March 29 - Beastmode

she's fierce!

What's the longest kids sport activity? 

*My response two weeks ago: Swim meet

*My current response: Track meet, hands down, track meet

Julia competed in her first track meet 2 weeks ago and it was quite an experience. We arrived at the track around 8.15am and the meet started at 9am. She ran 3 events: 100M (15 secs), 400M (1:12) and 1500M (5:50). Like swimming, the kids are in age groups (she's 11-12 for track, it's your age as of 12/31) and run in heats of 8. Unlike swimming, it's a deck entry process so there is no pre-seeding of heats. You have no idea how many kids are even competing until they show up or what heat your child will be in. There were at lot of kids at the meet and it was not a nice day. Overcast, 50 degrees with gusting winds. Julia did fantastic-she placed 2nd in both the 400M and 1500M!! We left the meet at 2.30pm and were surprised when we heard other (seasoned) parents exclaiming "wow, what a short meet!"  

staying warm at the first meet

Last weekend was the 2nd meet of the season. It was our team's home meet of the outdoor season and I signed up to help with concessions. I arrived at 6.45am while Julia came at 8.30am with a friend who is also on the team. This time she was running the 800M, 400M and 1500M. She did fantastic and placed 5th in the 800M. The coaches have told her this is 'her event' and that she needed to go out faster next time. She ran her 2nd event at 3.45pm and we had to leave immediately afterwards because she had a birthday party to go to. So, she missed the 1500M...the girls who ran that event did so at almost 6.30pm! It was a long day being there until 4pm but staying another 2h...yikes!  

Great job Jules!

Cute pic of Luke & Jillian (well, cute for them. Awful night sleep for me! This is what happens when JD travels)

March 25 - Kemah Boardwalk

Finally!! Finally!! We had nice weather this weekend. There was sunshine and no rain. It was amazing. Saturday was spent all day at a track meet (literally) but Sunday I took the kids to Kemah Boardwalk and we had a blast. Luke is finally tall enough to do all the rides and loved them all. Jillian could only do a few rides but she had fun running around like a little wildwoman. Making memories!

March 22 - Settling In

Goodbye heartworms, hello dog park! Luke and I took Apollo to the dogpark for the first time and guess what? He totally loved it. We discovered he isn't that interested in other dogs but he was very interested in fetching sticks. He also had no problem running into the mud to get to the sticks Luke was throwing! After the dog park (he didn't last long, only 30min, still working on building up his endurance) he had a quick bath and was back home to take a well deserved nap. 

Spoiled Rotten

he loves his human sister

March 13 - BBQ Chicken

Sometimes the kids help me with meal planning. When we were making the menu earlier this week and they were helping with the grocery list:

"Can you make the stuff that smells like throw-up when it's cooking" - Luke

"You mean the crock-pot BBQ chicken" - me

"Yeah. Smells like vomit but tastes great." - Luke

So....without further ado, here is my "Throw-up BBQ Chicken Recipe":

*2lbs chicken thighs
*can of cream of chicken soup
*BBQ sauce (whatever is on sale)
*a few squeezes of Italian salad dressing

Cook in crock-pot on low for 6-8 hours. Shred and serve on buns. Enjoy! LOL

March 12 - Brookside Bulldogs

In an effort to get Julia excited about Brookside, we took a trip to the school this weekend. The school itself was locked but we walked around the campus, saw the outdoor courtyard and sports fields. Julia's main comment? "Wow, I love the grass on this outdoor field!" Okay then, if that gets her excited, I'll take it! Jillian was with us and had fun bouncing on the mat next to the high jump, as well as going to the top of the bleachers. Adorbs!!

Future Brookside Bulldog? ...Although not even sure if we have one yet. 

March 9 - Goldie, Curly & Whitey

He made a pizza shirt for pizza day

I have been buzzing Luke's hair since he was a toddler so it was surprising to all of us when he started to grow it out this year and we discovered...he has curls! He's convinced it's because he twirls his hair when he's tired but nope-he's a curly q. He gets it from my dad and my brother Bryan, also curly q's. Several of the teachers at school compliment him on his hair. I've started to call him Curly while JD has started calling him the 'Backseat Bugger' because he peppers us with questions about everything under the sun whenever we are in the car. Luke thinks 'Backseat Bugger' is absolutely hilarious and loves referring to himself as 'Backseat Bug Man!'

In another surprise, Julia (aka Goldie) was placed in the sprinting group for track. Her first meet is a week from today and we're excited to see her run. There is a junior Olympic athlete on her team that she has to run against (Pattie is much faster) but it's great motivation for Julia to try harder.

Cookies for sale!

In fantastic news, Julia applied to the science magnet middle school and we found out 2 days ago that she was accepted! The downside? Her friend from swimming and robotics didn't get in and she doesn't want to go since she has no friends going. ARG. She has just over a week to decide to there will be a lot of discussion over the next week. 

Julia and I have also been busy doing cookie booths the last few weeks (we are heading to one this morning in an hour).

Our council increased the price of cookies to $5 a box and we thought it would impact our sales numbers, but our troop is still doing really well. Only 1 more week to go after this and we are done for the year. 

Meanwhile...little Jillian (aka Whitey) has really perfected her climbing skills over the last few days. She has Julia's speed and Luke's climbing ability, which is a dangerous combination. She cannot be left alone for any length of time! She also...hope I don't jinx myself, is completely potty trained during the day now. She's even stayed dry the last few nights. Fantastic progress!