Texas Legends Game

Tonight we had family date night and went to the Texas Legends basketball game in Frisco. They are in the NBA D-League, which is the development league before going into the pros. It was a neat little arena with great seats all around. Plus I found tickets to this game for only $1 each, so $5 for all of our seats. What a steal! And look who used to be a Texas Legends player: Spud Webb. I remember watching him play for the Atlanta Hawks years ago. He was one of the shortest players in the NBA at 5 foot 7 inches. And he even won the slam dunk contest one year. Pretty cool.

Our crew getting settled in. We had to get food in waves. Finn and I went first and then Shawn bought food for the older two. And Maebry just ate everyone's food.

Finn really enjoyed the game. It was on a smaller scale and he was comfortable with all the noise.

Selfie time with Mae. She was loving the Orange Fanta I got them. This never happens. LOL

I caught Jase being silly with the large light-up wands we got at the game.

Finn had to get his picture taken with the puppy! So Daddy took him down court side for a photo!

This is as good as it gets here folks. Fun times at the game tonight.

While Daddy and Mae were upstairs and the boys were playing down on the floor by the court, Allyson and I took a few pics. Love this girl.

Required silly selfie.

See the boys in the middle of the screen? Finn is wearing a light blue shirt and Jase has a gray shirt on with a red Texas Rangers hat on. I'm not sure if they do this every game or if it was special for tonight, but the kids had fun playing down there. There were bounce houses at the other end of the court, but we weren't quite up for that tonight.

Check out this video of the boys playing together. They are in the bottom right of the playing area.

And when the boys are away, the girls will order cotton candy!! I was trying to think of the last time I purchased cotton candy for the kids and I think I remembered when: never!! So much sugar and so sticky. But when Ally asked and I had the cash I thought "why not!" She sure did enjoy it.

Watch Maebry with the cotton candy. She would not stop shoving it in Daddy's mouth. It was the funniest thing.

And here Maebry could not get it in her own mouth fast enough. After she finished her cotton candy, she washes it down with Orange Fanta. I sure hope they sleep well tonight. Ha!

We ended up losing the game, but came within 3 points in the last minute. We had to hang out and see it to the end. While Mae was a wild child at times, it was really a fun night and I'm glad we were able to get out and enjoy being together.

Hike and Egg Hunt

Today was a good day. It is always nice to have one of those! We woke up, ate breakfast and packed lunch for the day. We met some friends at the Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center in Denton. It is 2900 acres set aside for conservation and education purposes. We took a guided hike to explore Texas nature. 

It was beautiful out there and I am looking forward to taking a family hike once it warms up a bit. The wind was howling today, but we still enjoyed getting outdoors. 

The original plan was to eat lunch and have an Easter egg hunt out there, but it was in the 50's and felt like it was in the 40's with the wind chill factor. So, we ended up in the lobby at church, which was a blessing. Below Ruth and Allyson are playing together; they enjoy each other's company every time they are together. 

After lunch, the kids went around the corner and some of the moms hid eggs for the kids to find. 

It wasn't a free-for-all on the egg hunt. Each child could find 4 eggs to make sure everyone got 4 eggs. Even with the limit, it was just the right amount of candy and goodies. All of the kids enjoyed it, but Finn and Mae really had fun!

We had a great morning and afternoon with friends. 

Camping Fun

Earlier this month I took Allyson camping with American Heritage Girls and we had a great time. I have only camped 5-7 times in my entire 35 years, so this was a big deal for me to go solo and get it all set-up. 

Allyson was super excited to get outdoors and have some fun with her friends and Mama. 

Shawn did a fabulous job helping me pack everything up. The table was awesome to have outside the tent. It was so nice to have somewhere to put things. And the red container of tap water was great for brushing our teeth or rinsing off our hands. There were a couple of port-a-potties, but no running water at this site. We were roughing it for sure!

We snuggled in the tent together. It got down into the 40's and it was chilly to say the least!

After breakfast, the girls attended several stations to learn about slavery and the founding of the USA. I believe by doing this the girls earned 2-3 badges that weekend. 

Here are all of the Tenderhearts (1st-3rd grade) in our troop that attended the campout. 

Little Ally was wore out on the way home.

The next day was Shawn's birthday. I'm glad we were able to be home and celebrate his special day. 

The following weekend was Shawn and Jase's turn in the wilderness. They went camping with their Trail Life troop. 

The boys had a couple of informative meetings (fire and snakes!), but they had a lot of down time, which they all enjoyed. They came home with several pirate jokes that were told around the camp fire. I'm not sure who enjoyed it more, Shawn or Jase. So glad to hear they had fun. 

Finn: Color Master

Our little Finn loves to color. He rarely leaves white space on the page these days. I love to pick him up from Sunday School and have the teachers tell me how much he enjoyed coloring. Something about it warms my soul, maybe because I am a fan of paper and markers too! The kids will often sit next to me in my room and they color or make cards while I do my bible study; it is a special time. And I'm happy to report that I am sharing my big set of Stampin' Up markers that I have had for well over a decade. LOL! {Notice he wrote his name on his paper! #bigboy}

February wrap-up

I blinked and literally February was over! We have been busy with life lately, that blogging has definitely taken a backseat. But I like to document what we've been up to, so here is a snapshot of the past two weeks. 

At Classical Conversations a couple of weeks ago the kids painted like Michelangelo, on their backs. This is how he painted the Sistine Chapel in Rome. They got a kick out of it.

On Wednesday, February 17th, I took the kids to the Denton Fire Station with a homeschool group for a tour. One of the dads in this homeschool group is a firefighter for Denton, so he and his coworkers showed us around. He works his shift every 3rd day for 24 hours. What a commitment. Thankful for people like him.

Friday, February 19th, we snuck away for a little adult time. We went to the Hillsong United concert in Dallas. It was awesome. Or Epic as Jase would say! Ha! Such a great time of worship and fun to share it with friends.

Love my mom. She came up and watched the kids so we could go to the concert. We also had several laughs around town together. One that I can think of right off hand was on Saturday. It was Jase's last basketball game of the season that morning. I had plans all week to pick up a gift card for his coach as a thank you gift for doing such a great job. He did an awesome job teaching the boys plays and fundamentals, it was really a productive season for them. Anyhow, I never picked up a gift card during the week, so Saturday before the game it is. Surprised?! I passed a Sonic and a Chicken Express on the way to the game and that's about it. He's a grown man with a family so I'm thinking a Sonic gift card is probably not the best choice for him! Mom suggests that sometimes she has seen gift cards in convenient stores, so I pull in and see. The lady at the register thought I was nuts when I asked if they sold gift cards! I remembered there is an Italian restaurant right around the corner and thought that would be nice for he and his family. Well, I walk in and ask the employee if I can buy a gift card and he said "I can probably do that for you." Oh geez...that should have been my sign to walk out. I proceed with the transaction. I buy a $25 gift card and he tells me my total is $27.06. I asked "I have to pay tax on a gift card?" He said "yes, we charge tax." Huh. Then he prints out a receipt for $27.06 and another receipt type of piece of paper that says gift certificate on it, and he staples both together. For the love. I bring it out the to car and show my mom, we die laughing. I proceed to put the $27.06 gift card in the card Jase had made for him, and it totally looks like our receipt from lunch. There is no telling what he thought when he opened that card. Good times!

Jase won his game that Saturday, which landed us in the playoffs this past Saturday. We ended up losing the playoff game, but what a great season we had.

Our little Maebry. She has been keeping us on our toes lately. Busybody for sure. It's nothing to find her in the pantry eating chips on the floor or on the kid table in the school room with dry erase markers. She is giving me a run for my money.

The weather has been so nice lately, we have gotten out for a walk in the middle of the day. Jase usually rides his bike, Ally is on her scooter, and the younger two walk.

Miss Mae in our bed the other morning. She was super comfy laying right on top of me.

And we finished up February last night with our home group. We hosted family night and had a wonderful time. It was sweet time of fellowship and sharing a meal with those we love. Our home group leaders, Marcus and Ashley, will be moving to the other side of Denton next month, so things will definitely look different in the weeks to come. They were our first friends when we moved up here, and we are very thankful for them. This group of friends would not be gathered together if it weren't for them opening up their home.