May

May is always a crazy month.  But the first week in May is a nice pat on the back...Teacher Appreciation Week!  We had several parents who absolutely showered us with treats.  One family went so far as to feed our entire staff a scrumptious meal from Rudy's BBQ (not cheap!!) and had a gorgeous custom cake made.  It was too pretty to cut into, but someone did eventually and it was just as delicious as it was pretty.

For Mother's Day weekend, we decided to use a gift certificate and drive the boys down to Adventure Landing for some family fun.  Carter has chosen his favorite color--red--and he was delighted to carry his putt putt ball around the entire time.  I don't think he ever really hit the ball, but he had a blast for his first putt putt experience.  He even carried the ball around to the go carts, the arcade, and unbeknownst to us, made it all the way to the car with it.  Oops...  When you charge $4 for a bottle of water, I didn't feel too bad about that little accident.

And this guy? Well, he pouted.  He threw a fit.  He didn't listen to anything we tried to help him with or teach him about mini golf.  Maybe someday...

He did, however, have a blast on his first go cart ride.  We were kind of shocked he didn't want to go again!  Carter loved seeing Reid and Daddy go around the track and enjoyed waving at them each time.

Mr. Brian (Holli's hubby) trimmed trees one day using some of the equipment from his work.  When Reid and I arrived to pick up Carter, he gave Reid a ride waaaaaay up.  It's too bad you can't see his grin in the picture.  A boy's dream!

Cousin Henry had his first communion one weekend.  We were pretty nervous about Carter making it through a Catholic church event after sitting through Reid's tball game...but then I realized everyone has their little kids there and it's mass (no pun intended) chaos.  So we fit right in.  Carter played with my wallet of gift cards, carefully taking out and putting them back in.  He was quite attached to the Dunkin' Donuts one, ha!

Afterward, we joined them at the country club for a late lunch.  The boys were excited to be with their cousins, and we got to see Papa and Grandpa French, too.

First grade did their chick unit and Reid loved checking on them each day.  Somebody had to take them home each night, and the first grade teachers were more than happy to let any staff participate, so we got to chick sit one night.  They were cute, but smelly, so it wasn't too hard to take them back the next day.

Reid never takes naps anymore, but one particular day at school wore him out.  Of course, it happened to be a Tuesday...and he had tball practice (game?) that evening.

Our wonderful neighbors threw a party for Ricky's sister and brother in law's 40th birthdays.  They were sweet enough to invite us and even though we didn't really know anyone, it was very fun.  They know how to throw a party!  We enjoyed some old school rap and hip hop, lawn games, and yummy treats to eat and drink.  It was fun reminiscing about our college days, but a way more upscale party.  I never got a picture of the girls, but this one of the guys was pretty funny.  We look forward to seeing a lot of these people again when we go to Mexico next week to celebrate the big 4-0.

May was full of t-ball pictures, games, rain outs, and reschedules.  Jason had some issues ordering pictures, and then we got a pretty good laugh out of the group one once it arrived.  Notice anything odd??  Thankfully, they replaced it with one spelled correctly.

We love that Reid is still on his original team and continue to get to know many of the families better.  Since most of the games were on Saturdays this season, Carter and I got to attend the majority of them. The Saturday before Mother's Day, Coach Sean even passed out roses so the boys could give one to their mom.  How sweet is that?  We're thankful for Coach Sean and his family.  He and Jason have become pretty good friends, and his wife Nicole and I are both teachers, so we have lots in common.

Here's a peek at #2's sleeping habits.  Doesn't look comfy at all to me, but he sleeps vertically with his feet stuck through the slats every night.  Maybe some day I'll get to put out the cute toddler bedding I have...but until then, it's entertaining to see.

This guy is still terrified of the carwash.  Not even rainbow soap and a lollipop could help.  Poor thing!

It seems ludicrous to think that Reid is already finished with kindergarten.  There were some awkward moments in there (such as when he pulled part of his pants down to show classmates his undies...with his mom/teacher right behind him), but overall I'm so glad I got to teach right across the hall from him.  We had lots of events in May including Field Day.  I was surprised he even got his face painted!  I got to run over to see him in a few events whenever my class was occupied, which was a bonus.

Jason rearranged his schedule one busy Tuesday so that he could come to our Learning Celebration (heaven forbid we call it "graduation" since that could hurt the feelings of kids who aren't going on to 1st grade).  Here is my class:

And Mrs. Ray's class (Reid is kind of hidden behind the princess dress):

I was so glad Jason could be there to take pictures because I'd normally have to ask a parent if they minded since I'm busy being teacher, not parent.  He captured a rare "normal" smile versus Reid's usual weird faces he thinks are so funny.

And of course, we had to get a goofy one, too...

It's crazy to think this kiddo is officially a first grader, now.  He's come so far this year and I'm proud of him.  I wasn't too sure how weird it was going to be having my little nutball in the next class over, but I'd have it no other way.

I'm thankful to Stacey for understanding Reid's quirky humor and keeping an extra eye on him, especially with so many potty mouthed kids in his class.  We're still working on not being a follower, especially when it comes to that.  And I'm thankful I got to teacher her daughter, Hailey.  She and Reid played and fought just like siblings, and it's so special to think we've known each other's kids since they were itty bitty babies.  I will miss not seeing them each day next year, but I'm so grateful we had this year together.

April

We were quite excited to enjoy our first (and only) crawfish of the season.  One of Jason's coworkers has an annual boil and this year they actually took out part of the fence with their neighbors, opening the kid adventures up to two yards.  It was an unusally hot day in April, but the boys sure didn't seem to mind!  Carter fell in love with the ball pit...

...and the sand table.

Reid had a blast talking to another little girl about his age, jumping on the trampoline, and playing on the playscape.

We couldn't convince the boys to try crawfish, but the hosts had ordered tons of pizza for the kids and anyone else who wasn't brave enough to try the mud bugs.

Jason and I sure enjoyed them, though!  We tend to wait through several batches until they get reeeeally spicy toward the end.  So good!

Carter wouldn't have anything to do with the trampoline until right before we left (of course).  Once someone had put balls all over it, it must've seemed a lot more fun.  We enjoyed the afternoon and look forward to the one next year, too.

These two guys are really beginning to hang out a lot more.  Double trouble!  I couldn't resist these little hineys at bath time one night.

Dixie is even beginning to tolerate Reid more.  He's always chased her, yelled at her, pulled her tail, and she tends to hide when he comes out.  He's gotten better over the years, but she still doesn't exactly trust him.  Lately, he's been (mostly) very sweet to her and will sometimes even brush her.  For a couple weeks in a row, he made "Dixie time" each morning to pet her.

But her real little buddy is Carter.  He's always been sweet and gentle with her and she seems to know.  When he's around, she doesn't hide or flinch when he comes near.

One evening, we had a little adventure.  Jason smelled natural gas outside and we determined it was coming from our neighbor's gas meter.  The CoServ automated line instructs you to call 911, so he did.  The firefighters were great and one was so sweet to give the boys a tour of the truck, walking all the way around it and telling Reid whatever he wanted to know.

April was full of many pretty bad storms.  One school day I was still in McKinney--big storm at my school, but no hail.  About a mile north of there, they got enough hail to warrant a new roof.  Unbeknownst to me, the same storm had hit our house (way west of my school) enough that we still had piles of hail in our flowerbeds at 8pm!  We had a few more bad ones and even one that had pea-sized hail for five minutes, then just rain, then bad, large hail for about ten minutes!  I was texting/calling our neighbors and Jason as everyone was headed home from working in Dallas.  Some actually got up to shooter marble size.  I didn't think to take a picture for insurance until it had melted a bit.

Weekends are always full of chores, but we squeeze in silly family time, too.  I love this picture with Carter's face perfectly framed between Jason's legs.

And our goofy kindergartener...making his Daddy into a weird reindeer.  That boy has a strange, overly silly sense of humor.  Gets very annoying at times, but once he was identified as GT in the spring, at least we knew why.

And you definitely can't say he isn't creative!  He constructed a "movie boat" out of chairs and pillows in the media room one day when we watched a movie.

One day Reid read a book, while orbiting the kitchen island.  Carter was kind of like his moon.

He also got to be pied at Friday Live.  I don't think he fully realized the entire school would be watching.  His expression was priceless!

The driving back and forth from Prosper to McKinney each day has really taken a toll on me.  But we absolutely love our new house and neighborhood.  Except maybe for some creepy visitors.

I have enjoyed the sunrises out our back windows in the morning as I have my chai latte and devotional/quiet time.  God can sure paint a gorgeous sunrise!  I've savored the view because they are now building houses in the section behind us, but I'm thankful we had a year to view it like this.

The sunsets aren't too shabby, either.  One evening after the boys had been asleep awhile, Jason and I took a glass of wine and cheese/crackers to the little pond across the street so we could enjoy the sunset.  THIS is Windsong living!

With Spring, naturally it means baseball.  I actually got to go to a lot more games this year because they were on Saturdays.  Getting to watch them was another story.  Carter doesn't like to sit in one spot...especially when Reid is up to bat.

My little catcher

March and Texas Tulips

We have tulip fields here in Pilot Point, Texas!!  Who knew??  Long story short, Pieter Koeman's family owned a tulip farm in The Netherlands and once his father passed, they decided to settle here in Texas and continue the business, getting to meet the people who buy their tulips.  It's only a short drive for us, so we took advantage of a nice day in March to go have a look.  I honestly wasn't expecting much, but read their story and saw a picture in a local magazine and decided we had to at least visit.  The pictures honestly don't do it justice...it was gorgeous with rows and rows of color!

I knew the boys would get rowdy the longer we were there, so first order of business was to get some pictures.  Easier said than done.  It was very crowded, the rows of dirt between the flowers were perfect for running, and this guy moves fast!

Between Jason's phone, my phone, and our nice camera, we were finally able to get some decent pictures. 

It was free for the boys to get in and only $3 apiece for adults, I think.  Thankfully Jason saw somewhere that the tulips are $2.50 per stem, if memory serves me correctly.  More than a few people were taken off guard and had picked huge bouquets!  We limited the boys to a small handful that we'd be able to enjoy at home.  They really do encourage you to pick, as you can see by the size of the basket.

There was even a picnic area set up with benches to eat, rest, or just view the beautiful flowers.  And Reid immediately noticed a little hay maze nearby.  The big kids were running on the top and jumping, making up some game involving hot lava if you fall off.  Carter just enjoyed wandering around and balancing on the hay bales.

 

What an amazing place...and so close by!  I have a feeling we will be there every spring.  I was honestly amazed the the boys had so much fun.  We pretty much had to drag them out, and Reid was so enamored by the flowers that he actually paid for two more tulips with his allowance.