Matt here

My little brother, Matt, was able to come visit for a weekend to hang out, play games with the boys, and film some videos of me leaving messages to Kyle, Ryan, and Evan for the future.  This was a fun/tough project, but once we got started....it seemed to flow pretty well!  

Thankfully, Matt is very good about journaling and having lists and ideas.  He suggested I just speak first, before he sat and interviewed me, question-by-question, and there were only a few topics that were quite difficult that way.  We were able to cross many sections off the list in only a few hours!!!  

I'm looking forward to the next session in just a few more days!  

 

Egg Project

At school Evan needed some empty egg shells to make and decorate for the class Easter tree.  That means, we got to empty out the yolks at home.  We only needed 4, but went through MANY extras because of cracked shells.  

Thankfully, Ryan was having fun with the broken eggs.  

Finally.....FINALLY we were able to get 4 good ones.  Before Mom lost her mind.

Another school project done.

Book Club

 

I have such good intentions each month of attending book club.  Then, life gets away from me.  I've often read the books, but just haven't been able to make the meetings!  

Well, I guess one way to get me to attend is for my book to be the subject of the meeting!  

Tom hosted a book club for our book this month.  We had a great time answering questions and talking about the writing process.  I enjoyed sharing some behind-the-scenes information and hearing parts that inspired or stood out to certain readers.  

It was a tiring day, as I'd had treatment earlier that morning, but I'm grateful that I was able to attend!  

Book Signing

I guess I'm officially an author.  I've received my first royalty check AND have had a first book signing event!!!  It was small and not very well advertised, but we sold 11 books, met some nice people, and got ideas of how to improve and move forward for the future!  Go team!

St. Patrick's Day

We remembered to set out our Leprechaun Box---and to wear PJs with green on them--so as to not get pinched when we woke up the next morning!  

And, the leprechaun came, bringing a few treats.  

Lucky Charms for breakfast, a golden dollar for each boy, and some new t-shirts for the day.  

Apparently, Evan's cat, Tiger, saw the leprechaun and made sure he didn't do anything too sneaky.  And, no one got pinched!

Waco Zoo

We didn't have many things planned for Spring Break this year.  Stephen was able to have a few extra days off, but we decided to take things day by day and see how the week went.  (Plus, I was still fighting cough/ear infection, etc.)  When we learned that Julia and Claire also had spring break and that there was a chance Bando was off on Tuesday, we decided to meet up in Waco at the zoo!  Bando was able to work, but Grandpa and Grandma came, too.  

It was CHILLY and windy in the morning, but the zoo was great.  

This green eel was AWESOME.

Pink birds, Mom!

Evan loved that this fish kept following him!

Kyle could've sworn these were Yaks!

Rhino with the Rhinos!!

I LOVE THE ELEPHANTS!!!!

Our original plan was to go to the Silos and grab lunch from the food trucks, plus treats from the bakery.  I think 87% of the world's population had the same idea this Tuesday.  It. Was. Insane.  We should've aborted mission from the beginning when the roads were blocked off, as the place was PREPARING for a huge, weekend event.  We pushed on, only to discover our mistake.  The bakery line was over an hour.  EACH of the food truck lines were over and hour.  THE LINE TO GET INSIDE TO SHOP WAS OVER AND HOUR OR MORE!!!!!!!!

We got the heck out of there and had lunch at Torchy's and In and Out while the guys waited for the bakery and met us later.  Lesson learned.  Do not go here during a major event.  

Sometimes the unexpected craziness adds to the fun!  We loved our spontaneous field trip with cousins!!!!

Weekend Away--Day 3

After sleeping in and relaxing baths, it was time to say goodbye to the Hotel Granduca.  However, we were able to squeeze in the AMAZING brunch.  There was a buffet room of goodies PLUS delicious choices off the menu, which did NOT disappoint.  Brioche French toast with bananas and caramel, spicy chicken and waffles with maple....yum, yum!  We ate with the piano in the background and enjoyed every minute of it.  

The one thing we didn't get to was hanging out in the hot tub, but we did check it out for leaving.  

And, then it was time to return to reality!!!

This trip was SOOOOO what we needed.  Beyond anything we expected, but an amazing weekend away.

Weekend Away--Day 2

The next morning, we enjoyed a lovely breakfast on the balcony.  The weather was amazing, and so was the food. (Poor Stephen had to sleep in the guest room, since I was up coughing so much all night!)

Feeling like the whole thing was too much for just two people, we asked Jordan and Julia to come join us for a night.  When they arrived, we decided to head out for a light lunch---appetizers at Pappadeaux!  

Then, pedicures (and more shopping!!!)

Our boys were having the time of their lives, being bouncers at a teenager's bday party!!! (WE are so grateful to have so many people willing to love and help out with our boys that we didn't even worry about being away!)

We had dinner at the hotel restaurant again, and it did NOT disappoint.  

Then, Chico 19 made an appearance for some games and fun!

Another great day in luxury.

Weekend Away

Some of Stephen's former co-workers gave us an incredible gift: a weekend away in Houston!  At first, they told us they wanted to send us to a bed and breakfast.  I was thinking something cozy and quaint and couldn't wait.  Boy, was I surprised when we pulled up to the Hotel Granduca near the Galleria in Houston and were escorted up to the suite.  It was too much!

We were greeted with flowers and other treats.  

And a room the size of our house.  

The complimentary car--A MASERATI---could be used to take us anywhere in a 3 mile radius.  We went out to the Galleria to look around, finding a few gifts for the boys---including an early bday present for Kyle I'm SOOOOO excited about!!!

Then, back to the hotel for our private chef-created Italian dinner for 2~ 

We listened to some music down in the lobby for a bit and grabbed the Maserati down to a movie.  

It was a perfect first night!!!