Hello, Spring

Walker got this basketball hoop for his birthday from Emmy and Tuck! It's awesome! He uses it almost every single day...and of course, the neighborhood kids are always welcome. :)

This is the kids' other favorite activity...whiffle ball in the "field" across the street. :) Springtime in Texas is the best.

Boys at the Lease

While Lainey and I attended a dance convention/competition, Walker spent some time with Ben and Tuck at the lease! 

hunting for bones (and antlers)

Dance Competition Photos

Photos from Groove in Fort Worth on March 16th...

Photos from Bella Moxi in Dallas on March 22nd...

AND! This guy is Micheal Dameski. He was apparently really amazing on NBC's World of Dance in 2018. Anyway, Lainey has deemed him her "second celebrity crush" behind Luka Doncic. ;) She was obsessed with getting his autograph the entire weekend and it finally happened! :) He was an instructor at Bella Moxi. :)

Monday Night Mavs Game

We attended the Mavs game on Monday night - Lainey got to fulfill her dream of seeing her celebrity crush (her words, not mine), Luka Doncic, in person! We ALSO got to see Dirk Nowitski pass Wilt Chamberlain on the NBA's all-time scoring list. He did it within the first couple minutes of the game; it was a very memorable event to witness. :)

Luka

Dirk

Dirk again

lucky suite-sitters

family photo, with Dirk in the background :)

Groove Dance Competition

Lainey competed at Groove Dance Competition this past weekend, two days after arriving home from Colorado and after a full day of baseball! 

Brooklyn (B.B.), Caitlyn, Lauren, Kali, and Lainey 

Lainey's solos placed 7th (with an Elite Diamond score) and 3rd (with a Groove Perfection score) overall. She competed for the first time as a "Junior" meaning she was with 10, 11, and 12-year-olds. 

Here she is with Kali, on stage. Kali's two solos placed first and second while Lainey's solo placed third. Way to go, girls!

It was a very cool moment! Lainey was very proud of herself and we were, too! She has worked really hard!

Lainey and I slept in on Sunday morning while the boys went to baseball -- we enjoyed some snuggles with Reagan. She's a cute, messy, deaf dog.

And she's also very tired, struggling to awaken at 11:30 a.m.

Later that day, we took a family walk and played by the river.

The kids skipped rocks and Ben and I watched them. It was SUCH a gorgeous day! 

Colorado, Spring Break 2019

The kids and I spent about five days in Colorado with Emmy and Tuck for Spring Break. We had a great time! We figured out that we are definitely "fair weather skiers" and not "snowy, windy, crazy, weather skiers." We only got in a day and a half of skiing. One really beautiful day and half of a snowy, windy day. We made some memories, though, so that is what counts! :)

before heading up the mountain to ski on Sunday

a break for lunch

 

I took a picture of this ski pass because it was the cause of one of Walker's minor meltdowns on our first day skiing. It flew into his face a couple of times and the sharp corners "hurt." :) Oops. We also managed to lose Lainey for a solid 30-40 minutes (my fault...I led Walker down a trail that went to another lift, not the one where we were to meet Lainey). That also caused a minor meltdown from Walker. He was very worried about her! Thankfully all ended well. The ski patrol found Lainey and told her that Walker and I were on our way. Lesson learned - we will only take the ski trails that we are familiar with!

A quick photo on our second day of skiing (Monday)...before donning our full face masks and goggles. 

a small nap on the way down the mountain...

big, fat snowflakes

sleepy Sofi

Walker ate some ribs! He discovered that he kind of likes them!

***

We decided not to ski for a third day (Tuesday). The Cox family (along with some of their friends) came by for some sledding. 

forecast for Tuesday: snow

Walker makes some interesting faces...

Walker and Kasen

a photo of the sledding hill

After sledding, we went to the Hot Springs in town in Pagosa. 

Walker thinks that his sister and our friends (Sarah, Kylie, and Kasen) are crazy. ;) The river next to the Hot Springs was FREEZING!

Lainey with Kylie and Sarah (friends from Texas) 

***

On Wednesday, we hung around the house and I did laundry and packed our bags for our return flight home. 

That morning, however, I helped my dad shovel snow off the porch. It was HARD work!

The kids played outside in the snow. 

Walker is actually really good at making "bodies" for snowmen!

Walker, giving himself a snow facial

the finished snowman

There was SO much snow in Colorado. It was beautiful but challenging to deal with at times!

***

Thanks for a wonderful visit, Emmy and Tuck. We love our trips to Colorado!