April 26 - Ken Ludwig's Baskerville

Yesterday was a busy day. Luke had a UIL band performance (last competition of the year) at a middle school about 30min south of us. I was able to get there in time to watch them perform 3 songs and they did great. After the songs, they do a sight reading, which is reading a new piece of music for (I think) 5min and then they have to play it. They received 1's across the board which are the best scores possible. Congratulations Westbrook Symphonic Band! After his performance, I rushed back home because it was date night! 

After a delicious dinner at a local Italian restaurant, JD and I went to the theater district last night to watch Ken Ludwig's Baskerville, which is a play based on the Sherlock Holmes mystery The Hound of the Baskerville. I read the book in 6th grade and didn't remember much, but the show was absolutely hilarious.

The actors did a fantastic job and we had a great time! It's crazy that we have lived here for 15 years and this was our first time at the theater together (I've been to the theater a few times for field trips). The Da Vinci Code is coming up in the fall and the Easter Bunny gave Luke the book in his Easter basket so we told the big kids that if they read it this summer, we'll take them to the show. 

After a great night, Luke and I had an early morning. I dropped him and one of our neighbors off at school at 5.15am and they are currently at Six Flags (in San Antonio) for the day. What a cool experience! They don't get back until after midnight so he'll be tired tomorrow. 

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Also kind of funny, everyday Christine: no makeup, hair in a bun and workout clothes. Since I was going straight from the band competition to dinner, I was already dressed up (but hair was still in a bun! hehe). The other parents were shocked to see me in different clothes LOL

 

April 23 - India Night

Julia & Hannah

"I think we should do a college visit on 4/18 and fly home on 4/19." - me

"Oh, we can't. I'm doing a dance for India night on the 19th." - Julia

Well, color me (and everyone else in the family) shocked! Julia was part of the 'Junior Class' dance at India night at the high school and she worked really hard to learn the choreography. JD, Luke, Riley and I all attended and watched her (and the other girls) dance. What a night! (Jillian was a crawfish boil and missed it). 

She is visible around the 51 sec mark - back row

https://photos.app.goo.gl/FcD6sf5kMqpRkgTv8

April 20 - Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone! We started the day at 7am with Jillian coming into our room "Did the Easter bunny come? Can we go downstairs?" Our poor little munchkin had to wait for the big kids to get up at 9am but great news: the Bunny did in fact come! After checking out their baskets, they did their annual egg hunt around the house. I stuffed 170 eggs this year and they found them in less than 10min (I wish they cleaned their rooms this fast LOL). It's been a rainy day here in Houston so we've just hang out at the house. A few of Julia's friends stopped over and forced her to do an ice bucket challenge for mental health awareness, so that was fun. Jillian and I baked cookies (because we don't have enough sweets) and homemade spaghetti sauce is on the stove. No, it's not traditional but we're going with Italian this year. Happy Easter everyone!

Our little bunny

Easter Baskets (love that the bunny is a fan of books, and Luke was so hungry he insisted on eating a muffin and would not pose with his basket)

Easter Fun!

Ice Bucket Challenge

April 19 - It's Raw!

Jillian and I dyed eggs this morning and Luke grabbed one for lunch. Next thing we hear....

"It's RAW!" - Luke

Oops! I hard boiled a dozen eggs last night and told Jillian to grab them out of the fridge, and didn't realize she grabbed the wrong carton. Lesson learned hahaha. 

April 17 - Mamma Mia!

Mamma Mia! This past weekend, Julia, Ava, Teresa and I went to Mamma Mia! at the Hobby Center and it was INCREDIBLE. I've been to a lot of shows and this was hands down my absolute favorite (part of that could be because I actually know all the songs LOL). After the show was over, the cast did their curtain call and then to their entire audiences surprise....they did a sing-a-long with all the most popular songs. The ENTIRE theater was up on their feet, singing and dancing. It was so much fun!! If you have the opportunity to see this show, do it!

Mamma Mia!! Best show ever!

April 15 - Old Fashioned Fun

The weather has been simply gorgeous here in Houston! On Saturday, Jillian and Guinevere went to the neighborhood park for a few hours, we picked up Guinevere's sister Cosette and got ice cream. And then the girls came back to our house to play. Ella joined us and the girls played for hours outside riding bikes, scooters, hoover board and having fun. Soaking up these beautiful days while we can! Happy spring everyone. 

Weekend fun

April 12 - Sylvan Beach

Now that we are nearing the end of the school year, we are busy busy BUSY with activities. Friday evening was the HEAT swim banquet with a theme of "shades of blue." Adelyn and Jillian had a jam packed day with the Astros fieldtrip, followed by a playdate after school and then basically went right to the banquet. They had a blast in the photo booth and after eating dinner, started asking "Can we leave?" The banquet was scheduled from 5.30-8.30pm. We stayed for the senior awards and snuck out around 7pm. Amazingly, awards went until 8.30pm and I'm glad we didn't try to stay because 2 solid hours of awards is a lot. The banquet was at a community center on Sylvan Beach, so after we left, the girls played in the sand and waded in the water. Long day but they had fun!

Living their best life

April 11 - Daikin Park

Field trip time! This year the 2nd grade class went to Daikin Park (formerly Minute Maid), home of the Houston Astros. The weather was gorgeous (85 and sunny) and our tour guide, Daisy, was fantastic. We went to the press room to see where the press sits and calls the game. Next up, they got to sit in the stands and then learned how baseballs and baseball bats are made. But the highlight of the trip was going on the field and going into the dugout! There was a game last night and the classes were not supposed to go in the dugout but our tour guide forgot and the kids were there for a few minutes LOL. They weren't allowed on the actual field but because it was a game day, we did see all the people working on the field (mowing stripes, watering, etc). Such a cool experience, even for non-baseball fans. 

Astros!

April 10 - Go Gators

"To support the Houston Coogs tomorrow, please send your child to school in red. Go Coogs!" 

Sorry Houston-we are Gators fans in this house and even if we don't actively watch basketball, we cheer our Gators. Jillian was the lone Gator at her elementary school and several kids told her "The Gators are going DOWN!" but....chomp CHOMP! Gators pulled out the win!

Hey Hey!

It's GREAT!

To. Be.

A FLOIRDA GATOR!

Hey Hey!

It's GREAT!

To. Be.

A FLOIRDA GATOR!

April 9 - Little Chefs

Two months ago, Jillian's Girl Scout troop went through various cookbooks and wrote down recipes for a special "restaurant" we're going to do for the GS mom's around Mother's Day. Being 2nd graders, they wrote down about 50 different recipes (LOL) so last week, we did a little test kitchen so the girls could try out some recipes and narrow it down. Being wild 7/8 year olds, we only did a few but oh my, these girls are so much fun!

First up, the girls made a strawberry peach smoothie using strawberry yogurt, banana and frozen peaches. They garnished it with chocolate sprinkles. The sprinkles were a BIG hit and they all liked it. 

Next up, the girls did a strawberry smooth with fresh strawberries, strawberry sorbet and banana. The girls garnished it with whipped cream and this was the clear winner. I think part of it was the whipped cream (they were all huge fans) but they all gave it a thumbs up!

Lastly, we put out a spread of various breads, meats, cheeses, condiments and cookie cutters. The girls each made a 'signature' sandwich and named it:

Twitter (Ella): turkey and cheddar cheese with mustard in the shape of a chicken

Doggo (Guinevere): turkey and white American cheese in the shape of a large dog

Mini-Doggo (Adelyn): plain bread cut in the shape of a small dog (LOL)

Stardust (Jillian): ham and cheddar cheese with ranch dressing in the shape of a star

Our 5th GS lost interest and was playing with one of the pets (Bella or Louie) so we just have 4. But oh so fun!

Love these girls - soaking in these moments when they are still 'little'

April 4 - Superintendent Scholar

Congratulations Julia for being honored last night as a 3rd year 'Superintendent Scholar.' We are very proud of you!! All AP classes this year and she is still rocking it!