Track Banquet

Riley decided to wear a bow tie for the track banquet, which sounded great until we tried to tie it ;) Of course we waited until he was getting dressed to try and figure it out. Well, that turned into a not so happy Riley. He tried first, then Jeremy tried, I tried, my friend Mickie was over so she tried, we pulled up youtube to try and nothing was working. I wasn't sure he was going to figure it out. Ultimately he figured it out once he calmed down and they looked so cute!!

Jill's Graduation

I finished my degree this May :) I completed three years in two, so there were many semesters that I took 18-21 hours but somehow still managed to graduate Magna Cum Laude. I was very undecided on actually walking, but decided I didn't want to regret it later if I chose not to participate. I was way more excited about finishing since it's been a personal goal than I was about walking, so I didn't think to take pictures of me in my cap and gown at school. My mom text me as we were headed home and wanted to see pics, so we stopped by the Keller administration building, I put my cap and gown back on and got the pics. We figured it looked like a campus building anyway so no one would ever know ;) To celebrate we went to dinner at The Woodshed in Fort Worth. It's a new, green restaurant that sits on the Trinity River.

District Track Meet

Today, Riley competed at Eagle Mountain High School for a chance to go to Lubbock for the district track meet. For whatever reason he was just off all day. Only one boy successfully jumped 6'2" so he was the only one to immediately advance to district. There were three boys, Riley included, that successfully jumped 6'0" but only two could advance. At this point we were expecting a jump off and felt confident Riley would do well, since he had previously jumped 6'2". We were disappointed to find out that the determining factor would be the total jumps for each boy at each height. Riley had cleared the same height as the other boys, but it took him more jumps so he did not move on. He was really bummed and I felt so bad for him. I find watching my children hurt and not being able to fix it to be some of my most challenging mom moments. I know at times they need to experience pain and loss to grow, mature, and trust God despite the circumstances but it doesn't make it any less painful for me to watch.

Easter

We go to church every Sunday, so Easter is no different. Since it was Easter Sunday I didn't want to cook and the kids didn't want sandwiches or leftovers, so we decided to eat out. The problem with that was that no one knew what they wanted to eat. We went back and forth for awhile with someone making a suggestion that inevitably someone else didn't want. Finally, Riley says lets go to Fina and get fried burritos. Jeremy was immediately in as was Nadirah. Jeremy then says "there is no way mom is going to eat fried burritos at Fina". Naturally, I felt challenged and wasn't going to let the kids down for no reason. So shockingly I said yes. This led to way to loud cheers from Riley and shock from everyone else. I found it so amusing that we were actually loading the car to go to Fina for Easter lunch that I had to take pictures. Plus, I was afraid someone would later deny it if I didn't have proof :)

Riley & Jess

I wanted a picture of Riley and Jess since they were both dressed up at the same time. Since I had to go to the restroom I took one and then asked Jeremy to take another because I wanted a closer photo. Jeremy, being his usually silly self, doesn't wait for them to get ready at all. Just starts snapping pictures. We laughed and I planned to delete them, but when I look over them it makes me smile remembering the moment. I also thought it would be nice to put some of his funny stores on the blog so we don't forget them. The other photos are them at the water gardens in Fort Worth, at a track meet, and at the Drake concert.

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games premiered at midnight and I am not one for staying up that late, so I thought it would be a nice surprise to take Bailey out of school early and go see it. I figured since she's about to start High School (sad tears) I won't be able to take her out much anymore, so I did it while I still could. After the movie we headed over to Yumilicous for a frozen yogurt. I had a lot of fun and I always love our mother-daughter dates!! For those of you who haven't seen recent pictures...yes she is a few inches taller than me now :)

Hanging with Rudy Booty

We always love when we get to spend time with Rudy! He has a routine at our house, so when he comes over he starts asking to go on a walk. He knows that he'll get to walk to the park to play. Part of the fun of being Aunt and Uncle is that we get to feed him what he wants. In the top picture he's eating Pringle's about six at a time. I always give him a bath before he goes to sleep (another routine that he's used to and likes) and tonight Uncle Jeremy thought it would be funny to put him in the tub with his clothes on. I don't think he was as into it as Jeremy was :) For whatever reason Rudy loves playing in Charlee's crate. He gets in and even wants us to lock it and if Charlee tries to get in too he won't let her.

Riley's First Track Meet

I have been telling Riley to join track since he was in the 7th grade and this year he finally did. After only a couple weeks of practice he is the starting Varsity High Jumper. I kept telling him he had some unusual ability to jump and I was right. Today, he competed in his first track meet. This meet happens to be one of the most competitive of the year, so he was nervous. He has been jumping right at 6' during practice, but being so new to the sport he really didn't know how he would compare to others. Honestly, I was a little nervous when I saw all of the other high jumpers. Some of them were huge!! One of the guys he jumped against has a personal best of 6'7". The bar was set at 5'6" as the starting height. Riley was third to jump and had a pretty awful start. He messed up on the run, drug his toe on the track, and missed the jump. In order to move on to the succeeding rounds a high jumper must clear that height and has three chances to do so. Riley's coach was watching another event, so he was alone. I didn't know if I should walk over there and talk to him or just let him be. I decided to go over there and do my best to encourage him. He wanted to watch the video I had taken to see where he messed up. I told him that the pressure was off since they already knew who was taking first and just told him to calm down and do his best. He easily cleared the next jump, so he was able to relax a little. There were a lot eliminated with each round, so things were looking good for Riley. I felt so bad, because with each round I just kept hoping that the other boys would mess up. Riley was one of only four to clear 6' feet and one of only two to clear 6'2". The whole thing was so exciting and nerve racking and I loved it!! It was so much fun to watch him and I am so proud of him!!! In his first meet ever he won second place. His coach thinks he will definitely make district finals. Jeremy pointed out that based on his height and the height jumped Riley definitely won. The winner was 6'5 and jumped 6'6, while Riley is 5'10" and jumped 6'2" :)

FaceTime with Dad

While Jeremy was in Afghanistan we had to rely of Skype and FaceTime to talk, neither of which were very reliable. I don't know when these photos were taken, because I didn't see them until after Jeremy was home. I wanted to post them because I think it's pretty cute and accurately depicts their silly, sweet relationship.

Valentine's Day

A couple of years ago I started making the kids heart shaped pancakes and now it's become a valentine's tradition :) I can't begin to explain how much I love getting homemade gifts from Bailey and the text from Riley was so sweet it made me cry. I love my kids more than they could ever know!!!! I give so much credit to their dad for teaching them how to give thoughtful gifts from the heart. He has been such a wonderful example of what Bailey should look for in a future spouse and of how Riley should treat his future wife.

Long Boarding

A couple of weeks ago we got our first real chance for a snow day. Riley was beside himself with excitement!! He was sure that school would be closed, so he and his friend Travis decided to go long boarding at night in the ice! Crazy boys!! Anyway, they got all bundled up and spent almost two hours outside. When he got home he was freezing and soaking wet, but he said it was worth it.

KMS 8th Grade Girls Basketball

The girls getting ready for their last game of the season. Bailey had a great final game to finish out the year.

My Birthday

Jeremy was in Afghanistan on my birthday, so he started my "birth month" celebration early :) He had a dozen and a half roses sent to my work, which I thought was so much more fun than getting them at home. I had only been at Lakewood, where I'm student teaching, for a week when they arrived. Everyone in the school wanted to know who they were for and the lucky one was me :) The kids were so sweet to me on my actual birthday. They knew I would be sad with Jeremy gone, so they decided to make sure my day was special. Riley got up at 5 in the morning to make me breakfast. He knows I don't like regular bacon, so he went to the store the night before and bought a healthy version. He was supposed to wake Bailey up, so she could help but he didn't. She was not pleased with that. He also hand delivered a card that Jeremy had asked him to get to me on the 8th. The card was so sweet...I cried! Riley was kind of uncomfortable when that started so he nervously walked away. When I got home from work I had more flowers from my step-mom and two hand made cards from Bailey and Chelby. Nadirah bought me a card too and then gave me a bag of my favorite candy. The kids made me a blanket too, which I love!!! I am so proud of my kids. They are sweet and thoughtful and generous.