Spring Break

 Spring Break came and went in Texas. With Joseph's turnaround ending early to mid-March, we always hesitate to make big plans for the break. Instead, we just plan to stick close to home and do fun day trips. Joseph's turnaround ended a couple days before spring break so he was able to take a couple days off and come with us.

First things first, though! We finally fixed the sloping in our front garden bed. We kept having issues with water drainage and it took a long time to figure out exactly what was causing the problem. The kids enjoyed helping dig in the dirt for the day.

Gemma's birthday was the first part of the week so we celebrated her birthday.

The next day, I took the kids up to north Houston to a farm-type place. It wasn't busy at all, which was a perk. Most districts around here have spring break at the same time so it is crazy busy everywhere. This place wasn't busy, but it was a farther drive than normal. The kids enjoyed petting the animals, playing mini-golf, and playing on the playgrounds.

The llama really liked Lydia and kept following her around. Thankfully, Lydia liked the llama too.

We finally became true Houstonians by visiting the Houston Rodeo one day. Thankfully, Joseph took the day off to join us. There is no way I would have managed the rodeo myself. We strictly told the kids that we weren't doing any carnival games or rides. It is crazy expensive! They had a good time despite the long lines for everything and how packed it was. When we first arrived in the morning, it wasn't too bad, but by the late afternoon, it was so busy. We could barely move through the crowds. Not my type of thing to deal with.

The best part of the rodeo was Tanner going mutton bustin'. His sling went "missing" for an hour so he could ride. Thankfully he didn't re-injure himself. He rode the sheep until it slammed him into the side wall/fence. He had a blast.

The second half of spring break was much calmer after those day trips. We went to a movie theater to see Sing 2. The two older kids got to invite a friend to join us and they loved that. Then, some neighborhood kids came to play that afternoon at our house. Friday was Tanner's doctor appointment for his collar bone and a trip to Barnes and Noble. That became a tradition from last year. I give the kids a $10 limit to buy a new book. Plus I like looking for new ideas of what to get at the library. And they get a treat from the little cafe because they're signed up for birthday treats.

My sister flew in Friday night and we ran a half marathon together on Saturday. We ran much more than we anticipated: about 10.5 miles of it. The kids came to cheer us on and had fun with that. Then we hung around the neighborhood with my sister for a few days.

Now the kids just have eight more weeks until summer.

Tanner's Pulitzer Prize Entry

Tanner found a book at the library all about Joseph Pulitzer and the Pulitzer Prize. He became fascinated about this. Tanner asked me how to win the prize and what the process was. He knew the prize was for non-fiction work. We found the website, date cut-offs, and requirements. Tanner went right to work writing a book about the sun. He filled out the entry form and paid the few dollars to mail it in. We did forego the $50 entry fee though. We haven't heard anything back yet so I am guessing he didn't quite win the prize. But he worked really hard to write a great book about the sun.

Then, in an unrelated work, Tanner drew this picture in primary. It was in response to, "Draw something or someone that you love." Tanner drew his friends, but labeled it "Feds." We all had a great laugh in primary as Tanner claimed he was friends with the Feds.

Ashton's Art Festival

Ashton had some artwork picked for a district-wide art festival. We spent one Saturday morning at the festival. All the art teachers from the district hosted a little table with a kid-friendly art project. It was a fun morning. Joseph was working in his turnaround so it worked out well with taking the kids myself.

She felt she needed her own picture with some artwork.

Tanner's collarbone

Tanner finally broke a bone. The fact that we made it six years without a broken bone is remarkable to me.

One night, some neighbor kids were playing in the backyard. The boys are all older than Tanner and do certain things that Tanner probably shouldn't do. But we don't stop him. I figure he'll learn his own limits and listen to his body. This day, the older boys had been scaling the side of our playground. Tanner joined them. I think the game had some element of tag so a kid tried to tag Tanner as he scaled the side of it. He worried more about getting tagged so let go before realizing his other hand wasn't holding on. He flipped upside down before falling and landed on his head. I didn't see the fall but I saw him right after. Tanner was pretty embarrassed that he fell with the older boys around him so he came inside and rested. Normally, he hops right up and goes back out. This time, he stayed on the couch. I was worried about a possible concussion with the height that he fell from. But he kept answering all of my questions and didn't seem to have a concussion.

Later that night, he said his shoulder hurt. I figured it was a little bruised from his fall. I didn't see any visible bruising or bumps. I've never broken a bone and have no idea what it looks like. He had a little trouble falling asleep that night but nothing too major.

The next day, he didn't want to use his left arm. However, he wanted to go to school. That afternoon, we met some other neighbors at a park. Tanner was holding his arm the whole time and definitely not using it. When the other moms took a look, we noticed he moved away when we tried to touch his collar bone. Tanner knew his soccer team started the next day. When we asked him about his arm, his response was, "It's fine. I can play soccer." I think he wanted to play soccer so badly that he didn't tell us how bad his arm hurt.

The next morning, I called the doctor and got an appointment later in the morning. I rushed him in with Gemma and Lydia. Before they even took x-rays, the doctor says, "yep, I will go grab a sling." She knew it was broken. Sure enough, the xrays showed a broken collar bone. It wasn't broken in two, so that's good. But the fracture was pretty long/big.

He was in the sling for five weeks. At night, it had to be wrapped up with a huge ace bandage. He struggled some with asking for help on small tasks like getting socks on or zipping coats up. His teacher mentioned how Tanner was grateful for help from his classmates but didn't love asking for help.

To cope, Tanner found lots of sports he could still play. He used his soccer ball to play basketball because it weighs less than his basketball. He could shoot better with the lighter ball and only one hand. Pretty resourceful!

After five long weeks, he finally had a re-check and new x-rays. It was healed enough to take the sling off. One week left of no contact sports and he should be all set to go.

Lydia Turns 2

 

Lydia celebrated her second birthday with a hedgehog cake and lots of attention from the family. We sang to her all day and said "Happy Birthday" so much. I think she felt loved.

Here's some favorites for our two year old!

Favorite book: So many books! This girl could read books all day long if I was willing to sit and read. She loves Elephant and Piggie books, Latter-day Baby books (especially our Temple one), Pete the Cat books. Any book works for her!

Favorite toy: Aside from books, probably the magna-tiles. She loves to bring a bunch anywhere she goes.

Favorite word: Lydia seems to follow Tanner's progress/development for language. She is slowly getting there. Her most common word is MaMa! She says the names of everyone in the family. It's pretty cute to hear her yell, "Tanner" "Ashton!" She started putting two words together last week. Her common phrase, "Mama... Look!"

Favorite show: She doesn't really sit to watch anything.

Favorite Outing: Parks. The library. Playgroup is a favorite because she can play with a friend from her nursery class.

Favorite food: Lydia eats anything and everything. Her favorites include cottage cheese, yogurt, blueberries, and peanut butter. She knows if Tanner left it out where she can reach it. She finds it, unscrews the lid, grabs a knife, and enjoys some peanut butter.

Favorite activity: Being with me. Lydia is still pretty clingy. The pediatrician said that starts to fade around two, but then quickly stopped as Lydia screamed at him. "Maybe it will be closer to 2.5 for her before it fades."

Height: 36 inches

Weight: 34 pounds! She is huge! In 3T clothing and everything.

Tanner's Birthday Interview

 

 How old are you? 6

What is your favorite color? Royal blue (his preferred BYU uniform color)

What is your favorite animal? Island Fox

What is your favorite book? His non-fiction BYU football books. He has 3-4 of them.

 What is your favorite show? Wild Kratts or game highlights (there is a YouTube channel of a guy that edits sports games really well and Tanner enjoys watching one periodically)

 What do you like to eat? Toast

What is your favorite game? Board games (although he doesn't really play games because he may lose. And Tanner hates losing.)

What is your favorite thing to do? Play my sports

Who is your best friend? Joseph (a kid from his class)

What do you like to do with Daddy? Watch BYU sports games

What do you like to do with Mommy? Play with her

What is your favorite restaurant? Chick Fil A

Where do you want to go for vacation? Utah to go skiing (winter Olympics has impacted him)

What do you want to be when you grow up? Professional soccer player

What is your favorite song? When I am Baptized (same as last year)

What is the best time of day? Going to school

What makes you happy? Playing with friends

Brazos Bend State Park

 To start off the new year, we visited Brazos Bend State Park. They hosted a fun, interactive hike around one of their lakes that day. The kids enjoyed the little stops along the trail with the park rangers. Ashton found a broad-headed water snake in a big tree trunk. The park ranger was impressed she could spot it. I was grateful for two things: 1) The snake was deep down in the trunk and 2) It wasn't poisonous.

This park is notorious for alligators everywhere. We typically see a ton in the water and along the trail. This time, we didn't see any adults. Instead, we found a huge "nest" of baby alligators about two feet from the trail. The kids could get pretty close, but we couldn't see the mother. There had to be a dozen baby alligators all piled together. It was cool to see.

I love that Lydia is slowly getting old enough to do fun trips like this again. She sat in the hiking backpack for some of the trip. Otherwise, she walked a bunch.

The little girls climbed to the top of the observation tower. I fed them gummy bears to keep them from climbing over the top.

Where the snake was found.

Gemma was pretty scared to climb herself. Thankfully, Joseph was brave. I didn't want to go anywhere near the snake.