April was awesome. We had lots of sports and Spring weather.
Cowboy kept growing up
He got neutered and had to wear a cone for two weeks. It was miserable for everyone because he banged into everything
That’s it for April, May is up next!
April was awesome. We had lots of sports and Spring weather.
Cowboy kept growing up
He got neutered and had to wear a cone for two weeks. It was miserable for everyone because he banged into everything
That’s it for April, May is up next!
March was total madness! We packed the most into any month yet this year.
Next up was our Spring Break trip. This was epic so we have lots of pictures. It started out kind of chaotic because while we were driving to the airport on Saturday morning we got a notification that our flight to Miami had been cancelled due to weather in Florida. We went ahead and went to the airport since we were packed up and spent some time in the car trying to find other flights and talk to the airlines. Because it was Spring Break there weren’t many options. Finally we decided that we weren’t going to get a flight out that day so we went to a restaurant nearby to get some food and try to figure out a plan.
The next morning we repeated the process of dropping Cowboy off, loading the car and driving to the airport. This time we had no problems.
When we landed in Ft Lauderdale, we got a message that our dog sitter decided that Cowboy was too much trouble, and she couldn’t watch him so she put him back in our backyard. So we had to scramble to figure out what to do with him. Luckily the Durnil’s were able to house sit at the last minute and it worked out, but it added to the chaos at the beginning of the trip. We also had to rework our plans since we had lost a day so we ended up cutting some activities and essentially combining the first two days of the trip into a single day. Lots of mental gymnastics trying to get the vacation started. Finally we made it to the VRBO in Homestead (they wouldn’t refund us for the first night that we missed), and then I went to get some groceries for the week.
On Monday morning we headed out to the Everglades. We went straight to Cooperstown Airboats for an airboat tour. They had a holding area for you to wait with a Burmese python and some alligators to look at. We learned about the overpopulation problem from the Burmese pythons because they have no natural predator – there are estimated to be 200,000 pythons in Florida. The kids all got to pet this baby alligator.
We just missed a boat leaving when we arrived so we had to wait for a while. Finally it was our turn to go on the boat tour. Not exactly the quick start we were looking for when we were trying to make up for lost time.
After the boat tour, we went to the Shark Valley visitor’s center. The traffic to get in was insane – some people were waiting in line for two hours. I hopped out and put on my running shoes and jogged up to the visitor’s center to get our book stamped. Meanwhile Jennifer took a picture of the kids by the sign.
Next up we swung by Biscayne National Park for a picnic lunch and some sight seeing. Most of the park is offshore and only accessible by boat. Given our time constraints, we just spent a little time around the visitor center and were on our way.
It was early afternoon now and we were ready to head down the Florida Keys on the oversees highway.
After a few hours at the beach, we loaded up and continued making our way down the keys.
We enjoyed the views while we were waiting for our food.
After dinner we hopped back in the car and made our way towards our hotel for the night. We made one last stop at Robbies to feed the tarpons. We bought a couple buckets of fish to feed them. Unfortunately there were several pelicans that also wanted the fish. They were very aggressive and would come up and snatch it out of your hand from the water and from the deck. There was a guy with a big stick trying to fight them off but it was like whack a mole. It was pretty funny.
We stayed at Rainbow Bend Resort that evening and then had breakfast on the water the next morning. Not a bad way to start the day.
We packed up and headed out for our first stop at the Turtle Hospital in Marathon on Tuesday. It was pretty neat to learn about the turtles and how they treat them with the ultimate goal of releasing them back into the ocean.
After the turtle hospital we went to lunch at Castaway’s Sushi Kitchen.
After lunch we headed over to Sombrero beach for the afternoon. This was probably our favorite beach of the trip (other than Dry Tortugas). We spent the whole afternoon here.
After several hours at the beach, everyone was getting hungry so we loaded up and continued down the keys.
We stopped for dinner at No Name Pub. It is famous for all the dollar bills on the walls and ceiling.
After dinner we loaded up and finished the last leg of our drive to Key West. We made it to our hotel and checked in, then we headed out in search of some dessert. We didn’t have to go far because we found Rooster Treats right across the street from our hotel. We ended up going here every day for the rest of the trip. At one point Henry said this was his favorite thing about the whole vacation.
After the ice cream we walked down to the Southernmost Point and took our photo.
When we got back to the room we went to the pool for a little while.
Wednesday was all about Dry Tortugas National Park. This was by far the highlight of the trip and an unforgettable experience! Dry Tortugas is an island about 70 miles west of Key West and only accessible by ferry or sea plane. We opted for the seaplane even though it was more expensive and never regretted it one bit! It left after lunch so we spent the morning walking around Key West, shopping and having lunch. Henry had pancakes again.
We only had a few hours on the island so we visited the fort first, then we went to the beach and snorkeled.
The views from the top were amazing – blue water as far as you could see
On Thursday morning we went to the beach at Fort Zachary state park. It was nice and the water had more waves than the other beaches. It was more rocky than Sombrero beach but still really nice.
Around lunch time we headed back to town and stopped for lunch at the Banana Cafe. The line was long so we went next door to La Grignote and were not disappointed!
We went to the Hemingway House
The airport was small to begin with and under construction, so it was packed. There were people everywhere!
It was a great trip overall and one we will never forget!
Next up was Henry’s birthday. He wanted to go to a Stars game with a friend. It was really fun and they had great seats!
On Sunday evening we went to the Concacaf National League finals at Cowboys stadium between USA and Mexico!
On Henry’s actual birthday, we celebrated at home and then had a busy evening with track and baseball.
And just to try to pack something else into the month of March, we got to celebrate Easter at the end of it.
Wow! That’s it for March, April is up next!
February was fun!
Henry had a busy weekend where he had baseball tryouts, then a basketball game, and a soccer tournament! Talk about a multi-sport athlete!
Next up was Nathan’s 13th birthday!
He had Wagyu steak for dinner (but we didn’t get a picture). He said it was the best steak he ever had
Next up was a long weekend. We decided to do a quick trip to Angel Fire for a ski trip since the snow was good and we had the platinum passes. Hannah invited her friend Claire to come with us.
I had a work meeting in Amarillo on Friday morning, then we drove up to Angel Fire.
Cowboy continued to grow and find new ways to get into trouble. Here are a few pictures of him.
That’s it for February, March is up next!
January was jolly and started off with a bang!
Nan came to visit and we opened Christmas presents!
The boys worked on an NFL puzzle
Next up was a double soccer tournament in Round Rock. Both boys were playing and it was cold!
There was a winter weather advisory in place that we were watching closely. Saturday evening around midnight they cancelled the tournament so everyone could get home safely. We got up Sunday morning and saw the notification so we packed up and headed home. We got home before any of the weather rolled in, but Monday morning we woke up to fresh snow.
Henry’s team won all their games so they got first in the tournament. They handed out the medals at practice the following week.
Messi came with Inter Miami for an exhibition game against FC Dallas in the Cotton Bowl. We were able to get tickets and rode over there with some friends.
Next up was Jennifer’s birthday weekend. We had planned a trip to Lajitas Golf Resort in Big Bend, but the day before our trip they called us and said they oversold our flight and were bumping us. We decided to go out to Rough Creek Lodge in Glen Rose instead. It was a nice, relaxing weekend!
On Saturday we slept in, had a big breakfast, then got massages, and took a nap. When we woke up, we went to check out the activities.
Cowboy continued to grow and find new ways to get in trouble
That’s it for January! February is up next.
December was delightful and jam packed with action!
We started off with a Lauren Daigle concert at Dickies Arena! Jennifer took Hannah and Eden. It was Hannah’s first concert and she had a great time!
We had a parents versus kids soccer game for both Henry and Nathan’s team. The parents beat the 2014 team (even though I had an own goal), but the 2011 team beat the parents (partially thanks to a hand ball in the box from me)!
Nathan had a fun sleepover weekend with his buddies for Wyatt Jack’s birthday
Next up was a trip to Cowboys Stadium to watch Aledo play in the state championship game
One of the dad’s took some good photos of the boys during the games. Here are some of the good action shots.
The next morning we opened presents!
We spent the rest of Christmas day cleaning up and packing then we drove to Angel Fire the next day.
When we got there we opened presents
Then we hit the slopes! 4 days of skiing with great weather
The kids liked the terrain park. Here are some action shots of them catching some air
We had lunch at the warming hut nearly every day
We played lots of games at the cabin
We drove home on NYE. Nan and pop were going to come visit but decided to wait a few days because Jennifer and I had a cold.
Cowboy kept growing and getting into trouble. Here are some of our favorite shots of him this month.
We left him with some friends while we went to Angel Fire. He had fun playing with their dog, Josie
That’s it for 2023, see you next year in 2024!
November was nice!
We started off the month with Nana and Pappy taking the kids to an FC Dallas playoff game. And they won!
We went to Japanese Palace for a family date night.
We went down to Evadale and Devers for Thanksgiving and had a great time visiting with everyone. We drove down on Monday and I worked for a couple of days in the Beaumont office.
On Thursday morning we packed up and headed over to Devers.
On the way home we went through Houston and stopped at Micah’s birthday party. He was hosting some friends for paintball. The boys had a blast.
The next week, we had tickets to the Thursday Night Cowboys game. While Nathan and I were at the game, Henry got to go to Buffalo Wild Wings!
We had great seats, and it was a great back and forth game with the Seahawks that went down to the very end.
That’s it for November, December is up next!
October was outstanding!
I had more football games.
Henry had a roller skating party! He is really good at skating. He tried regular skates but decided rollerblades are more his thing.
During Fall Break me, Henry, Dad and Luke went to Angel Fire to elk hunt!
We watched the solar eclipse!
In between hunting one day we fit in a round of golf.
It was a great day to golf!
Mom and Dad went to see Drew Holcomb at a concert with friends.
We celebrated my Dad’s birthday! The next night we went with our friends to Heim barbecue.
One of the people my dad works with offered him two tickets to the Texas A&M football game. Since my soccer game got rained out, we were able to go.
Since it was raining outside, Mom took Henry and his friend roller-skating.
They had so much fun!
On Halloween we were all in different directions. I was at a football game in Stephenville, Hannah was trick-or-treating with friends, and Henry was in our neighborhood trick or treating.
Hannah was a basketball player from Fresh Prince of Belair
Henry was Jamar Chase
He is still a trouble maker but we love him
He loves getting muddy
He is still the best snuggler
He loves hanging out with friends
He LOVES to sleep
He likes Henry’s stuffed animal Groot
He likes going on walks but is scared by the ghosts
He went to one of my soccer games and did a good job watching me.
He is the perfect dog!
That’s it for October, next up is November.
September was super!
Nathan had a soccer tournament in San Antonio over the Labor Day weekend
Next up was Nathan’s first football game. We played in Everman and it was hot!
The next day was the Hoco dance. Hannah had a great time with her friends!
We got our school portraits!
At the end of the month, Mommy and I went to a play at Bass Hall for our anniversary.
Cowboy continued to grow. Here are some of his best moments in September.
He loves to wrestle
He also loves to cuddle on the floor
We lost him one evening. Henry and I were in the front yard working with him on the long leash. A deer ran by and Cowboy took off after him. We couldn’t grab the rope in time and we were both barefoot. We chased him for a little bit but realized we needed shoes so we went back to the house to get shoes and the car. By the time we got back down the street he was gone. We searched all over the neighborhood for over an hour with the help of several neighbors. Henry and I went all through the woods next to us. Finally it was getting dark so we came back to the house to change clothes and get a flashlight and we found him in the house waiting for us. So he made it home safely but we had a major scare!
That’s it for September, October is up next!
August was awesome!
Henry helped Mama Jo move out of her house. He was the last grandkid to stay with her in Dallas.
For my dad’s work outing we went to a Rangers game. Little did we know it was also Aggie night.
First Day of School! There is a 9th grader, a 7th grader, and a 4th grader. As Mom likes to say, “We have a kid in High School, Middle school, and Elementary and they are all the same height.”
Hannah made JV tennis this year! She only started in the summer which is pretty good.
Henry had a soccer tournament, and to pass time they saw the Ninja Turtle movie and went to a local library.
Cowboy has grown so much over the past month. Here are his best moments
Augest was great, and we are excited to see what September brings us!
July was jolly!
After Fran’s party, we went down the mountain and watched a laser drone show
At the end of the trip, Jennifer and I went on an overnight backpacking trip in the Latir Wilderness.
The next day we drove home to Aledo. We decided we wanted a puppy from Oklahoma. We tried to pick him up on the way home but the breeder wasn’t home that day so we had to go back the next day and meet them in Wichita Falls. We got a blue merle aussie pup and named him Cowboy. Here are a few pictures of him
He loves to snuggle!
He also is a huge trouble maker!
He made a lot of messes the first month but he seems to be doing better with house training. He is still learning to walk on a leash and not bite. When he gets in holy terror mode, watch out because he is trouble!
Nathan was home for a few days after the mountains then he headed to College Station for A&M soccer camp
Meanwhile, Hannah had her first tennis tournament and did great. She won a match!
From Tomball, we sent the kids to Devers for cousin camp and we headed back home
The kids had fun in Devers. They played golf, watched movies, played on the waterslide and more!
That’s it for July, August is up next!