Rosenberg Rail Fest

A couple of weekends back we visited the annual Rosenberg Rail Fest with our buddy Tyler who loves trains.  There were lots of games and activities for the kids.  First we made our way through all the games.  They kids enjoyed putt-putt golf, bean bags, ring toss, and the spinning wheel where they stocked up on candy prizes. 

Badminton

The Easter Bunny brought Brenna a badminton racket set for Easter.  I have to give this kid credit, no matter what sport we throw at her she gives it her all!  I love that she enjoys athletics, because it makes me move more too!

Class Auction Project

Who said engineers can't be artsy!  Of course, I did have the help of 23 kindergartens and pinterest!  Here's our 20x30 canvas art work for our school's fundraiser.  Each kids got to paint and design a petal to create the flower.  I like to call it "Watch Us Bloom" because I think it's very representative of the growth in all of the kids over this past school year.  It will be auctioned off along with all the other class auction projects this Saturday.  How much do you think this priceless piece of art will go for?

Spring Fun

We've had some beautiful weather days recently and the kids have enjoyed getting out.  Last Sunday it was just the right day to fly kites.  Now the kids are all old enough to manage it on their own and it was fun to watch.  Of course the kites were dragged on the ground almost as often as they were in the air and once in they were in the sky they were hung up in the trees or wrapped around the street lights.  But the kids had a great time!

CenterShot

This past semester our church did CenterShot, which is a 12-week archery based bible study.  The study helps kids learn the fundamentals of building a strong Christian life by staying focused on Christ.  This is paralleled with learning archery techniques and staying focused on the target.  We learned why its important to build your house on Christ the rock and not the sand and the ten "rules" God gives us to follow.

The kids had a great time with this program.   They made their own bows from pvc pipe and string and arrows from wooden dowel rods with styrofoam balls at the end.  We spent several weeks practicing indoors with our homemade bows and arrows until we felt confident that the kids were ready to hit the range with the real deal!  We even had a visit with Merida from Brave and Robin Hood to share some techniques.

Brenna with her homemade rainbow bow!

Easter

We had a wonderful Easter holiday.  It was a beautiful time to remember that we are so undeserving of the mercy Christ has given to us and so very thankful for the blessings that He has provided for our family.

This year Easter was jammed packed with lots of Easter activities.  We kicked it off with the neighborhood Easter egg hunt.  Brenna was excited to get the fun started!

St. Patrick's Day

All decked out in green!

Spring Break 2013

This was our first true Spring Break.  Jacob was a good boss and let some of his guys take off while he worked, so me and Brenna had a Stay-cation.  My house was a revolving door of kids the entire week with more than a dozen friends passing through.  There was really no one "big" thing.  We just spent the week hanging out with friends at the house, playing in the street, and enjoying playdates.  I even left my camera at home for most of the week.  I figured it was one less thing to have to work on later.  But of course I can't not take pictures, so I captured our entire Spring Break on instagram.  I'm really starting to like this more and more.  Another friend summed it up pretty well when she said you there's much less drama and petty comments.  Everything is focused around pictures and I love that!

It was nice to forget about school, homework, and the many extracurricular activities that clutter our schedule. We enjoyed just breaking free from the routine for a while and doing whatever came along.  However, by the end of the week, I was at my limit of fun and ready to fall back into the even pace of normality!

Here's our Spring Break via instagram!

LMF Family Fun Day 2013

We had fun with friends at our annual neighborhood Family Fun Day.  Brenna won the hula hoop contest!  Here's some pictures from the day!

Birthdays, Birthdays, and More Birthdays!

Over a three week span we hit 5 birthdays!  Keeping up with my daughters social schedule is hard to do!  Oh how we love to celebrate anything with friends!  Here are a few shots from all the fun!

Houston Rodeo 2013

It's Rodeo time again!  Something that we've learned to love.  Brenna geared up in the her new cowgirl duds and we headed out with friends and perfect weather.

Closing Out the 2013 Basketball Season

About two weeks ago we finished up our first season of basketball.  We had a great time with friends!  It was definitely another sports learning experience for Brenna, but she proved to be a versatile little athlete by scoring several baskets through-out the season and snagging a couple of rebounds.  For one brief moment I regretted not signing her up for another sport for this Spring.  I really want her to try softball, but the opening day for it was the closing day for basketball.  All regrets vanished last Saturday when after nearly 8 straight months we finally had a weekend that didn't revolve around clean jerseys, ball bags, water coolers, and pop-up chairs.  We're gonna enjoy a nice break from sports while we finish-up Centershot at church.  Soon we'll be starting swimming lessons and then we'll kick off another sport in the Summer.  So, to close out the 2013 Basketball season, here's the highlights.

Fun with friends!

Streetball

Streetball Long Meadow Farms style!  The kids ganged up on Jacob!

Castle in the Sand

After nearly 2 hours of uninterrupted busy work in the sand box, this is what the kids came up with!  One said it was a princess castle, the other said it was a flower erupting volcano, and Reid being the only boy said "Now, let's destroy it!"

Valentines

Yes, I know that its nearly March and Valentines is already way back in the rear view mirror.  But things have been busy and I have at least 5 posts in the que that are trying to make their way out.  And even though this isn't the oldest one, I figured I better get this one out before it becomes embarrassingly late!

Brenna was super excited about making her own Valentines Box.  So, I wrapped the shoe box with white paper and then complied colors, glitter, stickers, jewels, and ribbon.  The rest is all Brenna!  It took 2 days to decorate, since we had to wait for the enormous amount of glitter glue to dry.  Then she insisted everything be a colored!  She didn't want any white left!