Cousin Brooke Visits Florida!

We loved having Brooke visit us!

We went out in Miami. Go "us." :)

blurry photo of us with Miami in the background :) haha

Brooke and Walker had a donut date.

Poor Lainey was sick the entire time Brooke was here. She felt miserable, but she was a trooper and persevered. 

boat ride in Miami

a dolphin sighting

a view of Raccoon Island (on my list of places to visit)

final dinner at Lucky Fish

on the pier

 

Olivia Rodrigo in Concert

On Wednesday, March 6th, I took Lainey and Dylan and Dylan's sister Ella to the Olivia Rodrigo concert in Miami. It was such a good show - I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved it!

Lainey and Dylan

Lainey with Ella

a view from our seats :) haha

She was so good! So glad we went.

afternoon chat with Gracie

She was looking at an iguana. :)

Maple

a rare moment - a resting Gracie

January and February!

**In late January, Lainey and her cheer team competed at the state competition in Lakeland, Florida. They didn't do all that well, but they had a great time. 

**Shortly after returning home from that experience, Lainey and Walker BOTH went to Eleuthra, Bahamas on a school mission trip. Walker went as a student, Lainey went as a student leader. 

Walker's group, 5am, February 5th

Walker is third from the left on the front row.

Walker's group again, in the Bahamas

Lainey - in black - digging a hole for a septic tank.

Walker is in the hammock on the left...

the kids' view from their cabins

Walker, mixing concrete

All in all, the kids had a wonderful time. Lainey can't wait to go back. I think Walker would even go back as a leader!

While the kids were in the Bahamas, I went to Texas to see my parents. 

Paco is the cutest dog.

a new alligator behind our house

Ben attended the Willie Nelson concert with friends - front row for the second year in a row - and he received Willie's hat! Originally it was given (by Willie) to the woman in the picture but she gave it to Ben! They are now Facebook friends.

**The kids spent 5 days in the Bahamas. We were home for a week, then we went to Orlando to see a comedian and spend a day or two at Universal Studios for Walker's 14th Birthday.

Our 14-year-old!

seeing Nate Bargatze in Orlando at the Kia Center

We had great seats!

the following day at Universal...very rainy

It basically did this all day long.

We spent 12+ hours at the park and had a blast... our favorite rides were the Velocicoaster and the Hulk. It was a cold, rainy day...but it did keep the crowds down.

And then, after returning home from Universal, we went ahead and purchased Lainey a car. We've lost our minds. Probably due to the rollercoasters. :)

She's SO excited. But man, that process is a beating.

**Some more random pictures from the past two months...

Gracie and Maple. Two crazy dogs.

Gracie, hunting

Gracie, running away from me

She has zero recall. 

I eventually got her home by getting her to chase me...everything has to be a game for her. 

Baseball dads at a baseball game!