April 27 - Houston Kids Triathlon

Congrats Dimpled Munchkins!

Last month, the PE coaches at school brought in someone from the Houston Kids Triathlon and talked to the kids about participating in the upcoming race. Julia and Luke came home saying "We want to do it!" Interesting fact-USA triathlon uses your age as of 12/31 of the current year so Julia registered as a 10 year old and Luke as an 8 year old. They each had the same distances: 100M swim, 3 mile bike and 1/2 mile run. They were both registered under team "North Pointe Elementary" and we weren't sure who else signed up, but they were both excited! 

mini-road trip to pick up race packets & drop off bikes!

The day before the race, I picked the kids up early from school and we headed to Reliant Stadium to drop off bikes and pick up their race packets. Over 1.3k kids were registered for Saturday and the event planners did a fantastic job setting up multiple registration tents, so it didn't feel crowded at all. After picking up their race packets, we put their race numbers on their helmets and bikes and then headed to the transition area. No parents were allowed in the transition area so the kids dropped off their bikes and then we walked over and checked out the giant inflatable pool.

the cold pool

The kids were wrapping up a quick jump in the bounce house (it was a fun event) and saw one of Julia's friends from school, Tanner...and the girls were off! They went back to the transition area to drop off Tanner's bike and then the girls listened to a pre-race talk and made posters. We headed home, the kids packed up their bags for the morning and they went to bed excited. 

The triathlon started early in the morning so I stayed home with Jillian while JD headed out at 5.30am with the big kids. All of the participants wore a band around their ankles with an RFID tag to track their times and I was able to check results remotely. Both kids did absolutely fantastic!! They both said the water was freezing but they otherwise had fun.

Julia and Tanner

Julia not only had fun...she also WON first place!!! Go Jules!

April 26 - Bayou Wildlife Park

Last week I met Luke's class at Bayou Wildlife Park for his spring field trip. The weather was absolutely perfect-65 and partly sunny. And the best thing? The only classes there were from our school and 1 other. It was practically empty! (when I went with Julia's class it was so crowded and hot, there were black flies everywhere and we waited so long for the horses her class never got to ride). Luke had an absolute blast!! We did a ride around the grounds seeing llamas, camels, alligators, longhorns and other various animals, went to the petting zoo (where Luke hung out with a ginormous pig), rode horses, saw an amazing peacock and had a picnic lunch...while literal deer tried to steal food from the kids. Only in Texas!

Feeding Animals

Giant Pig

Horseback Ride!

My Favorite Man

April 24 - Did You Put Together the Wind Chime?

Colorado Springs

Sorry for the blog delay folks, life has been crazy lately. JD turned 40 a few weeks ago and he and I celebrated by going to dinner at Brenners on the Bayou, a restaurant that overlooks Memorial Park. It was an oddly cold evening but we had one of the best dinners we've ever eaten in Houston. Delicious! For his actual birthday, we had Italian food with the kids, followed by chocolate cake and then presents. All he wanted as a wind chime and new jeans. The kids and I went shopping and Luke picked out the exact wind chime he knew JD wanted.

Vail

Well....when JD opened it he said "Oh, did you guys put together the wind chime and hang it outside?" OMG-we bought an empty box at the hardware store. Oops! If you are wondering why no one realized it, one of the kids put it on the counter and I just tossed it in my giant (already heavy) purse when we left and didn't realize it. Definitely a birthday to remember! 

Amelia turned 13 the day after and Luke and his friends threw her a little birthday party, complete with cards and peanut butter. I missed the party because I was in Colorado working. It was an absolutely gorgeous week there and my co-worker and I made it to Vail one night for dinner. Perfection!

April 16 - Fun Run

Mr. Dimples is FAST!

The North Pointe Elementary fun run was last weekend and for the first time in years, it was cool and overcast. Perfect running weather! Luke ran the 1 mile race and took off like a rocket. I thought he would wear out quickly...but no! He shocked me by catching up to several older kids (they do a staggered start by grade, 5th-4th-3rd-2nd-1st-kinder) and did a 6.20 mile!!! WOWSA! We have another runner in the family folks! He won gold for the 1st grade, congratulations Luke!! Julia and her fellow Girl Scouts all decided to run the 5k this year. They rocked it!! Julia placed 2nd in the 4th grade with a time of 27min. Great job!! 

Friends, Girl Scouts & 5k Finishers!

April 13 - Bunny Time

Spring egg hunt!! Luke's class came to our house the week before Easter for a spring party. Everyone brought in a dozen eggs and I had to label them 1-18 (which corresponds to the kids class number) before the event. We had a HUGE rain storm the night before the count and I made a last minute decision to do it in our front yard as well as our neighbors (they ok'd it, the front yard was not as muddy as the back). After spreading the eggs out, I went up to school and the kids hopped over to our house. They had a blast looking for their numbers (it also took longer) and then we played some fun games. After pizza and cupcakes, I gave the kids little buckets with bunny ears, bubbles and a little bunny stuffed animal. The weather held out and everyone had fun!

The Saturday before Easter we had brunch at the Aquarium restaurant in Kemah. Jillian was initially a little weary of the Easter Bunny but she quickly got over her fear and kept trying to run up to the bunny. It was so cute!! The food was delicious and we will definitely be back next year. 

The kids were up early Easter morning and were excited to see their baskets and candy. Also...they loved the egg hunt around the downstairs!! Jillian very quickly realized the eggs were filled with candy and kept trying to get them open and shove chocolate in her mouth. 

Kemah (the windows are tinted blue which is why the color is...unique)

Organizing eggs for Luke's class

Love these babies