into a different area and the girls made signs.  2 of the girls made potatoes which is a fun joke for the troop, one of the girls did all kinds of things, and one of them did a simple but very nice design.  They ALL used lots of glitter.

After that we ate lunch on blankets on the grass.  We had finished the activities a bit early so we had some extra time.  I had the girls take care of some girl scout "homework" they needed to do.   The girls then played some on their own outside.  Then we started the afternoon.   There was a part on troop to troop where they did some geography and wrote and colored thank you notes to troops.   Then the last activity was to complete a story of a girl by determining what she would sell to help earn money for her family and who she would sell it to.  It was cute.

Last thing we got to try what the girl made and did surveys.   I took the girls back to Legacy and Tollway, and then Kasey and I went to Landon's 4pm soccer game.  We go there right after they started.

The boys won all 3 games today and had shut outs for all of them so they will play Sunday.   After the games we came home with William, orders some wings, the kids took showers.  Then the boys got to go see a movie on TV that someone they know was in.  Landon really enjoyed it especially hearing the back stories about what happened during creation of the movie.

Fun day!

12/1 - Today was the first day of December.   We have started a very busy weekend.   I got home just in time to grab some food, make a drink and head to the neighborhood party.  They had a food truck, a huge snow globe that you could go in and take pictures, some food, fun hot chocolate and adult drinks, and don't forget Santa with pictures.   The kids had fun eating, hanging with friends, getting pictures with friends in the snow globe.  And the adults had a few drinks and got to talk with friends.  Fun times had by all.