Monday we played tennis early and then sent Dan and his parents, Ben and Eboni, and his brother in law Ben (Ali's husband) to the livestock show around noon. I watched our nephew Brayden in the afternoon. At 4 I dropped off my kids at one friend's house, Brayden at another friend's house, and picked up Ali (who had just dropped off her kids) so we could join the other adults at the Rodeo. Parking was crazy but we got there and had a yummy dinner and walked around the booths for a while until the rodeo got started at 6:45. I loved what I always love, mutton bustin' and the calf scramble. I like watching all the events though. This year they had like 4 generations of bronc horses come out and did a little highlight on the horses and that was really cool too. We saw a guy named Sam Hunt for the concert. I didn't know very much of his songs, but it was a fun show.
This was dinner last Sunday, the 3 baby cousins (Joseph, Brayden, and Emily)
I love pushing my kids crazy fast on the tire swing. This was Monday morning while we were playing tennis.
Jack is a pedaling pro now and is so cute riding around.
Brooke was super helpful with Brayden in the afternoon.
At the rodeo!
Tuesday Dan was back to work and we spent the morning exploring Sheldon Lake state park. It is only 15 minutes from my house and I'd heard it was similar to Brazos Bend. It did not disappoint. There were walking trails, a big observation tower with great views of the skyline/San Jac monument/ship channel, etc and we saw 2 alligators, 4 or 5 snakes, turtles, birds, etc. My enjoyment of it was probably equaled by my sister-in-law Ali's terror at the wildlife--she headed to the car after seeing some snakes and we could not get her back out to see the alligators! We had a yummy lunch at Fuddrucker's and then everybody packed up. They left for the airport just after 4 pm.
My kids and I on the tower. The skyline is in the background but it was too bright!
Wednesday was my get-caught-up day. I had too much to do and too many kids home so I made a bunch of calls and texts. We went to the park with Ali and two other friends and their kids until lunchtime (the weather was phenomenal) and then we had 4 friends over and sent Brooke on a playdate all afternoon. I got all sorts of laundry and chores done and the kids were happy to be with friends, so it was a win all around.
Thursday we got up and packed and by 10 am were on our way to the lake house. Shad and Jamie and their families were at Disneyland for spring break so a while back we asked Shad if he would be willing to let us visit the lake house with Ali's fam while he was gone--he said yes! We arrived near 11 and got settled in and Ali and her family got there around 1 pm. We sat outside in the nice weather (cloudy and about 65), the kids put on suits and I gave them all a turn sitting on the paddleboard while I rowed. The water was chilly (about 64) and I did NOT get in that day since we didn't get the wetsuits out. The kids didn't care though and they all swam for a bit. Dan arrived after work and we kayaked and fished and chatted. We watched some basketball and played games too.
Lunch when we arrived
Basketball and that lovely lake view at sunset Thursday.
Movie upstairs for the cousins...
Treats before bed.
Friday was great weather. We got the lily pad out and the kids played on that FOREVER with wetsuits on. Dan and Ali and I put on wetsuits too and played on the lily pad and did more kayaking, paddleboarding, and fishing. No fish were caught, but we sure tried! Ali and I headed to a movie after we put the kids to bed that night and the boys watched basketball.
That's Dan on the kayak.
Playing on the lily pad
Saturday we played in the morning and then got the house all clean. We headed home just after lunch. We emptied the car and went to a goodbye potluck for a family that is moving out of the ward. Dan wasn't feeling great so we came home early and got everyone to bed. It's been a long Sunday but it was good. The kids are a little stir crazy and we are excited to send them back to school tomorrow. :) Dan was still sick so he stayed home and I took the kids to church. Amazingly, I heard most of one of the talks and it was great--all about the lessons we learn from the people of Moses and manna in the wilderness. We have to make a daily effort to feast on the gospel and strengthen our faith or we won't have the strength we need to face our battles with Satan. She talked about getting back to exercising after a long break and how she hadn't noticed how out of shape she was and how much she missed being active until she started back to it. It's the same with our testimonies--if we don't do those daily things like prayer and scripture study and listening to the spirit, we may not even notice if we begin to drift away. Emily was pretty cranky so I was glad my partner teacher was back to teach today. The lesson was about the restoration of gospel ordinances. We had teacher council during 3rd hour and we talked about creating an environment for learning and how the real teacher is the Holy Ghost. I want to do better at reading my lessons days in advance so I can think about the individual kids in my class and how to help each of them to feel the spirit. We had our belated St. Patty's meal today, corned beef and cabbage and Irish soda bread. Yum. It's been a great week but I'm exhausted and looking forward to a quieter week. Dan will be home this week because he's getting his varicose veins treated tomorrow and Tuesday (one leg each day, they basically heat up the vein so it collapses--pretty cool).
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